EDUCATION

NORRINE BAILEY SPENCER, assoicate provost and director of undergraduate admissions at Virginia Tech, was selected to be one of the women profiled for the American Council on Education's "35 Weeks of Extraordinary Women."

FRED D'AGUIAR, professor of English in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech, has been reappointed as the Gloria D. Smith Professor of Africana Studies by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

ERIC WONG, professor of animal and poultry sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech, has been named as the John W. Hancock Professor in Animal Sciences by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

MICHAEL HOUSTON and WILLIAM HERBERT, professors of human nutrition, foods and exercise in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech, and A. KRISHNA SINHA, professor of geosciences in the College of Science at Virginia Tech, have been conferred the "professor emeritus" title by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

THOMAS HOWARD, associate professor of history in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech, has been conferred the title of "associate professor emeritus" by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

DEMETRIOS TELIONIS, the Frank J. Maher professor of engineering science and mechanics in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, JOHN DILLARD, professor of chemistry in the College of Science at Virginia Tech, and WILLIAM OCHSENWALD, professor of history in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech have been conferred the "professor emeritus" title by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

Four employees in the Virginia Tech Office of University Relations and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences received awards at the recent Association for Communication Excellence conference: TIM FISHER POFF received the Gold Award for Illustration for "Agriculture Across Virginia"; RANDALL STITH and GABRIELLE MINNICH took the Silver Award for Video Spot Production, "We Are Virginia Tech"; and MICHAEL SUTPHIN received the Silver Award for Writing for Magazines, "Battle of the Bugs."

FINANCIAL

KAREN JOYNER, chief financial officer of the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia, has been selected as the winner in the small nonprofit organization category of the "CFO of the Year" award by Virginia Business magazine and the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants.

JOHN BARTON EDMUNDS, of Edmunds Financial Planning, an office of MetLife, was recently selected as a member of the MetLife Securities Inc. Inner Circle, recognizing the achievements of the top 100 conference-qualifiying broker-dealer producers.

Valley Bank announced the follwing promotions: MICHELLE RICHARDSON and JANE WRIGHT to vice president, MARK FITZGERALD to assistant vice president, DANA CLOSE to compliance analyst/banking officer, and MICHELE RALSTON to internal audit officer. MISTY GIBBS joined Valley Bank as vice president, credit department manager.

INSURANCE

Shenandoah Life Insurance Company announced that LEO DAWSON JR. has been named regional director of group sales.

Chas. Lunsford Sons & Associates announced the addition of JASON KISER to their agency as a commercial lines producer.

LAW

Virginia Supreme Court Justice G. STEVEN AGEE of Salem was sworn in as one of 11 judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

MARK FELDMANN, MARY-ELLEN GOODLATTE, PAUL BEERS, and JEREMY CARROLL of Glenn, Feldmann, Darby & Goodlatte have been selected for inclusion in Virginia Super Lawyers for 2008.

V. ANNE EDENFIELD has been selected for inclusion in Virginia Super Lawyers for 2008. She was also recognized as one of the top 25 women lawyers in Virginia.

OTHER

The Virginia Funeral Director's Association announced its local 2008-09 board of directors: MICHAEL RORRER, president; I. RAY SLOAN, secretary-treasurer; VICTOR CONNER, ROBERT GIVENS, and BOBBY GARDNER JR..

Carilion New River Valley Medical Center has created the role of Chief of Emergency Medicine and filled that role with THOM BURNETT, M.D.

Thompson Valuation & Consulting Inc., announced that JOSEPH THOMPSON has earned the Appraisal Institute's MAI designation.

Taubman Museum of Art reports the following changes: KATE SAYERS-MARTIN has joined the staff as visitor services coordinator, KRISTOPHER STOBER is now the facilities manager and MICHAEL GUECIA has been promoted to chief of security.

BRUCE JACOBSON of Bruce Jacobson Creative Advertising Agency is featured as the narrator on the 2008 Telly Award-winning documentary, "Francis Scott Key: Legacy of a Life in Service." The documentary won in the history/biography category in this year's 29th Annual Telly Awards.

DAVID PETERSON has joined the staff of Total Life Counseling and Psychiatric Day Hospital.

DR. PATRICK CURRAN has joined the optometric practice of Drs. Newman, Blackstock & Associates.