An eye to the future

Following his graduation in 1948 with a degree in electrical
engineering, the late Horace Fralin went on to forge a partnership in
Fralin and Waldron Inc., a company that specialized in federal housing
programs, health care facilities, and retirement centers. The company
has also been involved with the rehabilitation of buildings in downtown
Roanoke.

Fralin was a charter member of Virginia Tech's Ut Prosim Society and
was a Corporate Distinguished Benefactor, Founding member of the
Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center Board of Directors, and served
as president of the Virginia Tech Foundation. He served on the Virginia
Tech Board of Visitors, College of Engineering Committee of 100
Advisory Board, Virginia Tech Foundation Executive and Finance
Committee, and was chairman of the Hotel Roanoke advisory Committee.
The Virginia Tech Alumni Association recognized his leadership by
honoring Fralin with the Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award; and in
1992 the university conferred upon him its most distinguished award for
service, the William H. Riffner Medal.

Fralin's bequest to Virginia Tech, valued at $8.6 million, is one of
the largest gifts in university history. Four million dollars of his
gift was, at his request, earmarked for the study and application of
biotechnology. These funds have been used to create a permanent
endowment for the center. The proceeds from the endowment are used to
match contributions and grants from other sources to continue the
outreach, teaching, and research missions of the Fralin Center. Through
this endowment, Horace Fralin will continue to support research in the
fields of human and animal health and agricultural productivity forever.