Burruss Hall
800 Drillfield Drive
Burruss Hall is the main administration building on campus. It contains a 3,003-seat auditorium, a venue where major events such as commencement, presidential speeches, concerts, and arts shows are held.
Additionally, the building houses interior design and landscape architecture offices, studios,and classrooms for the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design.
Julian Ashby Burruss
Burruss Hall is named for eighth president Julian Ashby Burruss. In the 1920s, he admitted women as full-time students and cut the four-year military requirement for male students to two years, setting the stage for a larger civilian student body. He also organized a chapter of Phi Kappa Phi, put off-campus living to the test, brought athletics under the supervision of college authorities, and established the Engineering Experiment Station and Engineering Extension Division. Burruss was president from 1919 to 1945.
Building History
Virginia Tech’s administration building, Burruss Hall consists of the original building, completed in 1936; a west wing and rear addition, built in 1968; and an east wing, added in 1970. Commencement ceremonies were held in the building's 3,003-seat auditorium for years, beginning in 1936. An electronic carillon was installed in 1958. The first and second floors were renovated in 2007 for use by the College of Architecture and Urban Studies. The facility was originally known as the Teaching and Administration Building.
- Originally Built:
- 1936
- Map Grid:
- L-4
- Abbreviation / Number:
- BUR / 176
- Coordinates:
- 37.229, -80.42371