Richard Linton will become Virginia Tech’s 17th president at the beginning of the spring 2027 semester, taking charge as the university moves through a significant period of construction and campus growth.
The Virginia Tech Board of Visitors announced Linton’s appointment on Oct. 14. Linton is a three-time Virginia Tech graduate and has served as president of Kansas State University since 2022. He will succeed Tim Sands, who has led Virginia Tech since 2014.
The university said Linton earned a bachelor’s degree in biology, a master’s degree in food science and technology, and a doctorate in food science from Virginia Tech. At Kansas State, he oversaw a strategic plan focused on enrollment, research and workforce development. Virginia Tech’s biography of Linton credits his tenure with enrollment growth to more than 21,000 students and a roughly 30 percent increase in research expenditures.
A presidency beginning amid construction
Linton will arrive while two large projects are underway on the Blacksburg campus. Mitchell Hall, the replacement for the 67-year-old Randolph Hall, is scheduled for completion in winter 2028. Virginia Tech says the 296,105-square-foot building will be its largest on the Blacksburg campus, adding classrooms, research laboratories, project space and offices within the existing site footprint.
Construction also began in summer 2026 on two residence halls planned to add 1,200 beds. The university lists summer 2028 as the target completion date for the 350,320-square-foot project.
Together, those projects will affect how students and employees move through campus well into Linton’s first years in office. They also make capital planning, housing capacity and construction timelines immediate issues for the incoming administration.
What has — and has not — been announced
In his public introduction, Linton described returning to Virginia Tech as a full-circle moment and said he wants the university to stand among the nation’s leading land-grant institutions. The university’s announcement and available public coverage do not support a circulating claim that he promised “300 percent more cranes” on campus. Blacksburg Times is not publishing that statement as fact.
Linton’s official record points instead to broader priorities: enrollment, research, student success, workforce development and public service. How those priorities translate into specific capital projects will become clearer after he takes office.