BY JENNIFER MULLEN

With rising enrollments of cadets, midshipmen and officer candidates over the past four years, the Reserve Officers' Training Corps programs at Old Dominion are countering a national trend.

"ROTC numbers are down nationally because of military downsizing," according to retired Navy Capt. F. Richard Whalen, director of military activities at the university. "But Old Dominion University is getting a larger share due to the excellent reputation of the university, its commitment to the program and innovative marketing." Fall enrollments have not been finalized, but preliminary indications are that the Navy ROTC ranks will swell to 205 midshipmen and officer candidates, about 80 of whom are freshmen. In 1994-95 there were only 88 students in the program; last year's enrollment was 175.

Old Dominion's Army ROTC battalion also has shown increases in recent years, from a low of 63 students in 1994-95 to a projected 110 this year, including 46 freshmen. And more students will soon be added to the program this fall under a new agreement with Virginia Wesleyan University.

In addition to acting as liaison between the university and the Department of Defense and local military installations, Whalen also has the additional responsibility of overseeing both the Army and Navy ROTC programs and ensuring the university's commitment to both. "ROTC programs traditionally belong to academic divisions and possess academic orientations," Whalen noted. "At Old Dominion, ROTC units continue to report to their respective academic divisions for all academic issues - Navy to the College of Engineering and Technology and Army to the College of Business and Public Administration. But for operational matters, the units report to the Office of Military Activities in order to strengthen the effectiveness of the programs." The university also supports ROTC programs with scholarships, academic programs and marketing initiatives. This year Old Dominion committed approximately $290,000 worth of scholarship incentives, including tuition, room and board and military and technical scholarships. With fewer government scholarships available, Whalen said, this support enables the program to recruit more students.

"Old Dominion University has come forward and said your success is our success," Lt. Col. Michael Boyle, new commanding officer of the Army ROTC program, noted. "With these initiatives from the university I can attract the high achievers."

According to Capt. Patrick Hunt, new commanding officer of the Hampton Roads Navy ROTC Consortium of Old Dominion, Norfolk State and Hampton universities, Old Dominion attracts many enlisted Navy personnel because of its mechanical engineering technology (nuclear emphasis) program. In the nuclear engineering program, military and civilians who have completed the Navy's nuclear power school are eligible to receive up to 42 credit hours of advanced standing toward a bachelor's degree.

The university's strong nursing program also draws many students from both the Army and the Navy ranks.

"The university understands and appreciates the kind of students active-duty military members make and has turned its attention to recruit those students," Hunt said. "As a result, Old Dominion's reputation has grown."

A considerable amount of ROTC staff energy is spent on actively recruiting prospective students. Navy ROTC personnel attend a Boost seminar each October to speak to recent high school graduates and enlisted seamen enrolled in the one-year naval preparatory program, as well as host Boost students on campus. They send letters to the national scholarship winners in the Navy's enlisted commissioning education program, as well as visit local high schools. Old Dominion's Navy ROTC unit also offers mentoring to junior ROTC units at three regional high schools, Decatur High School in Berlin, Md., Varina High School in Richmond and Heritage High School in Newport News.

In addition to its outreach programs and mailing campaigns, the Army ROTC program retains a recent graduate as a "peer recruiter." Lt. Matthew Bray, a May graduate with a bachelor's degree in psychology, spent the summer attending the university's freshman Previews, making calls to interested high school graduates and attending high school awards ceremonies.

"The idea of the peer recruiter program is that incoming freshmen will respond to me because I'm not that far removed from college," Bray explained. "And since I graduated from Old Dominion, I can also give them an inside look at the university."

Perhaps the biggest advantage the university has over other institutions, however, is its location, according to Whalen. "ROTC students at Old Dominion have professional development opportunities, access to high-ranking military leaders and access to the military hardware because of the proximity to one of the largest military installations in the country," he said.

"Old Dominion University offers future military leaders a professional head start."