BLACKSBURG - Virginia Tech honored five alumni Friday as part of Founders Day, which draws several hundred former Hokies to campus annually to commemorate the birth of the university in 1872.

James Turner, a 1956 graduate of Virginia Tech and former executive at General Dynamics Corp., received the university's highest award given to an alumnus, The William H. Ruffner Medal. The award goes to an alumnus deemed to have performed "notable and distinguished service to the university." After graduating with a degree in agricultural engineering/engineering, Turner spent 40 years in management positions with Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., the Westinghouse Corp. and General Dynamics. He has served on numerous university committees and is a member of the Ut Prosim Society's President's Circle, meaning he has donated at least $1 million to Tech.

Retired Maj. Gen. Archie Cannon Jr., a 1950 Tech graduate, received the university's Distinguished Achievement Award for "nationally distinguished achievement in any field of enduring significance to society."

Cannon, of Williamsburg, served with the U.S. Army in Germany, Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Among the titles he held with the Army were deputy chief of staff for personnel for the U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army, deputy commander of the U.S. Air Defense Center and School and chief of staff for the U.S. Army Recruiting Command.

Cannon praised the 700-plus members of the Corps of Cadets, many of whom attended the ceremony.

"The Corps of Cadets, as far as I'm concerned, is one of the cornerstones of this university and the traditions of the Corps is another," he said.

The university also awarded three Alumni Distinguished Service Awards to:

Gene James, Class of 1953, the former president and chief executive officer of Southern States Cooperative. James is also a former president of the Virginia Tech Foundation and the Alumni Board of Directors.

James Eugene Justice, a 1954 graduate and a long-time executive with IBM Corp. He is past chairman of the Pamplin College Advisory Council as well as president and chairman of the German Club Alumni Foundation.

L. Preston Wade, a member of the Class of 1955 and former chairman and CEO of Wiley & Wilson Inc., an architectural and engineering firm. Wade served as regimental commander of the Corps while a student and is now a member of the Ut Prosim Society's President's Council.

Friday's Founders Day events kicked off a weekend of special ceremonies on campus. Dedication and grand opening ceremonies will be held today for the new Alphin-Stuart Livestock Teaching Arena and the first of two on-campus buildings to house the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute.