Lenwood McCoy honored as university controller emeritus

Lenwood D. McCoy, of Blacksburg, former university controller and associate vice president for strategic initiatives at Virginia Tech, was conferred with the title "University Controller and Associate Vice President emeritus" by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors during the board's quarterly meeting Monday, Nov. 8.

The title of emeritus may be conferred on retired professors and associate professors, administrative officers, librarians, and exceptional staff members who have given exemplary service to the university and who are specially recommended to the board of visitors by Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger. Nominated individuals who are approved by the board of visitors receive an emeritus certificate from the university.

A member of the Virginia Tech staff for 43 years, McCoy joined the Virginia Tech staff immediately after high school and rose through the ranks beginning as a clerk-typist before moving into various bookkeeper and account positions. McCoy later served as director of student accounts, direct of financial reports, assistant to the vice president for finance and director of financial reporting, associate controller, university controller, director of internal audit, and associate vice president for strategic initiatives.

As associate controller, McCoy was a leader in the implementation of the university's first automated accounting system in 1988. His knowledge of federal regulations on research activities helped the university receive significant additional funding during the 1980s and 1990s. As university controller, he helped the university move from a mainframe to an integrated systems environment and provided leadership ensuring the implementation of new financial and accounting systems where handled smoothly.

At the request of Virginia Tech's leadership, McCoy become the university's first associate vice president for strategic initiatives and helped to advance many special initiatives by providing sound business planning and analysis, including the Disaster Risk Management Institute, the Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, and the Virginia Tech/Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering and Science.

Founded in 1872 as a land-grant college, Virginia Tech has grown to become the largest university in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Today, Virginia Tech's eight colleges are dedicated to putting knowledge to work through teaching, research, and outreach activities, and to fulfilling its vision to be among the top research universities in the nation. At its 2,600-acre main campus located in Blacksburg, and other campus centers in northern Virginia, Hampton Roads, Richmond, and Roanoke, Virginia Tech enrolls 28,000 full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries in 170 academic degree programs.