Academy of Distinguished Alumni
The Academy of Distinguished Alumni was established by the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department at Virginia Tech and its Advisory Board on October 14, 1993. Thirty‑eight charter member alumni were inducted and the Marvin H. Agee Distinguished Alumni Award was presented posthumously to Marvin Agee, who, as ISE department head in the early 1970's, founded the ISE Advisory Board. Since its inauguration, the Academy has steadily developed into a group of recognized leaders in the field who have served their profession and society with distinction.
The Academy of Distinguished Alumni
* Deceased
| Name | Class | Title | Company | Inducted |
| *Abrams, Warren E. | 1950 | President | Warren Elliott Associates | 1993 |
| Alexander, Suraj M. | MS 1972, Ph.D. 1976 | Professor & Chair | University of Louisville | 2019 |
| Allnutt, Robert F. | BS IE 1957 JD LAW 1 1960 LIM LAW 1962 |
Executive Vice President | Pharmaceutical Manufacturer Assoc. |
1994 |
| Arnold, Richard M. | BS IE 1956 | Consultant | General Board of Global Ministries of the UMC | 1999 |
| Artis, Sharnnia | BS 2002 MS PhD 2007 |
Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Cheif Diversity Officer |
George Mason University | 2023 |
| Askew, Thomas E. | BS IE 1971 | Senior Associate | Partnership Staffing, Inc. Richmond, VA |
2017 |
| Bachmann, John A. | BS IE 1965 MS IE 1968 PhD IE 1970 |
President | Proteus Performance Group |
1993 |
| *Baker, Lawrence K. | 1957 | Self Employed | 2004 | |
| Balzer, Thomas R. | BS IEOR 1983 | Executive Vice President | Balzer & Associates Inc | 2012 |
| Batt, Jerry R. | BS 1972 | Retired (Chief Information Officer) | Pulte Homes | 1998 |
| Belz, Steven M. | BS ISE 1995 MS 1997 PhD 2000 |
Director, Express Solutions Design | AT&T, Austin, TX | 2017 |
| Bothwell, Maria | BS 1990 | CEO | Toffler Associates | 2019 |
| Boward, Jill Johnson | BS 1987, MS 1991 | Executive Director | Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy | 2022 |
| Brawner, Elwin I. | BS IE 1966 MBA 1967 (not VT) |
Chairman of the Board | ICI Explosives, Inc. | 1996 |
| Brown, Charles J. III | BS IE 1970 JD Law 1975 (not VT) |
COO | Newport Generation Ventures | 1993 |
| *Buchanan, William G. Jr. | BS IE 1935 MS 1957 |
Associate Professor | Virginia Tech | 1999 |
| *Burns, Thomas C. | BS IE 1949 | Chairman & Managing Director | AIT/BAC New Zealand Ltd. | 1993 |
| *Burrows, David H. | BS IE 1942 | Chairman & CEO (Retired) | Wiley N. Jackson Company | 1993 |
| *Butts, Bennie J. Jr. | BS IE 1950 | Adjunct Associate Professor (Retired) | NC A&T University | 1996 |
| Campbell, Donald E.K. | BS 1990 | President | Persona Medical | 2019 |
| *Campbell, Fred T. | BS IE 1950 | Past President | Campbell & Associates, Inc. | 1993 |
| *Campbell, W. John | BS IE 1953 | President | Tobacco Technologies Group | 1993 |
| *Canada, John R. | BS IE 1957 MS IE 1961 |
Professor Emeritus | NC State University |
1996 |
| Carpenito, Thomas A. | 199 | IT Çonsultant | Self-employed | 1996 |
| Casali, John G. | BS Psyc 1977 MS IE 1979 PhD IE 1982 |
John Grado Professor | Virginia Tech |
1998 |
| Cassady, Richard | University Distinguished Professor, IE | University of Arkansas | 2022 | |
