LDDI Milestones

LDDI MILESTONES

John and Connie DeBell Named LDDI Philanthropists of the Year

LDDI is proud to recognize John and Connie DeBell as this year’s inaugural recipients of the LDDI Philanthropists of the Year Award for their commitment to establish the following three endowments at Virginia Tech: the John and Connie DeBell Junior Faculty LDDI Fellowship, the John and Connie DeBell LDDI Scholarship, and the John and Connie DeBell LDDI Diversity Scholarship John DeBell’s support for Virginia Tech is nothing new, with his first involvement dating back to the early 1980s when, acting in his leadership role as President of the Virginia Society of Professional Engineers (VSPE), he coordinated with then College of Engineering Dean Dr. Paul Torgersen to promote professional licensure to engineering students. These efforts led to Torgersen ultimately extending an invitation to DeBell to serve on the college Advisory Board and to join the prestigious Committee of 100. Since then, DeBell has also been inducted into the Academy of Engineering Excellence, the Academy of Distinguished Alumni for the Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the President’s Circle of the Ut Prosim Society. He has also been honored with the College of Engineering Distinguished Service Award. He is a past Chair of the Board of Directors of the Virginia Tech Foundation, the Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering’s Alumni Board, and the College of Engineering Advisory Board. It was during DeBell’s service on the CEE Alumni Board that the founding principals of the LDDI Program began. His service to the civil engineering profession is equally impressive as his commitment to Virginia Tech and includes stints as a Virginia National Director for the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) and as a member of the Professional Engineers in Private Practice (PEPP) Board of Governors. DeBell also served as State President for the VSPE, and has received the organization’s Young Engineer of the Year Award, its Outstanding Service Award (twice), its Distinguished Service Award, and its Engineer of the Year Award.

Following DeBell’s graduation from Virginia Tech in 1968, he served a 16-month tour in Vietnam where he became a decorated flight operations specialist. DeBell’s civil engineering career began in 1970 with a return to his hometown of Centreville, Virginia and landing a job with Dewberry. Four years later, DeBell and his then boss Paul Bengtson branched out to start their own firm, eventually bringing on a third partner, John Elkin. The firm of Bengtson, DeBell & Elkin enjoyed rapid growth, and by the 1980s boasted approximately 300 employees. In the late 1990s, Burgess and Niple, Inc. assumed 100 percent of the company’s stock, while DeBell remained on as an owner and Director of the Mid-Atlantic region as its Executive Vice President. DeBell also served on the Burgess and Niple Board of Directors until his retirement in 2012. DeBell’s career has seen him working with clients that include VDOT, Dominion Power, the National Park Service, various Fairfax County and federal agencies, and many land developers.

DeBell and his wife Connie have two sons, John, Jr. (also a Hokie) and Richard (a graduate of nearby Radford University). While Connie herself is not a Hokie, John is quick to point out her years-long involvement with the university, including serving with him on the steering committee during the last Virginia Tech capital campaign where the two led Northern Virginia fundraising efforts. Please join us in thanking John and Connie for their decades of support for Virginia Tech, the civil engineering profession, and their most recent gifts which directly benefit LDDI. John and Connie DeBell during Virginia Tech’s 2022 Ut Prosim Weekend

Sustainable Land Development M.S. Program

The Sustainable Land Development Master of Science program celebrated its inaugural year this past academic year with three graduates who will begin their land development consulting careers at LDDI sponsoring firms this summer. This program provides opportunities not only for students interested in land development but also those who are interested in an interdisciplinary civil engineering degree. Dr. Tripp Shealy, VT CEE Associate Professor, serves as the coordinator for the graduate program and worked closely with Dr. Randy Dymond, VT CEE Professor Emeritus, to establish the M.S. program prior to his retirement in Spring 2020. Dr. Shealy has continued to collaborate with Kevin, Claire, LDDI practitioners, and other CEE faculty members to further develop the program.

As with the other Master of Science in civil engineering degrees, the program requires 30 credit hours which include core LDDI courses such as Land Development Design and Sustainable Land Development. In addition to the core courses, students complete 21 credits of electives inside and outside of CEE as determined by the student and approved by their advising committee. This past year, students took elective classes in Urban Affairs and Planning, Leadership, and Public and International Affairs as well as courses across the traditional civil engineering disciplines. Also similar to other master’s programs, students may choose between thesis, project and report, and coursework-only options. In fact, each of these options was represented by the first three graduates of the program. Additionally, up to 50% of the coursework can be completed outside of Virginia Tech’s Blacksburg campus, opening up greater flexibility for students and professionals alike to enroll in the program. Students have the opportunity to engage in sustainable land development research as well as experience the involvement of industry practitioners that is a staple in LDDI’s undergraduate curriculum. In the past year, graduate students interacted regularly with the LDDI network at the Friday seminar series last fall in addition to three of the graduate students presenting at LDDI’s spring General Meeting. LDDI also supports the graduate students through the mentoring program within the Land Development Design course, one of the required core courses.

