By Larry B. Dendy
Virginia Y. Trotter, who served as the university’s first vice president for academic affairs and was considered a role model for women in higher education, died Oct. 11 in Athens. She was 76.
 During her 40-year career as a teacher and administrator, Trotter broke ground for women aspiring to leadership positions in higher education.
She was assistant secretary for education in the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare when she was appointed to the new position of vice president for academic affairs at the University of Georgia in 1977. At the time, assistant secretary was the highest educational post a woman had held in the U.S. government.
The position of vice president for academic affairs was created as part of an administrative reorganization at UGA that merged the former positions of provost and vice president for instruction. Trotter, UGA’s first female vice president, was responsible for all areas of teaching, research and service as well as all other academic matters, including curriculum, faculty appointments and promotions, instructional resources and libraries.
“Dr. Trotter was one of a small cadre of women who helped pave the way for other women into leadership roles in higher education and government,” says Louise McBee, who succeeded Trotter as vice president in 1986. “In her long and varied career she made an enormous impact on education and on the many young professionals who knew or worked with her.”
A strong proponent of teaching excellence, Trotter created the Office of Instructional Development to provide resources to help faculty improve classroom performance. She also helped start a program in which senior professors serve as mentors to young faculty members.
Trotter was instrumental in helping organize and stage UGA’s 18-month bicentennial celebration in 1984-85. She helped expand the Honors Program and studies abroad programs for students, and played a central role in building a nationally recognized program in marine research and outreach at UGA.
An art collector, she avidly supported the university’s fine arts programs and had a special interest in the Georgia Museum of Art. An exhibition of her large collection of creches from around the world was one of the all-time favorite shows of museum visitors.
In appreciation for her support, the museum established the Virginia Y. Trotter Decorative Arts Endowment to build a major collection in the decorative arts.
Trotter stepped down as vice president in 1986 and served two years on the faculty of the College of Home Economics before retiring from UGA in 1988. In 1993, the University System Board of Regents named her vice president emeritus.
While on the home economics faculty, she organized a major national conference on employment of handicapped women. Held at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education, it was the first conference ever conducted on this topic for employers and potential employers.
“The University of Georgia made great strides during Dr. Trotter’s years of service,” says McBee. “As vice president for academic affairs, she was demanding, but also supportive, encouraging, fun-loving and generous to a fault. She cared deeply about the university, her family, her friends and those with whom she worked.”
She served as U.S. assistant secretary of education from 1974 to 1977. Previously she was vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Nebraska--the first woman to achieve this rank at a major U.S. land grant university.
She held a number of other positions at the University of Nebraska, including dean of the College of Home Economics, associate dean of the College of Agriculture and Home Economics, and associate director of the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Agricultural Extension Service.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the UGA Foundation, designated for the Virginia Trotter Decorative Arts Endowment at the Georgia Museum of Art.
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