The position of Executive Vice-President at Virginia Tech was established in 1968 as a result of the reorganization of the University's top-level administration. Warren Brandt served from 1968 to 1969, followed by William James McKeefery from 1969 to 1973, and William E. Lavery from 1973 to 1974, when the position was eliminated and he became President of the university. However, other positions have used "Executive Vice President" as part of their titles since the 1980s.

William James McKeefery (1918-1987) served as the second Executive Vice President of Virginia Polytechnic Institite from 1969 to 1973. He was educated at University of Pennsylvania (B.S., Electrical Engineering, 1941), Princeton Theological Seminary (B.D., Theology, 1945), and Columbia University (Ph.D., Philosophy, 1949). A lieutenant in the U.S. Navy during World War II, McKeefery was also Assistant Professor (1948-1949) and Dean of the Faculty (1950-1958) at Alma College, Alma, Michigan; Vice President at Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas (1958-1961); and Dean of Academic Affairs at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale (1961-1969). He is the author of A Critical Analysis of Psychological Studies of Religious Phenomena (Eagle Press, 1950), Curriculum Study: Master Plan for Higher Education, State of Illinois (1964), and Parameters of Learning: Perspectives in Higher Education (Southern Illinois University Press, 1970).