Lewis M. Warren Jr. '83, New York City chair of The Campaign for Old Dominion University, is one of more than 40 alumni across the country who have accepted leadership roles in the university's first capital campaign.

In the coming months he will meet with fellow alumni in New York to encourage them to contribute to this $47.85 million fund-raising venture, which he believes to be a worthwhile cause. Warren himself has pledged $50,000 to the capital campaign. "I think what is so exciting at this moment in history for the university is that it dovetails so nicely with the end of this century," he said. "What this campaign is challenging Old Dominion to do is to provide the facilities for a university truly building itself into the 21st century."

Warren, who earned his bachelor's degree in political science from Old Dominion, also holds M.B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of Virginia. He is currently a director with Salomon Brothers in New York, one of the world's foremost investment banking firms and among the largest securities dealers in the world. A native of Chesapeake, Warren still stays in touch with many of his professors from Old Dominion. He was named a Distinguished Alumnus of the university in 1995. In describing his alma mater, Warren said Old Dominion is "a school that is not limited by ancient history, but is driven by the future."

And he believes that a successful capital campaign will better enable the university to educate future students and meet the needs of the Hampton Roads region. "I would say there's no more compelling need in a community than to have a world-class institution."