Q: I know that you've had one of the longest tenures at Tech of a lot of the administrative positions. How have you noticed the atmosphere changing from when you first started here until today?
A: Well, there's actually kind of a double answer to that because I first started here in the late '60s, when I came as a student, and significant changes were taking place at that time … One of the things that I think that I noticed the most when I came back, and frankly, it's I think the theme that describes us after April 16, and that is, people really enjoy going to school here; people really like it. When I went to school, when I was your age, that was the Vietnam era and everybody was angry and people were protesting and schools were not necessarily fun places, colleges weren't. Now, they are, but particularly Virginia Tech is. And I think that you as a student probably have experienced this really sense of community, people really like it. Tech is the place to go to school in the state of Virginia; this year we set a record again for applications, almost 21,000 applications. That's the thing I think that hasn't changed, and that is, at least over the last 20 years, although I think April 16 really put a spotlight on it, is that there is a strong sense of community at Virginia Tech.
Q: What about over the past year, an attitude shift? We're known for the positive things that came out of April 16 — is there anything else to say about the past year?
A: Certainly the last year has intensified that. It's made people more sensitive to the need for community, and for the need to help and support. It's been hard as well; it's been compounded by, at least at the administrative level, the work pace and the tension. But as that begins to get back to a level of normality, I believe that this experience of communal support is going to help us. The one thing that continues to amaze me is this love of rock. I mean, to think that "Hokie Stone" ended up being what we use to memorialize 32 lost lives… I don't know what it is about the attachment to dolomite, but we got it.
Q: I know that your job is collaborative with the media, obviously, but have your feelings changed toward it since last April?
A: Yes and no. I have become very close to several reporters, because we endured it together; I mean, it was a cauldron for all of us. I really, really understand and respect the role of the media in our society better than before. I've always been the apologist for the first amendment. Everybody loves to hate the media, right? But we don't realize in this country how much we rely on the media for so many things … It really is fundamental to our society. I'll give you what I've said publicly, and media was true to form: National media blew into town, had to solve the problems in 48 hours. Broadcast media has got its problems, and the print media are the ones that I end up relying on to make sure that the story was right.
Q: Was there anything that stuck out in your mind as being extraordinary coverage, that you would think back on and be glad to have that piece of history?
A: Yeah, I will tell you that there is nothing harder for a reporter to write than a story about a sudden death. To see those folks having to do it 32 times, to see what you guys did, to see the Roanoke Times, and The New York Times and The Washington Post … and to do it delicately and appropriately was helpful to me because I was in a maelstrom. The first week, well you saw it; we didn't get any sleep for a week. We hardly knew what was going on, and that's how I found out what was going on. Believe it or not, I read the newspaper, that's how I found out who these wonderful people were. So yeah, I think that was very helpful to me and to the world, because that's where I talk about the service that the media does for us. We hate the intrusion in our lives, certainly those mourning and grieving families hated the intrusion, and that's how the rest of the world was able to mourn with us.
Q: You mention the days without sleep and endless work; following the shootings there was sort of a whirlwind of controversy surrounding a lot of authority figures at Virginia Tech and the procedure of handling the situation. However, there seemed to be a unanimous approval of how you handled the situation. There was a moment in the days following the shootings when you were at a press briefing trying to deliver the latest news, and you were visibly exhausted. A reporter said, "Larry, you're doing a great job," and you received an ovation from the whole room. How did that make you feel, would you say that was a defining career moment?
A: You know, I guess maybe some people would say that. I've jokingly said the only reason that happened was because they were just as exhausted as I was. That was Thursday afternoon; I'll tell you the little story leading up to that. The previous day, I was speaking with the public information officer for the state police, Corinne Geller, and I was with Corinne and with the superintendent of the state police saying, "How do you know when its time to move on with the crisis?" And Corinne said, "You know Larry, sometimes the crisis is over when you say it's over." Of course our crisis wasn't over then, but it was the point when I said, "You know, we've got nothing left to do. We have been conducting press briefings two times a day, I can't go on anymore. I am beat." So the next morning, we had an excellent press briefing, we covered a lot of ground, it was an hour and fifteen minutes in that press briefing on Thursday morning. So when we came back in Thursday afternoon, that's when I said, "Hey, it's just time to go home." Then I think I said, "this ain't the White House, I don't know where we go from here." So it was nice because we literally made a conscious choice on Monday when I talked to President Steger and Chief Flinchum and I said, "Our communications objective is going to be transparent, objective, and let them know we've got nothing to hide. The world needs to peer inside here." So they did.
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