Mugler Appointed Board Rector

The Old Dominion University Board of Visitors on Sept. 19 elected ODU graduate Ross Mugler, commissioner of the revenue for the city of Hampton, as rector for 2008-10. He succeeds Marc Jacobson. Also elected were retired Navy Adm. Harold W. Gehman Jr. as vice rector and Linda Forehand as secretary.

Forehand and Bill Chick, who are also ODU alumni, are among three new members who were appointed to the board in August by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine. The third appointee was David L. Bernd; Gehman was reappointed to a second four-year term.

Mugler, who becomes the 20th rector of the ODU board, has served in his current position with Hampton since 1992. He received two degrees from ODU: a bachelor’s in business administration in 1984 and a master’s in public administration in 2003. He became certified as commissioner of the revenue through the Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia.

Mugler is active in the Hampton Roads community, including serving as chair of the capital campaign for the expansion of the American Theatre, president of the Hampton Roads Commissioners of the Revenue Association and chairman of the Education Foundation at Thomas Nelson Community College. Additionally, he serves as a member of various other boards.

Gehman, of Virginia Beach, retired from the U.S. Navy in 2000 after more than 35 years of active duty service. His last assignment was as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic, and as the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Joint Forces Command, one of the United States’ five regional joint combatant commands.

Forehand, of Chesapeake, received a bachelor’s degree in political science/pre-law from ODU, graduating magna cum laude in 1980. She is the senior associate director of philanthropy for The Nature Conservancy. She has organized and directed The Nature Conservancy Golf Classic and assisted in the completion of TNC’s $52 million Wild Virginia Campaign. She is also a Realtor with Continental Realty in Virginia Beach. She completed postgraduate public administration course work at ODU, and is a 2004 graduate of the Civic Leadership Institute.

Chick, of Suffolk, received his bachelor’s degree in political science from ODU in 1970. He is the president and chief executive officer of Pepperdine Corp., a general building contractor, with total projects in excess of $360 million in Hampton Roads. Past projects include the ODU Folkes-Stevens Indoor Tennis Center and renovations to the ODU Health and Physical Education Building. Chick is also president of Pepperdine Properties, a property management and real estate holding company, and president of Pendleton Co., L.C., a residential real estate development company.

Bernd, of Virginia Beach, is the CEO of Sentara Healthcare. With Sentara since 1972, he has served as the executive vice president/chief operating officer of Sentara Health System, as well as the president of Sentara Hospitals-Norfolk. He previously served on the Virginia Wesleyan College board of trustees.