| Casto, Kristen | Ph.D. 2009 | Colonel | Medical Service Corps, US Army | 2019 |
| Chachra, Vinod | MS IE 1968 PhD IE 1971 |
President-VTLS, Inc. (Retired) | 1994 | |
| Chamberlayne, Ed | PhD 2011 | Vice President | PRIME AE Group, INc. | 2022 |
| Chao, Betty | PhD 1983 | President & Chief Executive Officer | Westech International, Inc. | 2017 |
| Chase, Tim | BS 1986 MBA 1991 |
Principal (Retired) | Deloitte Consulting, U.S. Government and Public Services Practice (GPS) | 2023 |
| Clarke, Gerald D. | BS IE 1968 | President and CEO (Retired) | Energy Services Group | 1993 |
| *Costan, George A. | BS 1936 | Chairman of the Board (Retired) | Southern Air, Inc. | 1998 |
| Cross, William S. Jr. | BS IE 1941 | CEO and Director (Retired) | Cross Sales and Engr. Co. Inc. | 1993 |
| Cross, William S. Jr. | BS IE 1941 | CEO and Director (Retired) | Cross Sales and Engr. Co. Inc. | 1993 |
| Davies, Charles W. Jr. | BS IE 1971 MBA BAD 1976 |
President and CEO (Retired) | Tultex Corporation | 1993 |
| Davis, Darrell A. | BS IEOR 1982 | VP Six Sigma | Empire-Today |
1998 |
| Dick, Daniel M. | BS IE 1970 MBA 1979 |
Director, Air Force Programs | General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems | 1998 |
| Dingus, Thomas A. | MS IEOR 1985 PhD IEOR |
Director | Virginia Tech Transportation Institute |
2012 |
| Donehower, John W. | BS IE 1969 MS IA 1971 |
Senior VP & CFO | Kimberly Clark Corp. |
1993 |
| *Dryden, Robert D. | Dean of Engineering | Portland State University |
1993 | |
| Egbelu, Pius J. | MS IE OR 1979; PhD IEOR 1982 | Distinguished Prof., Martin Tuchman School of Mgt | New Jersey Institute of Technology | 2018 |
| Fields, Timothy Jr. | BS IE 1970 | Senior VP | Marasco Newton Group, Ltd. |
2002 |
| *Forbes, Charles M. | BS IEOR 1949 MS EAD 1989 |
VP Development & University Relations | University of Delaware | 1994 |
| *Francis, Richard L. | BS IE 1960 MS IE 1962 |
Professor Emeritus | University of Florida |
1999 |
| *Frankfort, Phillip E. | BS IE 1940 | Retired | Union Camp Corp. | 1993 |
| Gallimore, Jennie | PhD 1989 | Dean | College of Technology, Architecture, and Applied Engineering at Bowling Green State University | 2023 |
| *Gillette, Leroy O. | BS IE 1947 | Director or IE (Retired) | Armstrong World Industries, Inc. | 1993 |
| Girod, Olivier A. | PhD 1996 | Deputy Director, Office of Support Operations | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | 2018 |
| Goodall, Larry M. | BS IE 1970 |
Attorney | McGuire, Woods & Battle |
1994 |
| Gordon, Charles O. Jr. | BS IE 1969 | Senior VP | Thomasville Furniture Industries, Inc. |
1993 |
| *Gordon, Charles O. Sr. | BS IE 1942 | Chairman | Bydand Corp. | 1993 |
| Gordon, Jack C. | BS IEOR 1977 MBA BAD 1979 |
President | Bydand Corp. | 1993 |
| Gower, Daniel W. | PhD ISE 1992 | Colonel (Retired) | U.S. Army | 2018 |
| *Grado, John | BS IEOR 1951 | Chairman & CEO (Retired) | Technographics, Inc. | 1993 |
| Grenville, Delia | MS 1997, Ph.D. 2001 | Director of Strategy | Intel Corp. | 2019 |
| Guleri, Aditya Tim | MS IE 1988 | Managing Director | Sierra Ventures |
2006 |
| *Gunter, Robert L. Jr. | MS 1992 | Senior VP of Operations Aircraft Carrier Program |
Northrop Grumman Newport News | 2006 |
| Guynn, George C. ("Jack") | BS IE 1964 |
President | Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta |
1993 |
| Hagan, C. Garland | BS 1967 | Corporate Executive Vice President (Retired) | Sun Trust Bank | 2018 |
| Harrell, John C. | BS IE 1963 | President | Suffolk Iron Works, Inc. |
1998 |
| Harris, Leon P. | BS IE 1964 | President | Keltech, Inc. |
1996 |
| *Hartman, Dale B. | BS IE 1950 | President | Cam-I | 1993 |
| Heflin, Dan H. Jr. | 1953 | Professional Engineer | Heflin & Williams, Inc. | 2004 |
| Hickam, Homer H. Jr. | BS IE 1964 | Engineer (Retired) and Author | NASA | 1999 |
| Hines, James E. ("Ed") Jr. | BS IE 1969 |
Manufacturing VP (Retired) | Lucent Technologies, Inc. | 1999 |
| Holland, Robert H. | BS IEOR 1966 MS IEOR 1969 PhD IEOR 1972 |
President & Chairman | Holland Systems Corp. |
1993 |
| *Hopkins, Oren E. Jr. | BS IE 1950 | Former President | The Coombs-Hopkins Company | 2002 |
| Ignizio, James P. | PhD IEOR 1971 | Manager, Modeling & Simulation | Intel Corp. | 2002 |
| *Jacobs, Jesse P. Jr. | BS IE 1949 | USAF (Retired) | Boeing Corp. | 1998 |
| *Johnson, O.P. | BS IE 1952 | President (Retired) | L-TEC Welding & Cutting Systems | 1993 |
| Jones, James L. Jr. | BS IE 1956 | Patent Agent (Retired) | 1998 | |
| Kates, Rebecca B. | BS IEOR 1978 MS IE 1981 |
Owner | Quality Consulting, LLC | 2014 |
| Keesee, Robin L. | BS 1970 PhD 1976 |
Director, US Army Engr. Lab | US Army Human Engr. Lab |
1996 |
| *Klages, Arthur C. | BS IE 1942 | Vice President (Retired) | Burlington Handbags, Inc. | 1998 |
| Klein, David H. | BS IEOR 1983 | Principal | BTB Solutions, LLC |
2010 |
| Kobza, John | Ph.D. 1993 | Department Head | Industrial & Systems Engineering, University of Tennessee | 2019 |
| *Lane, Edward H. Jr. | BS 1937 | Vice President | The Lane Company | 1998 |
| Latimer, Barry A. | BS IEOR 1971 MS IEOR 1972 |
President | Whites Advertising, Inc. |
1993 |
| Layne, Kevin E. | BS IEOR 1983 | President (Retired) | Kollmorgen | 2010 |
| Leclaire, Kevin W. | BS ISE 1995 | Founder & Managing Director | ISDR Consulting |
2008 |
| Leslie, Charles E. | BS IEOR 1956 | President & Owner | Embroidery by Chalaine |
2008 |
| *Levine, Robert H. | BS IE 1946 | President | Raleigh Junk Company | 1993 |
| *Long, D. "Danny" Joe | BS IE 1956 | Owner & President | Regency Bedspread Mfg. Company |
1994 |
| Lonker, Victoria R. | BS 1987 MS 1992 |
Vice President of Global Network and Security Products (Retired) | Verizon | 2023 |
| Luxhoj, James T. | BS IEOR 1984 MS 1985 PhD 1986 |
Professor & Undergraduate Director | ISE Department Rutgers University |
2017 |
| *Mapp, Gordon A. | BS IE 1968 | VP & General Manager | Thermo King Corp. |
1996 |
| Marchese, Kelly | BS 1991 | Pricinpal | Deloitte Consulting | 2023 |
| Martin, Sharon Brickhouse | MEA 88; BS 83 | President and Founder | Brickhouse Martin Healthcare Engineering | 2022 |
| McKnight, John R. | BS ISE 1991 | VP & General Manager | Wyman-Gordon Forgings |
2012 |
| McLellan, John S. | BS IE 1963 |
President (Retired) | Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems | 1998 |
| Medina-Borja, Alexandra | MS ISE 1995 PhD 2002 |
