Doug Curling (ACCT ’76, MACCT ’77) is such an active alumnus that it’s hard to believe Virginia Tech was not his first choice when he started applying to colleges.

“I was a bit rebellious and was sure I would have preferred somewhere else, since my parents went to Virginia Tech,” says Curling, of Roswell, Ga. “But I ended up visiting and liked it the best. I liked the feel of the town and the physical facilities. The diversity of the programs was great. I thought it would be a good fit for me, and it turned out to be a great fit.”

His accounting degrees prepared him for a career that has included being president and chief operating officer of ChoicePoint. He now runs New Kent Capital, a private money management firm, and sounds like an investor when discussing his reasons for supporting his alma mater as a philanthropist and volunteer.

Virginia Tech “has played an essential role in the education of my family, and we’ve done well,” he says. “I’m in a position where I have the time to give back, and I think I have some skills that I can bring, so it seems like a good investment on my part.”

Curling serves on the Pamplin Advisory Council and on the committees for both Pamplin and the Atlanta region within the Campaign for Virginia Tech: Invent the Future. He says he and his wife Donna established the Curling Professorship for Accounting and Information Systems not only to recognize his own education, but also in memory of his father Cal and uncle Jimmy, both Hokies.

Other Hokies in the family include Curling’s son Michael, who is in the MBA program, as well as Curling’s brother, Tom. And Curling’s mother Betty attended what is now Radford University back when it was part of Virginia Tech.

That same family history with Virginia Tech that made Curling question coming here in the first place is now a major factor keeping him involved.

— By Albert Raboteau, Development Communications