The goal in establishing this new graduate program is for Virginia Tech to become nationally recognized for our students advancing sustainable land development. We see great opportunity for growth through this graduate program, and in fact, anticipate growing from four to 16 students in just the second year. Dr. Shealy said,“The interest in the program has really been outstanding. The best part of my job as coordinator is learning about their interests. When I ask them why want an advanced degree in land development, they tell me that they see land development as a career path to make a positive impact in their community. They’re intrigued to learn more about how they can add value to projects and help shepherd projects into the future. In our meetings, they ask me questions and have creative ideas about concepts like how to prepare a site for future conditions due to climate change, how zoning and parking requirements should be adapted to driverless vehicles that are just on the horizon, and how to deal with social issues like gentrification as a result of successful redevelopment. Our graduate program helps give them the tools and flexibility to think through their ideas and enter the workplace ready to make a contribution on day one.”

No similar programs exist at the graduate level in civil engineering across the country, which makes it attractive to both Virginia Tech civil engineering undergraduate students as well students from other departments and universities. We recognize that sustainable land development involves knowledge and skills that span multiple disciplines within and outside of civil and environmental engineering and have designed the master’s degree to foster this type of interdisciplinary thinking. The program is unique within the Department and nationally, because it opens up opportunities for students to explore how sustainability, planning, and engineering design work together. Students graduate ready to contribute to conceptual design, comprehensive planning, grading, erosion and sediment control, and stormwater management processes. They can also articulate to clients the effects of particular types of development on transportation, utility, social-economic, and environmental systems. Through this advanced degree, students are exposed to unique projects and case studies, which will help them foresee the potential barriers to sustainable land development and equip them with tools to help overcome these barriers. Morgan Newcomb will finish her thesis while starting her career at Bohler in Charlotte this summer. Of the program, she offered, “the sustainable land development master’s program is not only a big step for the growth of LDDI at Virginia Tech, but growth for an industry that has been trailing behind its sister sub-disciplines in research and higher education. Opening this window of opportunity will bring a wealth of explorative and inquisitive minds into the land development industry,

propelling the innovation needed to help sustainably develop our planet for current and future generations to experience. I’m both honored and excited to have been a part of the program’s debut and am looking forward to seeing what the next cohort can accomplish in our wake.” Morgan completed her B.S. in civil engineering at Virginia Tech in 2021.

We are also growing the number of graduate courses related to sustainable land development and the flexibility of these course offerings at Virginia Tech. This past year, Dr. Shealy developed a graduate level course on adaptative reuse and redevelopment, which had 15 students enrolled, and we anticipate this becoming one of the core course options in the future. Dr. Shealy said the purpose of the course “is for students to experience many of the complex issues that are involved with redevelopment. The course includes topics like brownfield remediation, engineering control techniques, historic preservation grants, regulatory challenges, and life cycle cost analysis. The course also touches on how infrastructure projects can be the impetus for large redevelopment. Students learn through case studies about the effects of road diets and new transit lines on the redevelopment potential of a corridor. Several LDDI sponsoring companies have helped me curate case studiess teaching our students about how to create economic development plans, how to follow design guidelines for special district zones, and about the unique financial structures when dealing with large scale redevelopment.”

Outside of the classroom, the students and faculty had the opportunity to participate in several social gatherings to further build relationships among the first cohort of students. Dr. Shealy said, “we are trying to create a supportive atmosphere that breaks down the barriers between students and faculty and help students create long lasting professional connections that will sustain well after their graduate education.” The students also had the opportunity to participate in a construction site tour this spring at the UNION student housing on University City Boulevard in Blacksburg (designed by Pennoni). Sustainable Land Development graduate students tour Union apartments in Blacksburg in March 2022

As we look ahead to the next year, we see opportunities for LDDI industry partners to expand their role in the graduate program. Through core courses, LDDI industry members help us introduce professional and industry norms, standards, and evolving trends, while providing students with valuable mentorship. We also anticipate the opportunity for the LDDI network to review and provide input on graduate student master’s projects and research, including opportunities for internship experience to support a student’s project and report. Lastly, LDDI’s industry partners are a big reason why the College is willing to support the professional production of an online certificate program in sustainable land development. We continue to welcome feedback on the certificate program to develop a suite of courses that is deemed valuable to the industry.

