Professor Bruce Hull was named the Engaged Scholar for July by the university’s Outreach Council for his involvement in projects aimed at promoting sustainable land use and his role as advisor to a number of organizations, including the Southern Urban Wildland Interface Council, Model Forestry Policy Program, New River Valley Planning District Commission, and New River Valley Sustainable Communities Consortium.

Approached by Grayson County residents in 2005, Hull and fellow college faculty, including Harold Burkhart, Jim Johnson, and David Robertson, helped to create Grayson Landcare, a community-led group with active links to university faculty and resources. According to Hull, one of his long-held career interests is to develop conservation methods “that heal land fractured by urbanization and globalization.”

Soon afterward, residents of the Catawba Valley teamed up with university faculty to establish Catawba Landcare, which promotes “the triple-bottom-line of landcare — economy, community, and environment,” Hull said. “Mostly, it is about the residents taking charge of their future.” Hull was also instrumental in the university’s efforts to establish the Catawba Sustainability Center, a showcase for land-management practices that promote environmental stewardship. “Bruce has committed himself and his students to working alongside Catawba Valley landowners to care for the land,” said Christy Gabbard, center director. “This has paved the way for real change on the ground and has provided truly unique learning opportunities for Virginia Tech students.”

Contact: