Larry Hincker, the associate VP for university relations who helped "brand" Virginia Tech and led the institution's PR through a 2007 campus shooting, will retire this year after 25 years in Blacksburg.
Hincker served four university presidents through three decades speaking for VT and serving as senior communications officer. Current president Timothy Sands credited Hincker with securing the school's reputation as a leading research university in the US and abroad.
"Most gratifying to me are the changing and improved perceptions of Virginia Tech’s reputation," said Hincker. "As communicators, we don’t create the brand; we simply put a spotlight on it. I am pleased to know that university relations had some role in helping cement our place among higher education leaders."
Hincker is credited with leading a 1990 brand management program that embraced the name Virginia Tech over the university's official moniker, the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Former VT president Charles Steger recalled Hincker's efforts as the face of the university through the 2007 campus massacre that left 32 dead. "In our darkest hour, Larry's leadership, resolve, and compassion helped to hold our devastated community together," he said. He represented all of the Hokie Nation as he sought to do the impossible – explain the unexplainable to millions of people watching all over the world."
Hincker, a VT grad, joined VT in 1988 as director of educational communications and took over university relations a year later. He said he'll stay in place until a replacement takes over.
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