Alan T. Lingerfelt
Civil Engineering
Class of 1976, BS
Where is your hometown?
Richmond, Virginia
How did what you learned at Virginia Tech impact your career?
I only stayed in design for four years. The engineering degree taught me leadership skills and how to think.
Why did you choose your profession?
From the time I was eight years old, I had already developed an acute admiration for my father and knew that I wanted to emulate his professional career, his vision, and his extraordinary sense of honesty and fair dealings. Dad graduated from Virginia Tech in 1952 with a degree in civil engineering and pursued an entrepreneurial 40 year career in engineering design, construction, and real estate development after forming his own company in 1957. So I knew as a child that I wanted to pursue a degree in civil engineering and to one day follow in his footsteps and take over his company.
Why did you decide to come to Virginia Tech?
Besides the direct influence my Dad’s professional career had on me, both my mother and father had graduated from Virginia Tech. It certainly helped that Tech had one of the top civil engineering schools in the U.S., but there was never any question about what school I wanted to attend. It certainly helped to have been raised on Hokie football, and the opportunities to play in the Highty Tighties and to sing in the Virginia Tech New Virginians sealed the deal.
Who influenced you during your career and/or time at Virginia Tech?
Professor W.W. Payne, Professor Paul Torgerson, Director of New Virginians Stan Kingma, and multiple other professors in the College of Engineering.
What’s one of your favorite memories from Virginia Tech?
Dr. Payne was the first engineering professor that I had been introduced to. He had been a friend of my Dad’s, so we befriended one another. There were many topics during my four years at Tech that I discussed with him, and he always made himself available to me and provided good counsel. Dr. Torgerson was obviously a great leader of the College of Engineering and of the University. I admired his leadership in his roles at the University. Stan Kingma was an exceptional leader, conductor and musician who took the Virginia Tech New Virginians across the United States entertaining hundreds of thousands of people. He had a direct, no nonsense leadership style and demanded excellence from everyone with whom he dealt. I was very proud to have traveled with him and the new Virginians during my time at Virginia Tech.
DEGREES
B.S. in Civil Engineering, Virginia Tech, 1976.
PROFESSIONAL ROLES
Chairman and CEO, Lingerfelt Commonwealth Partners (2013- Present); Chairman, Lingerfelt Development, LLC (2007-2017); Senior Vice President, Liberty Property Trust (1995-2007); Founder and President, Lingerfelt Development Corporation
(1978-1995); Founder and President, Lingerfelt and Associates (1976-2017).
ADVISORY BOARDS, COMMITTEES
President, Skidmore Hunt Association (present); President, VCU Circle of Excellence (present); President, Richmond Real Estate Group (present); Member, Virginia Tech College of Engineering Committee of 100 (present); President, American Society of Civil Engineers - Virginia; Founding chair, Richmond Joint Engineers Council; President, National Association of Industrial and Office Parks, Virginia; Director, VCU Real Estate Foundation; Fellow, Rotary International; Inductee, Virginia Tech Department of Civil Engineering Academy of Distinguished Alumni; Member, Virginia Tech College of Engineering Advisory Board; Member, Ut Prosim Society; Member, Virginia Tech CEE Alumni Board; Member, Virginia Tech ICTAS task force; Director, Averette University.
Class of: 1976
Year Inducted into Academy: 2017