The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV to those who prefer governmental acronyms) approved the Virginia Tech proposal for an undergraduate degree in meteorology yesterday.   The program will start with the spring semester (January 2012) this coming academic year.   This is the first true meteorology degree program at a Virginia college/university and will thus keep prospective students and associated research efforts in state instead of having to pursue a meteorology degree program  somewhere out of state.  The only substantive question from the SCHEV that I am aware of is whether VT will offer a graduate meteorology degree in the future.

This is a victory for the state of Virginia in many ways.  Given that this degree program will be located within the Geography department at VT, the effects of the unique Virginia geography (mountains, Piedmont, and proximity to the Atlantic Ocean) on our weather will be more closely analyzed than ever.  These analyses can then be applied to better understand and predict local weather and its effects on our agriculture, commerce, and personal lives.  Congratulations to the hard-working folks in Blacksburg and elsewhere who laid the groundwork for this program!