By Barbara L. Micale

Alumnus Mike Anzilotti serves on Board of  Visitors, focuses on university goals to achieve diversity and promote Hokies Respect

Hokie Spirit is something that Michael Anzilotti, president of Virginia Commerce Bancorp Inc., and member of the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors, knows a lot about - from personal experience.

He will proudly tell you he is a graduate of Virginia Tech, as are his two children, and his daughter-in-law.  And one day he hopes to boast that his four grandchildren are graduates of the university, too. "They're young, but we're already dressing them up in Hokie attire," he quips.

Anzilotti has been an active alumnus since earning an undergraduate degree from the Pamplin School of Business in 1971. "I've stayed connected to the university and Blacksburg through good friends, alumni activities, and of course, Hokie football games," he says.

Over the years, Anzilotti, who resides and works in northern Virginia, has served the community with active participation in numerous business and education-related organizations. These include the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce, the Fairfax County School Superintendent's Business/Industry Advisory Council, the Northern Virginia Business Roundtable, the George Mason University Foundation, Inc. (Anzilotti earned his master's degree from GMU), the Northern Virginia Community College Educational Foundation, Inc., and the Virginia Business Higher Education Council.

So it is not at all surprising that Virginia Tech President Charles Steger took notice and asked Anzilotti if he would be interested in serving on Virginia Tech's Board of Visitors. The offer was formalized by Governor Mark Warner in 2003 and Governor Tim Kaine recently appointed Anzilotti to a second term, which will expire in 2011.

For the past three years, Anzilotti has chaired the Board of Visitor's Student Affairs Committee.  The committee has focused much of its attention to helping achieve diversity by fostering the university's Principles of Community, and promoting Hokies Respect, Virginia Tech's goal to achieve a reputation of exemplary hospitality and respect for both opponents and fellow Hokie fans.

"We love winning," Anzilotti says. "But in the true Hokie spirit, we want to win with class. We want to lead the ACC, and the nation, as a model for hospitality and sportsmanship." He lauds the decision several years ago to move the university's football team into the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). "This has given Virginia Tech a true sense of belonging; it's exactly where we should be," he says.

Anzilotti has spent his entire career in the banking industry, having joined First Virginia Bank as a management trainee in the accounting department after graduating from Virginia Tech in 1971. He held a number of positions over the years, subsequently rising to the position of president and CEO of First Virginia Bank in Northern Virginia. In 2004, he was named president of Virginia Commerce Bancorp's holding company.

The banking executive says he is a big proponent of  "walking around management," explaining that "to be an effective manager you need to inspect what you are responsible for." He applies that philosophy to his work with Virginia Tech, allowing time in his busy schedule to visit the Blacksburg campus and talk with students, staff, faculty, and administrators.

These visits also evidence the many changes in the campus environment since Anzilotti's undergraduate days. During the past three decades, the university has shifted from a military, male-dominated institution to a "true" university, he says. 

The National Capital Region, with its expanding graduate education and outreach programs, and research opportunities, is an important factor in the university's growth, says Anzilotti.  "Being so close geographically to organizations like the NIH {National Institutes of Health} is a great asset as Virginia Tech fosters growth in the region," he says.

 "The economics of the region -- people with higher levels of education and income levels - also provides an opportunity for greater resources," Anzilotti says. "We have tens of  thousands of Virginia Tech alumni in the northern Virginia area and we need to come up with more effective ways of reaching out to them, bringing them together, and getting them more involved with the university."

In the summer of 2005, Anzilotti was among board of visitors members who toured the Virginia Tech Center for European Studies and Architecture (CESA), in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland, site of  the university's study-abroad programs. During that visit, the board also conducted meetings with presidents from Swiss, German, and Italian universities to discuss potential joint instructional programs and research partnerships. "This was such a positive experience," says Anzilotti.  "I left Switzerland believing that the university should do anything it can to facilitate greater use of this center for both students and faculty."

Anzilotti and his wife, Jane, like to travel, especially visiting their children and grandchildren, who are just a few hours away.  When the weather cooperates, they also enjoy boating and golfing.

And during fall weekends, chances are you'll find Anzilotti in the stands at Lane Stadium, rooting for the Hokies. 

Posted October 10, 2007