Alumni Association "steps up" to support higher-ed bond referendum

The Old Dominion University Alumni Association (ODUAA) is doing its part to support the statewide campaign for passage of the higher education bond referendum, which will go before Virginia voters on Nov. 5.

Public colleges and universities, including community colleges, throughout the state would benefit from the passage of the bond package.

Old Dominion would receive $44,269,802 to finance desperately needed renovations to a number of instructional facilities - Technology Building, Batten Arts and Letters Building, Hughes Hall and Alfriend Chemistry Building - and the construction of a physical sciences building and a new Tri-Cities Higher Education Center in Chesapeake.

"Supporting the general obligation bond campaign is really our opportunity as the Alumni Association to step up for Old Dominion," noted Ross A. Mugler '84, ODUAA vice president for government relations and a member of the university's Board of Visitors. "This bond bill will have a significant impact on higher education infrastructure, and we are pleased to lend support to our alma mater."

Financed by ODUAA funds, a letter will be sent in the coming weeks to all Old Dominion alumni registered to vote in Virginia, communicating the importance of the bond referendum and encouraging them to vote "yes" on Nov. 5.

The ODUAA is also sponsoring a letters-to-the-editor campaign, asking alumni to write to Virginia newspapers in support of the referendum during the weeks prior to the Nov. 5 ballot.

In addition, members of the ODUAA board of directors will be speaking at local civic organizations and community gatherings on behalf of the bond campaign.

The Old Dominion Alumni Association is a 501(c)(3) organization and, as such, is a separate entity from Old Dominion University, Mugler noted. He added that ODUAA funds being used in support of the bond campaign were generated entirely from the organization's independent revenue streams.