When Bill Whitehurst and his wife agreed to endow a scholarship as part of ODU’s current capital campaign, the university saw an opportunity to help even more students down the road via the gravitas of the Whitehurst name.

Borrowing a humorous line he has been known to deliver from his philosophy as a U.S. Congressman – “When you hear good news, stand next to it” – ODU has taken the maxim a step further by announcing a companion scholarship, which will seek gifts from the popular history professor’s former students.

By his own estimate, Whitehurst has taught 7,000 students at Old Dominion, and still has the grade books to prove it. A number of the students he instructed in his early years at the Norfolk Division and Old Dominion College – 1950 to 1969, before he went to Washington – recently received a letter from ODU President Roseann Runte asking for a contribution.

And while those he has taught since returning to campus in 1987 as Kaufman Lecturer of Public Affairs won’t be formally contacted (the idea was to ask for donations from alumni who have been in the “real world” the longest), they, too, are welcome to contribute.

Whitehurst, or “Dr. Bill” as he is affectionately known by students and colleagues, said he and his wife, Janie, are endowing a $25,000 scholarship in their name as one way to give back to the institution that has meant so much to them.

“Lewis Webb was like a second father to me,” Whitehurst said, recalling his early days at the Norfolk Division. “I have so many great memories. It’s a great school, and my wife and I are pleased to do this.

“It’s so expensive to attend college now. Two-thirds of my students work and are putting themselves through school, so it’s gratifying to know that these scholarships will give a leg up to future students.”

The Whitehursts’ endowed award will go to a history major with a minimum GPA of 3.0 who has financial need, and the Friends of Dr. G. William Whitehurst Scholarship will be awarded to an undergraduate student from any discipline, with a minimum GPA of 3.0, who is eligible for the federal Pell Grant. “Many of the students who had me, actually most of the students, were not history majors,” Whitehurst noted.

At age 80, Whitehurst is showing no signs of letting up, and is back in the classroom this fall doing what he loves. It is, he confides, a simple formula for a long and happy life.