The Columbarium sits outside the Holtzman Alumni Center on Campus.
A new columbarium offers Virginia Tech alumni a final resting place bordering campus.
The columbarium, an above ground burial place for ashes, is located on a terrace on the grounds of the Holtzman Alumni Center. It was built with Hokie stone and has maroon granite covering each of its 60 niches. Each niche has room for two urns.
“It has a view toward the Duck Pond and to the campus,” said Tom Tillar, vice president of alumni relations. “It has a nice view from that rise and it has a nice tree beside it.
“The height may surprise you when you’re actually standing on the niche side. It’s tall, above your head.”
Tillar said many consider their experiences at college to be some of the most important of their lives, and that this columbarium gives them an opportunity to extend their connection to Tech. Spots in the columbarium cost $5,000.
The columbarium, funded in part by donations from a group of alumni and class gifts from the 2008 and 2010 graduating classes, currently has only one set of ashes, which were interred in November 2010, in time for Veterans Day.
Brent Blackwell, a member of Tech’s class of 1963 and the Corps of Cadets and Highty-Tighties, served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps.
His ashes were interred in a ceremony that included a bugler from the corps and the presentation of his sabre to the
corps.
Since the columbarium was finished, alumni response has been high.
“We’ve had, I’d say upwards of 50 calls of interest,” Tillar said. “They understand it’s likely to be very popular, so most of them who call say ‘I’d like to do this while there are still available niches.’”
Tillar explained that the site was designed with expansion in mind.
“When you stand behind it you can see that there could be additional walls constructed to hold more niches and border the terrace,” Tillar said.
Tech is one of several area schools with columbariums, including Duke University and the University of Virginia.
A version of this article appeared in the Mar 2 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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With this we now see VT will do most anything to make money....
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did you even read the article all the way through?
"Tech is one of several area schools with columbariums, including Duke University and the University of Virginia."
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Yes, I did read it, it is still kinda weird. Nice to follow Those schools....
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did you even read the article all the way through?
"Tech is one of several area schools with columbariums, including Duke University and the University of Virginia."
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This is just weird.
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I thought it was weird at first too. Butthis is better than people dumping ashes on drill field or in duck pond. People have been doing that anyway, because their loved one requested them to bring them back to VT campus, where they had the best years of their lives.
Many families are multi-generational Hokies. A beautiful final resting place to visit and honor those have gone before them when they bring the newest Hokies to campus. It's not a bad idea more I think about it.
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