History
The culture of Virginia Tech, a national leader in scholarship and outreach, has always valued and encouraged research. Faculty across the university, including units related to preparation of education or training professionals, have carried out substantive research for decades. Academic inquiry and writing has been and continues to be a central responsibility for all professors no matter their college or department.
As a land grant institution funded in part by the government of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the organization of the university has undergone changes as political leadership has changed or refocused priorities. For example, a number of years ago, what was known as the College of Education was reorganized into the College of Human Resources and Education (CHRE). Departments within the college remained largely the same as relatively autonomous entities. During this period, individual faculty or groups of faculty would use their own time and departmental resources to find, apply for, implement, and evaluate sponsored research proposals.
Starting in 2003, the university as a whole began a to restructure itself due to goals set by the administration. The hope is that Virginia Tech will continue to advance towards its goal to become a top 30 research institution. Departments from a number of colleges were examined and realigned based on overall research and teaching purposes. As a result, departments and program areas in education were placed in what is now known as the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences (CLAHS). The components of CLAHS are similar to, but more expansive than, the former CHRE components.
To ensure the identity of individual departments that deal specifically with teacher education and disciplines related to education or training (ex., health promotions, career and technical education, educational leadership), the School of Education was formed. Its leadership realized at an early stage that the School would benefit from two sub-units that would help departments maintain focus on the goals directly related to Virginia Tech’s central mission: research, teaching, and outreach. To handle the academic program areas and related affairs (such as accreditation, etc.), the Office of Academic Programs was created. The Office of Educational Research and Outreach (OERO) was also created to encourage and aid the School’s academic and research faculty as they seek sponsored research opportunities. Additionally, OERO oversees the research and outreach efforts of a number of centers. The specific mission and goals of OERO are listed on the “Mission” page.
The first director of OERO is Dr. John K. Burton (see “Welcome” page for more information). The School of Education became an official Virginia Tech entity as of July 1, 2005.