Longtime Virginia Tech President Tim Sands will step down in the “coming months,” he announced Thursday afternoon in a letter addressed “to Hokies everywhere.”
Sands, who has been at the university’s helm for 12 years, is credited with helping to land Amazon’s HQ2 project for Virginia and, closer to home, with strengthening Virginia Tech’s ties to Roanoke’s burgeoning biomedical sector.
During his tenure, the university has seen a 30% increase in undergraduate enrollment, a 200% increase in applications, a 70% jump in extramural research expenditures and a 185% hike in the university’s endowment, according to a news release from Virginia Tech.
“There is no better role in higher education than to serve as the president of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University,” Sands said in the release. “Stewarding Virginia Tech as president has been the most fulfilling experience of my career.”
He said it’s the right time to begin stepping aside so his successor has the opportunity to “take the baton at full stride” and continue Virginia Tech’s growth and momentum, telling the community that “together we have transformed Virginia Tech for the better.”
To ensure a smooth transition, he added that he is committed to serving until his successor is in place.
Virginia Tech, a public research university based in Blacksburg, had nearly 39,000 undergraduate and graduate students as of the fall 2025 semester, according to the university.
In a statement Thursday, Gov. Abigail Spanberger said that Sands “cemented Virginia Tech’s status as a leading center of innovation and academic excellence — and furthered Tech’s mission to prepare students with the skills they need for life-long success. Thanks to his vision, Virginia Tech continues to produce and attract world-class experts, secure global recognition for its research, and expand its footprint to strengthen communities across the Commonwealth.”
While the governor and other political leaders across the state issued statements Thursday praising Sands for his leadership, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said he was “deeply troubled” by Sands’ “sudden departure.”
“He has been an exceptional leader for over a decade — a period of significant growth for the university,” Kaine said in a statement. “This action has the earmarks of previous well-publicized efforts to oust Presidents at other Virginia public universities — VMI, UVA and George Mason. I urge Governor Spanberger to get to the bottom of the latest attack on Virginia higher education and take all necessary action to insulate university leadership from politically motivated schemes.’”
A legacy of economic development
Sands was considered instrumental to the state attracting the Amazon HQ2 corporate headquarters project in Arlington’s National Landing. Through the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus nearby, the university provides a pipeline of employees for the Amazon project. The first of three academic buildings, an 11-story, 300,000-square-foot structure, officially opened in February 2025.
“His legacy is in further establishing the link between higher education and economic development,” Todd Haymore, who was secretary of commerce and trade under Gov. Terry McAuliffe, said Thursday.
When the McAuliffe administration was preparing a bid for the Amazon project, it knew Virginia would never be able to match the incentive money that some other states were offering. Instead, it made the pitch that Virginia could supply the workforce that Amazon needed.
For that, Virginia needed an educational partner, Haymore said. The administration contacted every Virginia college to gauge its interest. Haymore was the one delegated to talk with Sands.
“He was the only person who not only said ‘yes,’ but ‘Let me know how else I can help.’”
Virginia Tech became the lead educational partner for the Amazon deal. “He was ‘all in,’” Haymore said.
“We made Virginia Tech, in effect, just as important as the other incentives, just as important as the infrastructure to be developed. The role that higher ed was playing was just as significant as any other component of the package.”
Former Gov. Ralph Northam, who was governor when the Amazon deal came to fruition, said Sands was “by far the leader of the pack” among that state’s college presidents who were involved with the project.
“He was all in on the innovation campus,” Northam said Thursday, adding that Sands has touched a lot of lives.
In Roanoke, the biomedical research institute that Virginia Tech and Carilion Clinic partnered to create was about three years old when Sands began his presidency. Sands and Nancy Howell Agee, who was then Carilion’s president and CEO, took the leadership mantle from their predecessors — Ed Murphy at Carilion, and Charles Steger at Virginia Tech.
By 2018, a $50 million gift from Heywood and Cynthia Fralin, and the Horace C. Fralin Charitable Trust, endowed it and gave it a name — Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech-Carilion.
Sands’ tenure saw the institute grow significantly, in both scope and impact, Heywood Fralin said Thursday. In a June 2025 newsletter, FBRI Executive Director Michael Friedlander noted that its local economic impact was about $190 million the previous year.
“It’s only going to grow,” Fralin said. “The quality of the research is as good as any university in the country. It is not the largest research university, but the quality is really good, and you have every reason to believe that it’s going to continue to expand.”
Of Sands, he added: “I love his vision. I love where Virginia Tech is right now.”
Agee on Thursday called Sands a “really exceptional relationship builder” who oversaw the Roanoke medical school and research institute being “formally absorbed” into Virginia Tech.
“I think Tim has vision,” she said.
Sands was the university’s 16th president and a professor in the College of Engineering since he came to Virginia Tech in 2014.
Prior to his stint at Virginia Tech, Sands was executive vice president for academic affairs and provost of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Before becoming provost, he was director of the Birck Nanotechnology Center in Purdue’s Discovery Park. He was a professor of materials science and engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, and also directed research groups at Bell Communications Research (Bellcore) in Red Bank, New Jersey.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics and a master’s degree and a doctorate in materials science from the University of California, Berkeley.
Staff writers Tad Dickens, Elizabeth Beyer and Dwayne Yancey contributed information to this report.
Other reactions to Sands’ announcement
Del. Lily Franklin, D-Montgomery County: “I’m grateful to President Sands for his leadership at Virginia Tech. His time at the helm saw immense change at the university. Simply put, Virginia Tech would not be what it is without his tireless advocacy for our students and the institution.”
U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem: “Ninth District communities and Americans across the country are eager to pursue higher education opportunities at Virginia Tech. Thanks to leaders like President Sands, these opportunities continue to inspire growth, spark curiosity and produce high-quality talents in a diverse range of fields. My children are just some of the many to take advantage of these opportunities.
“As someone who enjoyed working with President Sands during his tenure, I appreciated his dedication, service and commitment to Virginia Tech. I join the Virginia Tech community in wishing him and his wife Laura the best.”
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.: “Over the last twelve years, President Tim Sands has led a period of major growth and transformation at Virginia Tech, positioning the university as a more competitive global research institution. He strengthened Virginia Tech by prioritizing research and innovation, expanding enrollment while maintaining university competitiveness, and building lasting industry partnerships. As a result, Virginia Tech graduates are better prepared to meet the needs of a dynamic and rapidly changing workforce. In the time we have worked together, I have appreciated his candor, his drive, and his focus on expansion. I thank President Sands for his dedication to Virginia Tech and the Commonwealth.
“As the university looks ahead, it is essential that Virginia Tech takes the time to conduct a thoughtful and thorough search for its next leader — one that reflects the institution’s stature and ensures it secures a world-class president to build on this strong foundation.”
