Chuck ’69 and Betsy Gordon

A lifelong connection to Virginia Tech leads to strengthening research through graduate support

Charles (Chuck) Gordon ’69 has spent a lifetime building on the foundation Virginia Tech gave him — and giving back to the university that has been part of his family for generations.

Inspired by the Moraco Fellowship Challenge and the opportunity to make an immediate difference, Gordon and his wife, Elizabeth (Betsy), established a fellowship to support graduate students in the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. The fellowship is designed to help attract and retain talented graduate students, ensuring they have the resources needed to continue their research at Virginia Tech.

“Graduate students play a critical role in the university’s research mission,” Gordon said. “If we can help them stay at Virginia Tech and continue their work here, that strengthens the university and its impact.”

After Gordon graduated with a degree in industrial engineering, he worked for his family’s furniture manufacturing business, Gordon’s Incorporated. The company was later acquired by Thomasville Furniture, where Gordon served as a senior officer through the mid‑1990s. Today, he remains actively involved in another multigenerational family enterprise, Tri‑City Beverage, best known for producing the regional favorite Dr. Enuf — now in its 77th year — and for being the first bottler of Mountain Dew.

Virginia Tech has remained a constant presence throughout Gordon’s life. His father, an alum of the class of 1942 and a past rector of the university, was deeply involved in supporting the institution, setting an example of service and philanthropy. Gordon proudly continued that Hokie legacy: his twin children are both third-generation Hokies, and his family remains closely connected to campus life in Blacksburg.