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Cranwell family gifts $7 million to Virginia Tech to support international students

Amy Friedenberger 19 hrs ago

A Southwest Virginia family has given Virginia Tech $7 million to support programs and services for international students, the university announced Wednesday.

The Cranwell family’s donation — the largest the university’s student affairs has ever received — will benefit the Cranwell International Center, which is named after the family. The center responds to the specific needs of the international community, which is made up of 4,000 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 100 countries.

Bill Cranwell and his wife, Ellen, and his brother Bob Cranwell and his wife, Susie, pooled together the donation. The brothers are graduates of Virginia Tech.

The family’s donation has already been put to use on some initiatives, including pre-departure programs in China, the International Street Fair, various intercultural training programs and the Global Fellow in Residence Program that provides short-term housing for a globally-oriented researcher or speaker. The funds will also be put toward improving the center’s Mozaiko Living-Learning Community, which opened four years ago for U.S. and international students to live together with the mission for students to learn about one another’s cultures.

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Amy Friedenberger
Amy Friedenberger is a reporter for The Roanoke Times. Follow her on Twitter at @ajfriedenberger. She can be reached at 540-981-3356 or amy.friedenberger@roanoke.com.