Fodrey Awarded Honorary Doctorate
By Steve Daniel

It seemed only fitting that the school he has loved and served for so many years present him with an honorary doctorate at fall commencement, just four days shy of his 90th birthday.

For Robert L. Fodrey Sr. ’57, one of the university’s pre-eminent volunteers, it was an appropriate tribute to one who devoted much of his time to making Old Dominion better.

He was a nontraditional student, earning his business administration degree at age 38 as a member of Old Dominion’s second four-year class. The Norfolk Division, as it was known then, was still five years away from becoming an independent institution.

Fodrey immediately adopted his alma mater as his special mission. As hard-working as he was soft-spoken, he played a key role in forming the Alumni Association, and served as its board president from 1958-60 and in 1987-88. He was a member of the Board of Visitors for eight years (1973-81), including a stint as vice rector.

In addition, Fodrey was a member of the President’s Council, served on the Educational Foundation board and chaired the Annual Fund campaign in 1987. He is a former president of Town-N-Gown and was a founder and president of CHROME, Cooperating Hampton Roads Organizations for Minorities in Engineering, which is based at the university. He is a lifetime member of Friends of the ODU Library and for years was a regular at the men’s and women’s basketball games. Fodrey was awarded the University Medal, Old Dominion’s highest honor, in 1986, and is a recipient of the Distinguished Alumni and Alumni Service awards.

ODU was not the only beneficiary of Fodrey’s brand of volunteerism. He served as president and board chairman of the Southeastern Tidewater Opportunity Program and was president of the Urban League of Hampton Roads. Fodrey, who at the time of his retirement was director of the U.S. Navy’s Regional Office of Civilian Manpower Management in Norfolk, gave a total of 41 years of federal service to the Navy in Hampton Roads.