Finding Balance: Pam Tate

Working at Virginia Tech since October 10, 2002

As assistant manager of Parking Services, Pam Tate makes decisions every day that balance the needs of community members for affordable parking with the university’s need to maintain its 16,000 parking spaces.

Tate’s job requires managing the logistical aspects of Parking Services. As an auxiliary of the university, the Office of Parking and Transportation must achieve its mission while being financially self-sufficient. The employees that Tate oversees as well as the work that they do maintaining the university’s parking lots are supported in whole by the revenue from permit sales, parking meters, and citation payments.

Q: What do you do on a day-to-day basis?

A: I manage the employees at our office. We oversee the parking for the university, we issue citations for people who park illegally, and we take permit payments and sell permits for people who park on campus. We also issue visitor permits to people visiting campus, and we oversee all of the facilities of the lots, as far as striping, painting, overlays, and snow removal are concerned.

I ensure that the day to day operations in our office run effectively. I also oversee the department’s policy and procedures to make sure we are in compliance with Virginia Tech guidelines. On top of that, I am the liaison for the department to interact with other departments on campus.

Q: How did you come to work here?

A: I’m from Pearisburg, Virginia in Giles County. I’ve lived there all my life. I worked in an optometrist’s office for 17 years before I took this job.  I had friends who worked here, and I have always loved the atmosphere and the beauty of the campus. I was hired as the supervisor for Parking’s secondary office at that time and a few years later, I was promoted to office manager, and then to assistant manager with the department.

My favorite part of my job is my coworkers. We are like family, and I truly enjoy each one of them.

Q: What do you like to do in your spare time?

A: We have seven grandkids who take up a lot of my free time, but I am a fan of archery and I go bow hunting a lot in the fall.

Written by Steve Barnett, a 2015 multimedia journalism graduate currently studying public relations.
First published: March 14, 2017