Brian James, assistant director of production services in Student Engagement and Campus Life, has received the university’s 2016 President’s Award for Excellence.

The President’s Award for Excellence is presented annually to up to five Virginia Tech staff employees who have made extraordinary contributions by consistent excellence in the performance of their job or a single incident, contribution, or heroic act. Each recipient is awarded a $2,000 cash prize.

Contributing to the university’s motto “Ut Prosim,” James goes above and beyond his job description to ensure successful university events.

James leads a small staff overseeing events ranging in size from 10 to 20,000. He treats each event with the same level of importance and is always eager to find ways to accommodate the groups.

He provided last minute production services to the Muslim Student Alliance November 2015 after a hate message was posted in a restroom on campus. He pulled together the required resources and even anticipated the needs for any members of the media who might have shown up at the event.

James shows ingenuity in his role as well, by streaming events live online for those who could not attend, especially parents whose child might be a participant in the event.

“Throughout his many years of service here on campus, he has been an asset to assisting many student clubs and organizations, departments, and external clients fulfill their needs for their events, often going above and beyond,” wrote Clayton Kolb, associate director in Student Engagement and Campus Life.

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