Elizabeth McClanahan

Justice (ret.) Elizabeth A. McClanahan serves as Chief Executive Officer of Virginia Tech Foundation, Inc. (VTF). Located in Blacksburg, Virginia, VTF is an independent nonstock corporation established in 1948 for the sole purpose of managing Virginia Tech’s endowment and real estate portfolio. VTF’s wholly owned for-profit subsidiary, Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, Inc., is a research park that catalyzes commercialization and industry collaboration.

Justice McClanahan began her legal career in private practice at Penn, Stuart & Eskridge, where she later became a shareholder, director, and management committee member. She was admitted to six state bars – Virginia, District of Columbia, Maryland, West Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky – and earned a Martindale-Hubbell AV Rating.

After practicing in the private sector, Justice McClanahan served as Virginia's Chief Deputy Attorney General and on the Court of Appeals of Virginia. Her legal career culminated with her appointment by the Virginia General Assembly to Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia.

Before joining VTF, Justice McClanahan served as the President and Dean at Appalachian School of Law in Buchanan County, Virginia, her home county. Justice McClanahan has served as Chair of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia; Vice Rector of her alma mater, the College of William and Mary; Williamson Fellow at William and Mary College of Law; Street Memorial Distinguished Visitor in Real Estate Law at Appalachian School of Law; El Paso Natural Gas Law Fellow at the University of Colorado School of Law; and on the Faculty for the Summer Management Program at Wake Forest School of Business and Accountancy. She is an adjunct professor of finance at Virginia Tech’s Pamplin College of Business, where she teaches Legal, Financing, and Ethical Issues for Entrepreneurs.

Justice McClanahan is an active member of boards of directors, including the Virginia Chamber of Commerce; the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine; Carilion Clinic; and Delta Dental of Virginia. Justice McClanahan has received civic and professional awards, including Virginia Jaycees Outstanding Young Virginian; the Roanoke Blacksburg Technology Council Ruby Award; Virginia Business Power 500; David M. Young Award, Virginia Oil & Gas Association; Virginia Lawyers Media “Influential Women of Virginia”; Virginia Business Legal Elite; the William Skelton Extension Leadership Award, Virginia Cooperative Extension; and The Top 50 Women Chief Executive Officers, Women We Admire.