It is with deep sadness that the College notes the death of Gertrude "Trudy" Harrington Becker, Senior Instructor in the Department of History, on August 26.

Trudy joined the Virginia Tech community as an Instructor in the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies in 1991. In 2011 she moved to the Department of History and served as its Associate Chair and Director of Undergraduate Studies from 2011 to 2016.

An engaged and engaging teacher, Trudy taught a variety of undergraduate courses in the Department of History and served as leader of the department’s First Year Experience course for seven years. She was recognized for her teaching and advising efforts with the William E. Wine Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2015 and the Alumni Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Academic Advising in 2018.

Trudy and her husband Andrew Becker, an associate professor in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures, taught two semesters at the Steger Center (then known as the Center for European Studies and Architecture) in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland, and led the popular VT in Rome and Riva study abroad program many summers. In recognition of their commitment to global engagement, Trudy and Andy received the College’s Excellence in International Initiatives Award in 2013 and the Alumni Award for Excellence in International Education in 2014.

Trudy earned her bachelor’s degree from the College of the Holy Cross, master’s degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Virginia Tech, and her Ph.D. from the University of Florida.

A wake and viewing will be held September 1, and the funeral will take place September 2.

On behalf of the College, we express our sympathies to Andy Becker, their children, and the rest of her family.

Additional information can be found here and in the Roanoke Times article.