Gary Kinder

Role and Background

Gary S. Kinder serves as the Senior Academic Advisor and First Year Experience Faculty for Building Construction (BC) in the Myers-Lawson School of Construction. He works with junior and senior-level students to assist them in their progression through their degrees to the point of graduating.  Additionally, he co-teaches the First Year Experience course which outlines career planning, industry research, critical thinking, and other important skills. Kinder joined Virginia Tech in 1998.

He also oversees the BC Student Ambassadors and routinely meets with prospective families, as well as incoming freshmen and transfer students, looking to enroll. He supports the department through curricular design including undergraduate and graduate course and program revisions.

Before joining Building Construction, Kinder most recently served as Director of Career Services for the Pamplin College of Business. He has spent his entire career in higher education, ranging from University President’s office Administrator to Assistant Director of Admissions, Director of Career Services, and Curriculum Development with his longest run in academic advising. He truly appreciates the student family within the Myers-Lawson School of Construction. He routinely answers the question, " ’Do you have kids?' 'Yes, I have over 500, and I love every one of them as if they were my own.’”  He takes the motto of “Ut Prosim” seriously and tries to live each day, professionally and personally, in service of those who are in need.

Education

Gary holds a M.A. in Educational Counseling from Virginia Tech and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing, from Radford University.