sentences:  He encouraged diversity—minority student enrollment increased 26 percent in 1990—and supported the appointment of minorities and women to administrative positions.He oversaw the reorganization of athletics and the recruitment of an academic advising coordinator for athletes, transferred operations of the Alumni Association to the university’s administrative system, and placed administration of Virginia Cooperative Extension under the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.During his tenure, research spending reached $125 million, the school of forestry became Tech’s ninth college, U.S. News & World Report ranked Tech in the top 50 national universities, Tech joined the Big East football conference, McComas established the Presidential Award for Excellence to recognize outstanding classified staff members, Tech joined the town and C&P Telephone Company in unveiling the Blacksburg Electronic Village, and serious planning began for a "smart" highway between Blacksburg and Roanoke.