(Roanoke, Va.) — Virginia Tech President Emeritus Charles William Steger Jr. died Sunday evening at his home, the university announced today.

Steger was president during historic highs and lows – from unprecedented growth to Tech’s entrance to the Atlantic Coast Conference to the 2007 campus shootings.

Steger served as the university’s 15th president from 2000 to 2014.

Under his leadership, Virginia Tech charted a course to become a top research university; a year after his retirement, the university’s research expenditures ranked 39th in the nation. During his presidency, Virginia Tech increased its total research expenditures from $192 million to more than $450 million, according to the release.