Program Director | National Science Foundation | 2017 |
| Meredith, Joseph W. Jr. | PhD IE 1997 | President | Corporate Research Center |
2002 |
| *Miller, William T. | BS IE 1951 | President | RBI Corp. | 2002 |
| Minnich, John W. | BS IEOR 1989 | Former VP, H. B. Maynard & Co. Current - Proprietor |
Trio Wine, Beer and Cheese | 2017 |
| Monroe, Ellis P. | BS IE 1956 | President | Monroe Sales Company, Inc. |
1994 |
| Montague, John W. Jr. | BS IE 1967 |
President and Founder (Reitred) | John W. Montague, Jr., Inc. | 2016 |
| Montgomery, Douglas C. | BS IE 1965 MS IE 1967 PhD IE 1969 |
Professor, Industrial Engineering | Arizona State University |
1994 |
| *Moring, J. Frederick | BS IE 1957 |
Attorney & Partner | Crowell & Moring |
1994 |
| Mosby, Chris | BS 1987 | Chief Operating Officer | Kalwall | 2023 |
| Muscatello, Martin E. | BS IEOR 1982 |
President & CEO | CCS-Inc. |
2014 |
| *Myerholtz, Earl F. | BS IE 1948 | Vice President | TRW Inc. Indus. Prod. Group | 1993 |
| Neely, C. Alexander | BS IE 1973 | President | Burlington Menswear | 1996 |
| O'Brien, Charles G. | BS IE 1956 | Executive VP (Retired) | Thomasville Furniture Industries | 1993 |
| Osmond, Robert | BS 1993 MS 1995 |
Chief Technology Officer | Commonwealth of Virginia | 2023 |
| *Parker, Frederick T. II | BS FW 1965 MS IE 1965 |
President | Virginia Peanuts, Inc. |
1993 |
| *Parks, Charles J. | BS ME 1945 BS IEOR 1948 |
VP-Operations (Retired) | Union Carbide Corp. Nuclear Division |
1993 |
| Patel, Morgan Blackwood | BS 2003 | Founder | Greystreak | 2022 |
| Prillaman, Haller G. (Hal) |
BS IE 1955 | President | Prillaman Brothers, Inc. |
1993 |
| *Raney, Augustus M. | BS IE 1941 | Retired Investment Real Estate | 1998 | |
| Rehmert, Ian | BS 1995 MS 1997 PhD 2000 |
President and CEO | Republic Finance | 2023 |
| Ring, Wiley E. III (Bill) |
BA ME 1957 BS IEOR 1958 |
President | Kingsport Foundry & Mfg. Company |
1993 |
| Rockwell, Chris J. | MS IE 1992 | President | Lextant 580 N. 4th St., Suite 610 Columbus, OH 43215 614-228-9711 |
2014 |
| *Rolston, B. Fielding | BS IE 1964 | Vice President (Retired) | Eastman Chemical Company |
1993 |
| Rudd, John | BS 1967 | President | Rudd Advisory Group, Inc | 2022 |
| *Sage, Donald L. | BS IE 1956 | Engineering Manager (Retired) | AT&T Microelectronics | 1993 |
| *Sauer, Nancy Bowman | BS IEOR 1984 | President | D2Xchange, LLC |
2004 |
| Schneikert, Harold W. Jr. | BS IE 1965 | Retired | MML Investors Services, LLC | 1999 |
| Sen, Suvrajeet | PhD 1982 | Professor, ISE | University of Southern California | 2018 |
| *Short, J. Landon | BS IE 1952 MS IE 1956 |
Director of Education | The Robert & Janice McNair Foundation | 1994 |
| Singu, Sonu | BS 1991 | Founder | 1901 Group | 2022 |
| Smith, J. Cole | Ph.D. 2000 | Dean, College of Engineering and Computing | Syracuse University | 2019 |
| Smith, Jaime A. | BS IEOR 1989 | President | Lodestar Energy | 2008 |
| Smith, Marilyn | MS IEOR 1982; PhD IEOR 1984 | Distinguished Professor (Retired) | Winthrop University | 2018 |
| *Smith, T. Frank Jr. | BS IE 1947 | Marketing Manager | Exxon Mobile Corporation | 1998 |
| Snelling, Steve | BS 1972 | Industrial Engineer (Retired) | Boeing | 2022 |
| Spitzer, Kirk E. | BS IE 1967 | President & CEO (Retired) | Alfa Lavel, Inc. | 2002 |
| St. John, W. Frederick | BS 1973 | Retired Owner, Officer & Director | True Energy Coal Sales, Inc. | 2017 |
| Staats, Raymond W. | PhD 1985 | President | Craven Community College | 2018 |
| *Sweers, John F. | BS IE 1946 | Corporate VP | The Gap Stores, Inc. | 1993 |
| Taylor, Robert E. | PhD IE 1970 | Professor Emeritus | Virginia Tech |
1993 |
| *Temple, Harry D. | BS IE 1934 | Colonel (Retired) | United States Army | 1998 |
| Terpenny, Janis P. | MS ISE 1981 PhD ISE 1996 |
Professor and Department Head | Penn State University |
2016 |
| *Thomas, John W. Jr. | BS IE 1949 | Chairman of the Board | Thomas Built Buses, Inc. |
1998 |
| Thomas, Joseph C. Sr. | BS IE 1943 | President | Thomas Bros. Inc. |
1993 |
| *Thomas, Walter L. | BS IE 1943 | Production Control Contracts Administrator (Retired) | Newport News Shipbuilding | 1999 |
| *Thompson, Herb H. | BS IE 1956 | 2004 | ||
| *Tillar, Thomas Cato Sr. | BS 1945 | Retired | W. T. Tillar Co. Inc. | 2002 |
| Tompkins, Curtis J. | BS IE 1964 MS IE 1967 |
Senior Executive Service Officer (Retired) | US Department of Transportation | 1993 |
| *Torgersen, Paul E. | Professor & John Hancock Chair | Virginia Tech |
1993 | |
| Turner, Wayne C. | BS IE 1964 MS IE 1970 PhD IE 1972 |
Professor | Oklahoma State University |
1994 |
| *Urquhart, John A. | BS IE 1948 | President | John A. Urquhart Associates |
1993 |
| Van Aken, Eileen M. | BS IEOR 1988 MS ISE 1991 PhD ISE 1995 |
Professor and Department Head | Virginia Tech |
2010 |
| van Luyn, Robert | BS IE 1963 | Staff Engineer (Retired) | General Electric Aircraft Engines | 2006 |
| Vaneman, Warren | MS 1997, Ph.D. 2002 | Professor of Practice | Naval Postgradaute School | 2019 |
| Vaughan, Ingrid | BS 1985 | Vice President & General Manager | Navigation & Maritime Systems, Northrop Grumman | 2019 |
| Verma, Dinesh | MS ISE 1991 PhD 1995 |
Professor, Systems Engineering | Stevens Institute of Technology | 2017 |
| Vilseck, James R. | BS IEOR 1959 | President (Retired) | Island Creek Coal Co. | 1993 |
| Walker, Douglas D. | BS IE 1963 | VP Engineering | RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company | 1993 |
| Watford, Bevlee A. | MS IE 1983 PhD IE 1986 |
Associate Dean for Equity and Engagement | Virginia Tech | 2006 |
| White, John A. Jr. | MS IE 1966 | Professor, Industrial Engineering | University of Arkansas |
1993 |
| *Wilburn, L. Thomas Jr. | BS IEOR 1951 | Chairman, President & CEO | Bethesda Services |
1996 |
| *Wilson, Grover L. Jr. | BS IE 1937 | Colonel (Retired) Industrial Engineer |
United States Air Force | 1999 |
| Winters, Tom | BS 1986 | Chief Supply Chain Officer | Flowers Foods | 2023 |
| Wittke, Don | Industrial Engineering Manager (Retired) | UPS | 2016 | |
| Woo, Paul J. Jr. | BS IE 1969 MS UA 1973 |
President & CEO (Retired) | Sterile Concepts, Inc. | 1996 |
| Wood, Linda S. | BS IEOR 1981 | Retired VP of Operations Services | R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company | 2017 |
| *Worley, Hal G. | BS IE 1946 | Manager (Retired) | AT&T Customer Engineering & Quality Administration | 1999 |
| Wright, Kenneth | MS 1993 | Senior Policy Advisor | NASA | 2023 |