The unimaginable events of Sept. 11 left their tragic mark on the Old Dominion University community. By press time, we had received reports of the deaths of one alumnus and three of our Military Career Transition students who were stationed at the Pentagon. Two students lost their husbands in the terrorist attacks, one lost a mother, one a wife, one a grandfather and one a mother-in-law. Also, an employee on campus had a sister who died in the World Trade Center attacks.

The alumnus who died, U.S. Navy Cmdr. Robert A. Schlegel, was deputy current operations and plans branch head at the Pentagon. Schlegel earned his master's degree in international studies from Old Dominion in 1992. Originally from Gray, Maine, Schlegel was 38.

On the morning of Sept. 11, students gathered in front of the television screens in Webb Center, silently watching the shocking images from the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Just hours after the attacks, the Office of Student Services and University Chaplains Association organized a prayer service on the front steps of the student center. In the aftermath of the attacks, students, faculty and staff did what they could to help the victims, from raising money for relief efforts to giving blood to holding a candlelight vigil on Kaufman Mall. The thing no one could do, though, was make sense of what had happened.

President Roseann Runte established a scholarship fund in memory of the members of the Old Dominion community and their loved ones who lost their lives. Donations may be sent to the Educational Foundation, c/o Office of the President, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Va. 23529.

The Office of Alumni Relations has been busy of late, planning everything from basketball-game socials and dances (see page 6) to establishing a new Faculty/Staff Alumni Chapter. As it turns out, approximately 450 Old Dominion employees hold degrees from the university. Ashley Privott '97, acting director of the Dominion Fund, is serving as the group's first president.

Another recent development in the alumni office was the appointment of Claire Geiger Ackiss '99 as interim director of alumni relations. She succeeds Charlie Roddy, who stepped down after five years in the position. Claire is a familiar face to many alumni, having worked in the office since 1985. She was named an associate director in 1999 and last year assumed the additional duties of coordinator of governmental relations for the university. Those who have worked with her know that Claire has high levels of enthusiasm and energy, so you should expect to hear about even more exciting alumni events in the months ahead.

It is a tradition that outgoing Alumni Association presidents receive an Old Dominion chair in honor of their service, but Rob Gies '90 (M.E.M. '94), who served as president for 2000-01, politely declined the offer at the association's annual meeting in June.

Instead, he added some of his own money to the price of the chair and purchased a university bench in honor of his parents and in-laws. The bench is located in one of the many scenic areas on campus, near the Oceanography and Physics Building pond. Rob, an engineering supervisor at Newport News Shipbuilding, lives in Chesapeake with his wife, Louisa Manalac Gies '88 (M.P.A. '95), and their son, Austin.

This is not a "theme" issue of the magazine, but two of our feature stories do offer their own slants on cars and travel - and both were written by alumni. Denny Cobb '75 penned a fascinating account of what he called the ultimate road trip, retracing the old Route 66 from Chicago to L.A. Those who watched TV in the early '60s will know where he got his inspiration. Steve Waid '70, who has covered NASCAR since 1972, wrote the other "car" feature about another alumnus, Ashton Lewis Jr. '96. By the time this issue hits the streets Lewis will have finished his first full year as a driver on the NASCAR Busch Series circuit. He is a rarity in professional racing, being one of only five drivers in the Winston Cup and Busch series combined who have college degrees.

--Steve Daniel, Editor