Bruce Harper
Bruce Harper first attended Virginia Tech as a student in the early 1970s, and then returned as an employee in 1986. For the past few decades, he has served as the university's webmaster. Bruce spoke with us in May 2022 about his career in information systems and media at Virginia Tech, which has spanned the evolution of the internet.
Three to six months or until project ends....
Bruce first started working at Virginia Tech in 1986, when he was hired to edit and organize policy handbooks. That job led him down a path that included editing and presentation of information online, from the days of the mainframe to the world wide web. As of 2023, Bruce remains the university's "webmaster," a title he's held for many years.
Remembering student life in the 1970s
Like many Virginia Tech employees, Bruce first came to the university as a student. He shares what passed for "high tech" and reminisces about administrative tasks such as drop/add in the analog days.
The journey of Virginia Tech's information systems
Bruce's career placed him in a unique position and time frame. In these clips, Bruce talks about the "Single Source Document," philosophy introduced by former VP of Information Systems Bob Heterick, which influenced how administrative informationat the university, such as policies and procedures, was managed. He then takes us down the road from PROFS ( PRofessional OFfice System) to INFO to GOPHER, ROLM phones and modems, and finally to the world wide web. Enjoy!
Virginia Tech is on the web!
In these next few clips, Bruce talks about the early years of Virginia Tech's main public-facing website: vt.edu. He recalls the planning process, the growing pains of early web design, and the gradual migration of content such as the Virginia Tech news and daily email to the web. You can also view snapshots of early websites here.
Bruce Harper's experiences from April 16
Bruce was at work in the New Media Building the morning of the April 16 tragedy. He shared his experiences and what his team did to update the website and manage communications in the following days. Tied to this event is the installation of the webcam in Burruss Hall, which remains in place today.
For awareness: these next two videos discuss aspects of the events of April 16, 2007.
The class ring that went from the bottom of the sea to across the sea
As webmaster, Bruce has received emails from a wide variety of people for an even wider variety of reasons. One exchange he remembers especially is the story of the person who contacted him hoping to locate the owner of a Virginia Tech class ring that went overboard.