1872 Forward: Celebrating Virginia Tech is a 3-day celebration that will bring to life how the past shapes the present and leads the university into the future.
Over the course of the weekend, the Council on Virginia Tech History, in conjunction with the More Than a Fraction Foundation (affiliated with the African American descendants of Solitude and Smithfield), will be providing several days of programming to recognize 150 years of Virginia Tech’s history.
March 24th
- Noon: Book Launch: In the True Blue’s Wake: Slavery and Freedom Among the Families of Smithfield Plantation – Professor Dan Thorp
- 4 p.m: Honoring the Native American Land: Marker Unveiling
March 25
- Noon: BOOK LAUNCH: Virginia Tech, Land-Grant University, 1872–1997: History of a School, a State, a Nation, 2nd Edition – Professor Peter Wallenstein
- 3 p.m: Official Dedication of Hoge Hall and Whitehurst Hall
- 8 p.m: 1872 Forward: A Cultural Arts Celebration
Saturday March 26
- 9a.m: Tour of Historic Smithfield
- 11a.m: Sacred Ceremony at the Merry Tree
- 2p.m: Contested Spaces: A Tri-Racial Conversation
- 4p.m: 1872 Forward: Celebrating Virginia Tech Reception
This program has been funded in part by grants from The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation and Virginia Humanities.
