Alumni Awards
Marni Byrum
Byrum, of Alexandria, earned her bachelor’s in political science from Virginia Tech in 1976. She is an attorney in private practice with emphasis on labor, employment, and personnel law, whose law degree is from the Pepperdine University. Byrum often lectures on labor and employment issues and was an adjunct faculty member at Washington College of Law at American University. She is a member of the Boyd Graves Conference and a master of the George Mason Inns of Court.
Byrum has remained involved at her alma mater by serving on the Board of Directors of the Virginia Tech Alumni Association, the President’s Advisory Committee, and the Economic Development Advisory Board. She chaired the Dean’s Roundtable for the former College of Arts and Sciences and serves on the College of Science Roundtable. Byrum is a member of the Northern Virginia Regional Campaign Committee and the Pylon Society.
She also has held leadership roles with the Virginia State Bar Association, the Arlington County Bar Association, Legal Services of Northern Virginia, the Virginia Women Attorneys Association, and that association’s foundation. An active participant in her community, Byrum serves on the board of Horizons Theatre and at Equality Virginia -- a nonpartisan advocacy group that seeks equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Virginians. She also is a former president of the Virginia 4-H Foundation.
Patricia Caldwell
Caldwell, of New York City, earned her bachelor’s in mathematics in 1971 and has more than 30 years experience as a financial analyst and investment banker. She is a fourth generation Hokie whose great grandfather, Daniel Franklin Hale, was a member Virginia Tech’s first class.
Caldwell has maintained a strong commitment to Virginia Tech, serving as a long-time member of the former College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Roundtable and as past chair of the College of Science Roundtable. She has served on the Virginia Tech Foundation Board of Directors, the Department of Mathematics Advisory Board, and the Quiet Phase Campaign Steering Committee, and is now a member of the College of Science Campaign Steering Committee and the Women and Leadership in Philanthropy Council. In recognition of her exceptional service, Caldwell received the first ever Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Science.
Caldwell, who holds an MBA from the State University of New York at Albany, cofounded Gordian Group LLC in 1988. Her financial advisory services firm specializes in complex and distressed situations and assists clients nationwide, in numerous industries. Caldwell previously worked 13 years for Citibank, where she founded its corporate finance and analysis department. She spent two years as a financial analyst with AT&T Bell Labs before joining Citibank.
Alumnus Joseph DeSimone receives alumni achievement award
Alumnus Joseph DeSimone, received the Graduate Alumni Achievement Award at the 2009 Graduate Commencement in Cassell Coliseum. DeSimone received his doctorate from Virginia Tech in 1990. He currently holds two chaired professorships: the chancellor’s eminent professor of chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), and the William R. Kenan, Jr. professor of chemical engineering at North Carolina State University. (more...)
College of Science alumnus receives highest North Carolina civilian honor
Virginia Tech alumnus Joseph M. DeSimone, of Chapel Hill, N.C., has received the 2009 North Carolina Award, the state's highest civilian honor.