Randolph Hall to be replaced thanks to $35 million donation

Construction could begin as soon as 2023

An architect’s rendition of Wendy and Norris E. Mitchell ’58 Hall on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg (Perkins&Will)

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Randolph Hall is more than 60 years old, and the reconstruction of the building is a long-awaited project.

Virginia Tech aerospace engineering alum Norris Mitchell and his wife Wendy, who also attended Virginia Tech, donated $35 million to the College of Engineering for the project.

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Thanks to the donation, Virginia Tech has reached its $248 million goal for the project.

“Out of all the ways that we could give money to Virginia Tech, we thought this building project was the right choice,” Wendy said. “You can have as many bright students as possible, but if you don’t have places for them to get together and work on projects, they’re not going to get as far. We hope this money will be a turning point for this great building the university has in mind to get built.”

The new building, that will be known as Wendy and Norris E. Mitchell ‘58 Hall, will become the largest building on the university’s campus with 284,000 square feet containing classrooms, instructional labs, space for student team projects, research labs, and office spaces for faculty, staff, and students.

Construction of the new building could begin as soon as the summer of 2023.

Expanding and improving upon the College of Engineering’s infrastructure is a key goal of Virginia Tech’s strategic plans. Other projects that will satisfy this goal are the renovation and expansion of Holden Hall and space in the new Data and Decision Sciences Building.


About the Author

Kamryn Buza joined 10 News as an intern in September 2021.

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