Dana Burnett–the Dick Clark of ODU

by Steve Daniel

Members of the university community, past and present, came together on campus Jan. 18 to pay tribute to a true ODU legend, Dana Burnett. Burnett guided the student body for more than 30 years – from 1974, when he was appointed dean of student affairs, to last summer, when he stepped down as vice president for student affairs and dean of students to become professor and chair of the educational leadership and counseling department.

When the university announced Burnett’s plans, President Roseann Runte praised him as “the mentor, the friend, the leader whom generations of students have trusted, admired and loved.”

Among the former students on hand to honor Burnett were Rick Adams ’81, Mike Gooding ’85 and Karen Scherberger ’77. Scherberger called Burnett “a great listener” who “helped us find our voice.” Gooding said he was indebted to Burnett from whom he learned “kindness, patience and humility.” And Adams praised the former dean of students for his “genuine inclusiveness.”

In a humorous tribute to Burnett’s longevity, Vice President for Administration and Finance Bob Fenning, who calls Burnett “the Dick Clark of ODU,” a reference to Burnett’s age-defying looks and long tenure at the university, presented a slide show of photos taken at campus events dating back to the 1930s. Burnett, amazingly, appears in each picture.

And while Burnett truly had not been around, let alone born, when Bud’s, the first student hangout, opened in the old Administration Building as one of the doctored pictures indicated, he is one of ODU’s longest-serving and most well-liked administrators – indeed, a Monarch legend.

Fans of ODU men’s and women’s basketball know that the university boasts one of the tallest players in the country, 7-3 Sam Harris, as well as one of the shortest, Jazzmin Walters, 5-2. The sizable gap between the two was well illustrated when assistant sports information director Kim Zivkovich got the players together for a photo shoot at the request of Hall of Famer and ODU alumna Nancy Lieberman, to accompany her Jan. 2 ESPN.com story on the diminutive Walters.

Although clearly short on stature, she’s long on talent. A sophomore who came to ODU as the 2005 Tidewater Player of the Year (with a 23.8 ppg average), Jazz broke into the starting Lady Monarch lineup early in the 2006-07 season, and through the first 19 games was averaging 5.9 points, 2.5 assists and two steals. A fearless competitor on offense who’s not afraid to take it to the hole against much taller players (though none quite as tall as Sam), she is, on defense, as annoying and relentless as a gnat on a hot summer’s day. The long and short of it is that Walters is passionate about the game of basketball. Quoted in Lieberman’s story, coach Wendy Larry says, “Her heart is bigger than her body.”

To read the story, go to http://sports.espn.go.com/ncw/columns/story?columnist=lieberman_nancy&id=2715531