Patricia "Trish" Hammer

Patricia “Trish” W. Hammer is the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Graduate Studies in the Virginia Tech College of Science. 

Prior to joining Virginia Tech, she served Hollins University with distinction for over 25 years as both a faculty member and senior administrator.  Most recently Dr. Hammer served as the Vice President for Academic Affairs at Hollins and as Hollins’ chief academic officer working closely with the university president to provide visionary leadership and direction.  She was instrumental in the development of Hollins’ two most recent strategic plans which have resulted in increased enrollment, improved retention and enhanced institutional reputation as well as a bold reimagination of liberal arts education for the 21st century.  In close collaboration with faculty, Dr. Hammer provided strong and ambitious leadership in curriculum development (including new programs in leadership, environmental studies, environmental science, clinical psychology, data analysis, applied economics, public health, social justice, creative writing, musical theatre and well-being), shared governance, faculty and program reviews, and data-driven decision-making.   

Prior to her appointment as Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Hammer served as the Dean of Academic Services at Hollins, where she provided leadership of all areas of academic support; student orientation and the annual Career Connection Conference (C3); academic advising by student success leaders and faculty; the first year seminar program; and learning disabilities and accommodations.  

Dr. Hammer is a triple Hokie, having completed her B.S. and M.S. degrees as well as her Ph.D., all in mathematics, at Virginia Tech.  Upon completion of her degrees, she joined the Hollins Department of Mathematics and Statistics, where she rose through the faculty ranks from assistant to full professor. Highlights of her teaching and research career include spearheading the restructuring of the mathematics curriculum at Hollins and co-leading the creation of a nationally recognized quantitative reasoning across the curriculum program. In addition, she developed courses at all levels, including non-linear dynamics, chaos, fractals, game theory, and cryptology. She conducted successful research in applied mathematics involving the design and analysis of quasilinearization-based parameter identification schemes for partial and ordinary differential equations with applications in heat flow, turbulence, and fluid flow, with publications in the Journal of Online Mathematics and Its Applications, Maple Tech, and the Journal of Mathematical Systems, Estimation and Control.

Away from work, Dr. Hammer is a passionate reader, paddleboarder, shopper, sailor, dog walker and (bad) math joke teller.