Norrine Bailey Spencer of Blacksburg, associate dean for undergraduate programs in the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech, has been named associate provost and director of undergraduate admissions at the university.

Spencer will assume the duties of her new position July 1 half-time and Aug. 2 full-time to allow her to direct the summer orientation program in the business college.

As associate provost and director of undergraduate admissions, Spencer will work with David Ford, vice provost for Academic Affairs at Virginia Tech, who also made the announcement of Spencer's promotion, to develop strategies to attract, recruit, and enroll a highly qualified, talented, and diverse student body. She will conduct market analyses, establish and implement short- and long-range enrollment management plans, and design innovative approaches to recruitment. She also will be responsible for contributing to the academic and fiscal resources of the university and enhancing its public image in ways that underscore its unique strengths.

"Virginia Tech has some significant challenges ahead as we further develop our brand name and attractiveness to future generations of undergraduate students," Ford said. "We must remember our land-grant heritage, remain competitive in striving to diversify our undergraduate student body, and continue to provide competitive academic programs for all students. It is my expectation that Dr. Spencer will provide the leadership to enable us to accomplish these goals."

Spencer has experience in student- and academic-affairs roles and has an academic background in mathematics, higher-education administration, and research and evaluation. As associate dean of the Pamplin College of Business, Spencer has been responsible for academic programs for the undergraduate business majors for 21 years. During that time, several new programs were initiated in the college, including the creation of a freshman-sophomore advising center, implementation of a college-based job-development and career-services program, and inauguration of pilot programs with the Virginia Community College System.

"She has provided excellent leadership for the undergraduate programs in the Pamplin College of Business during the last 21 years," said Dean Richard Sorensen, "and her involvement in the college will be sorely missed. Her experience and skills will be of great value to the university."

A native of Pennsylvania, Spencer earned a bachelor's degree magna cum laude in mathematics from Susquehanna University, a master's degree in higher-education administration from Syracuse University, and a Ph.D. in research and evaluation, with a concentration in statistics, from Virginia Tech. Before joining Virginia Tech as assistant dean in 1983, Spencer served as an assistant dean of the College of Business and Economics at the University of Delaware.

Spencer has presented papers at professional conferences dealing with total-quality management on campus, characteristics of current undergraduate students, outcomes assessment, retention, academic advising, undergraduate curricula, and diversity issues in higher education. She has received numerous honors, including having been selected in 2000 for the new AACSB affinity group steering committee for women in management education, serving as part of the National American Council on Education network to identify and encourage women to enter higher-education administration, and being featured in an article about women in management education in the national magazine Biz Ed. She has received grants for diversity opportunities and retention activities.

Virginia Tech's nationally ranked Pamplin College of Business offers undergraduate and graduate programs in accounting and information systems, business information technology, economics, finance, hospitality and tourism management, management, and marketing. The college emphasizes the development of leadership skills and ethical values and the integration of technology in the academic curriculum, and prepares students for global business challenges through faculty-led study abroad programs. The college has research centers that focus on business leadership, electronic commerce, energy modeling, and wireless telecommunications. The college is committed to serving business and society through the expertise of its faculty, alumni, and students.

Founded in 1872 as a land-grant college, Virginia Tech has grown to become the largest university in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Today, Virginia Tech's eight colleges are dedicated to putting knowledge to work through teaching, research, and outreach activities and to fulfilling its vision to be among the top 30 research universities in the nation. At its 2,600-acre main campus located in Blacksburg and other campus centers in Northern Virginia, Southwest Virginia, Hampton Roads, Richmond, and Roanoke, Virginia Tech enrolls more than 28,000 full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries in 180 academic degree programs.

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