LDDI Enjoys Record Giving Day Success

Giving Day is a 24-hour celebration of the Hokie Spirit that provides an opportunity for students, alumni, employees, family and friends to come together and show support for their favorite Virginia Tech organizations. Virginia Tech’s 2022 Giving Day was held on February 24th and 25th, and the contributions made to LDDI were the largest in the history of the event, both in overall revenue and number of individual donors. For the second consecutive year, LDDI Executive Board Member Sue Wolford (Pennoni) and Special Events Committee Co-Chair Caleb Hurst (Draper Aden Associates / TRC) worked to assemble a group of match donors to incentivize others to give by unlocking increasing matching amounts as the total number of individual donors grew. Sue and Caleb ultimately secured a total match amount of $11,500, resulting in more than 140 individuals contributing to LDDI on Giving Day, compared to 81 last year and 37 the previous year. To better frame perspective on these numbers, the percentage increase from last year’s number of individual donors ranked LDDI fourth on the College of Engineering’s “Beat Your Best” final leaderboard. Of his involvement with Giving Day, Caleb offered, “Donations to LDDI during the 2022 Giving Day generated a lot ofenthusiasm. The emphasis on numberof donors allowed anyone to contribute, from students and recent graduates to long-time donors. The 2022 Giving Daysuccess would not have beenpossible without the pool of donors who pledged $11,500 in matching funds.“ To further incentivize donations on Giving Day, LDDI created an inaugural decal to send to all donors. These decals will become an annual tradition and provide a way for donors to show their support for LDDI.

This year’s focus on increasing the total number of donors (rather than individual donation amounts) made Giving Day more accessible to current students and recent graduates as no donation was considered too small. CEE senior Tyler Bledsoe stated of his contribution on Giving Day, “LDDI has played anintegral part in expanding my civil engineering knowledge during my time at Virginia Tech, and the landdevelopment courses have been excellent in preparing me for my future in engineering. Additionally, I was fortunate enough to become an Envision Sustainability Professional for free while a student – all thanks to LDDI. I will be forever grateful for the opportunities afforded me through LDDI, thus the reason why I chose to make a personal donation to LDDI on Giving Day this year.”

We thank everyone who contributed on Giving Day and recognize the following individuals who responded to Sue and Caleb’s call, and whose matching donations helped LDDI reach new Giving Day heights:

 Brett Buckland  Alisa Cowen  Diana Doan  Jeff Gilliland  Andy Gorecki  Laura Hall  Suzy Harding  Meghan Hekl  Caleb Hurst  Bob Jansen  Paul Johnson  Meredith Jones  Bill Junda  Lance Koth  Jeff Lighthiser  Skip Notte  Chris Parrish  Rick Rabil  David Ragsdale  Rob Reddick  Tom Rust  Alex Sarant  Brendan Snell  Brian Utterback  Jack Vega  Adam Volanth  Claire White  Sue Wolford

LDDI Industry Advisory Group Committee Update

In April 2021, LDDI adopted a new organizational model that included the establishment of an Industry Advisory Group (IAG) comprised of four standing committees: Brand Awareness, Membership, Practitioner/Technical & Research (PTR), and Special Events. The new model also established a Young Members Group (YMG) to provide a path for LDDI graduates to become involved in program leadership during the early stages of their careers. Surveys were conducted among the LDDI membership to initially populate the new committees, and over the past year each has been active in appointing a Chair and developing their respective charters. Each committee also appointed a Vice Chair chosen from the Young Members Group in a deliberate effort to provide further paths to involvement for recent program graduates. Cody Mudd, Assistant Project Manager with LDDI Dymond sponsor Bohler, co-chairs the new PTR Committee and states, “The PTR Committee offers a unique opportunity for industry professionals to directly contribute to the growth and development of LDDI students, as well as the LDDI program as a whole. As a former student and graduate of the LDDI program, my experience on the PTR committee has been an extremely fulfilling opportunity to give back to the program that paved the way for my career. I am honored to be a part of a committee so dedicated to continuing LDDI’s great contributions to the industry and the people that are a part of it.” Meghan Hekl is a former LDDI student and GTA now employed with LDDI Platinum sponsor Kimley-Horn. Meghan serves as Vice Chair for the Brand Awareness Committee and of her involvement offers, “As I progress in my career, I have loved continuing to find ways to give back to LDDI. Acting as Vice Chair on the Brand Awareness Committee, I have been able to work with other dedicated LDDI members to think about how the program can improve and expand its reach in the academic world as well as in the industry. I appreciate the opportunity to have an impact on how students, alumni, and other people in the industry perceive and interact with LDDI.”

The table below highlights just a few of the items on which each committee is actively working. If you are not already a member of one of the new LDDI committees and wish to get involved, please contact Kevin or Claire indicating your preference and they will connect you with that committee’s Chair.

