Two of the four faculty members newly appointed to the academies of Faculty Service and Leadership at Virginia Tech are members of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences.

Marlene Preston, assistant department head and associate professor in the Department of Communication, has been appointed to the Academy of Faculty Service, which recognizes exceptional service to the university beyond a faculty member’s usual responsibilities. Preston has earned recognition for her service to projects with clear and far-reaching university-wide impact, such as work on the general education curriculum revision, the Common Book Committee, and assessment initiatives.

Matthew Gabriele, associate professor in the Department of Religion and Culture, has been appointment to the newly formed Academy of Faculty Leadership, which recognizes exceptional leadership within the university, either within or beyond a faculty member’s usual responsibilities. Gabriele, who is also principal of the Residential College at Ambler Johnston, has earned recognition for his leadership across a range of activities and programs that affect students, faculty, and staff within and beyond his department and that have created measurable cultural change at the university.

Other faculty members recently appointed to the Academy of Faculty Leadership include Kathryn Albright, professor of architecture in the School of Architecture + Design in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies, and John McDowell, professor of plant pathology, physiology, and weed science in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and associate scientific director of the Fralin Life Science Institute.

The academies are structured to parallel the academies of Teaching Excellence and Outreach Excellence, and members are called upon for representative service to university committees.