Brand Awareness  Reviewing/updating program name, logo, and branding  Reviewing/updating LDDI website Membership  Planning future General

Meetings  Assisting with annual sponsorship drives PTR  Reviewing CEE elective courses complementary to the LDDI curriculum  Reviewing non CEE elective courses  Conducting practitioner involvement surveys Special Events  Promoting LDDI on VT

Giving Days  Planning practitioner recognition and appreciation events  Organizing “splash” events

LDDI Assistant Coordinator Honored with Alumni Teaching Excellence Award

In April, LDDI Assistant Coordinator Claire White was honored with the 2022 Alumni Teaching Excellence Award. The award, chosen from a survey of alumni that have graduated within the past five years, recognizes a CEE faculty member whose exceptional talent, innovation, commitment, and hard work elevates the educational experience for their students. Positive comments from Claire’s former students are in no short supply, with many citing the personal investment that she makes in their education. Beyond her teaching abilities, many students also state that Claire’s passion for civil engineering is infectious and served as a source of inspiration and motivation for them. Akul Mehra, VT CEE Class of 2021 and a 2022 graduate of the Sustainable Land Development Master’s program, who completed three courses with Claire as the instructor and also worked with her as a graduate teaching assistant in multiple courses offers, "At a large institution like Virginia Tech, it can be difficult to find faculty who are able to form long term, deep mentoring relationships with students. Claire is one of the rare faculty members I have encountered who cares about her students’ well being, both inside and outside the classroom. Not only does Claire care about her students, but she also takes the time to learn about her students’ backgrounds and perspectives, creating a positive learning environment for everyone. On top of all that, Claire is an exceptional professor who helps students build the skills they will use for their entire careers. I am extremely thankful to have had Claire as a professor, mentor, and colleague over the last five years. She has helped me grow as a student, professional, and person. Anyone who has had Claire as a professor can see how much she cares about her students, the LDDI program, and Virginia Tech as a whole."

Claire is a Virginia Tech alumnus, earning her B.S. in civil engineering in 2010 and her M.S. in 2011. Following her time in industry with LDDI Platinum sponsor Kimley-Horn, White joined the CEE faculty as an Assistant Professor of Practice in 2016. LDDI Coordinator Kevin Young has worked closely with Claire since her hiring and states, “Perhaps more than anyone else, I witness daily the effort that Claire puts into her classes. Her students, LDDI, CEE, and Virginia Tech are fortunate to have her, and I can think of no one more deserving of this award.”

Claire was previously honored in 2020 with the Blackwood Award for Exemplary Faculty Service for her contributions to the Blackwood Program in Real Estate.

LDDI Coordinator Promoted to Associate Professor of Practice

This summer, Virginia Tech’s Board of Visitors approved the promotion of LDDI Coordinator Kevin Young to Associate Professor of Practice. Kevin first joined the Virginia Tech faculty in the fall of 2006 as Research Associate, then transitioned to Assistant Professor of Practice in the fall of 2012. His involvement with LDDI began in the spring of 2007 as Assistant Coordinator, and now, Coordinator since 2020. His impact on both students and the industry is wide-spread. LDDI students frequently cite Kevin’s enthusiasm in the classroom as a source of their own emerging interest in land development design. Zach Hershey, VT CEE Class of 2022 and incoming Sustainable Land Development M.S. student, completed two of Kevin’s courses and is currently serving as one of his graduate teaching assistants in CEE Measurements. Zach Excerpts from a Virginia Tech video showcasing Young’s had this to offer,“Kevin is a very thorough, thoughtful, and caring adaptation of the CEE 2814 lab during COVID appeared on instructor who really wants to see his students succeed at Virginia NBC’s Today with Hoda & Jenna Tech. It is evident that Kevin is committed to the success of the Land Development program at Virginia Tech, and he inspires the next generation of civil engineers.”.

Kevin has also spent more than 15 years working hand-in-hand with industry practitioners from the early days of LDDI to now, where we are looking to grow and expand its footprint. Bob Jansen, President Emeritus of Jansen Land Consultants, and a member of the LDDI Platinum Advisory Group states, “The thing I admire most about Kevin is he doesn’t care who gets the credit. He works diligently and passionately, always with the goal of doing his best and striving for the best outcome. He invites all of us to join, he collaborates well with everyone and he stays calmly focused on the ultimate goal. It's rare to run across someone so selfless.”

Promotion in academic rank is a nearly year-long process that begins with the faculty member preparing a dossier that summarizes their teaching, research, and service activities, as well as providing a personal statement. Then, during the academic year, the Virginia Tech CEE Promotion and Tenure Committee reviews the application packet, attends one of the faculty member’s lectures to complete a teaching evaluation, and then makes a recommendation on the promotion. The packet is then reviewed at the College level and by the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost before going before the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors for final approval.