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Baysal appointed engineering dean, O’Herron named univ. librarian Old Dominion recently announced the appointments of Oktay Baysal as dean of the Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology and Virginia O’Herron as university librarian. The appointments are contingent on Board of Visitors approval. Baysal, an eminent scholar and professor of aerospace engineering who has served as interim dean since July 2002, was chosen following a national search. “Dr. Baysal has an outstanding career as a teacher, researcher and leader at Old Dominion,” said Provost Tom Isenhour. “He is dedicated to the Batten College and his fellow deans enthusiastically acknowledge him as a collaborative partner in helping both the college and all of the university achieve success.” As interim dean, Baysal led five academic programs in the college through preparations for the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology reaccreditation process. In addition, he developed the College Advisory Board and the College Steering Committee, two groups of engineering professionals that provide guidance and expertise to the college on issues relating to strategic planning, public relations, college-wide initiatives and fund raising. Baysal served as associate dean from 1999 to 2002. During his 22-year tenure at Old Dominion, he has been a professor of mechanical engineering and mechanics, graduate program director of the global engineering master’s degree program, acting chair of the aerospace engineering department, director of the engineering fundamentals division and chair of the engineering technology department. Baysal is the author or co-author of more than 150 technical papers and publications, and has edited or co-edited 11 technical books. For his research contributions, he has received the NASA Public Service Medal, two NASA Certificates of Recognition and the NAMTAC Outstanding Project of the Year Award for Technology Transfer. He is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a member of both Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society. Additionally, he is a member of the American Society for Engineering Education, National Society of Professional Engineers, Society of Automotive Engineers, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics and the U.S. Association of Computational Mechanics. Baysal received his bachelor’s degree from The Technical University of Istanbul, a master’s from the University of Birmingham, U.K., and doctorate from Louisiana State University. O’Herron, who has served as interim university librarian since July 2002, was selected for the permanent post following a national search. “Ms. O’Herron is dedicated to the success of ODU as well as the Perry Library,” Isenhour said. “She works well with the administration and other deans. Her fellow deans enthusiastically acknowledge her as a great partner, and the library staff find her to be a competent and caring leader.” As university librarian, O’Herron oversees Perry Library, the Diehn Composers Room and the Hofheimer Art Library, and supervises a staff of 19 librarians and 47 classified employees. She joined Old Dominion in 1993 as assistant university librarian for information services, working in that capacity to 2000. She also served as associate university librarian. Prior positions include director of the State University System of Florida Extension Library, and professional positions at Baker and Taylor Co. and DeVry Technical Institute. She is member of the Library Administration and Management Association’s Leadership and Development Committee, chair of the Directors Committee of the Virginia Tidewater Consortium of Higher Education, and is a member of the Virtual Library of Virginia Steering Committee. Active in the Association of College and Research Libraries, she served as chair of the Standards and Accreditation Committee and Distance Learning Section Strategic Planning Committee, and was a member of the Distance Learning Guidelines Committee. She is a visiting evaluator for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. O’Herron received her bachelor’s degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University and two master’s, one in library science from Simmons College and the other in business administration from the University of Tampa. Back to top
The unique course, GEN 101, titled “New Portal to Appreciating Our Global Environment” – or “NewPAGE” – will also be required for transfer students with fewer than 12 transfer credits. NewPAGE may be used to fulfill one of the general education requirements; individual departments may determine which requirements the course may replace. Coordinated by Dwight Allen, eminent professor of educational foundations, NewPAGE is a three-credit, multidisciplinary course that asks students to examine critically some of the major environmental issues facing the world today. The course will introduce students to rigorous academic investigation through a tightly monitored series of readings, lectures and discussions. They’ll also hear guest lectures by leading thinkers on environmental issues. “NewPAGE will be far more than the sum of its parts provided by theme leaders and guest speakers,” Allen said. “Course activities will aid students in their transition to college life, and in acquiring skills they will need to successfully complete their university experience. Hopefully ... students will establish habits that carry forward through later semesters.” NewPAGE will consist of one large lecture each week at the Ted Constant Convocation Center, led by an ODU faculty member, followed by two discussion sections. Individual units of study, or themes, developed by each of the colleges will highlight for students the complexities and interrelationships of natural, societal, philosophical, aesthetic, engineering, educational and health issues in the environment. About 2,000 students are expected in the class, which also will utilize 33 graduate teaching assistants. Themes and their instructors include:
For more information about the course, visit www.odu.edu/newpage. Back to top Valuable collection of religious books from late scholar donated to library Perry Library recently acquired more than 1,000 books from the collection of the late Willard G. Oxtoby, who was one of the world’s leading scholars in the field of comparative religion. A prolific author, Oxtoby was best known for his standard textbooks in two volumes: “World Religions: Western Traditions” and “World Religions: Eastern Traditions.” Primarily covering the areas of Christianity, Islam, philosophy, Judaism and Eastern religions, the collection includes many titles that are classics in comparative religion and does not duplicate any titles already held in the library’s collection, according to Virginia O’Herron, university librarian. “These titles are a wonderful addition to the library’s holdings, especially the comparative religion collection,” O’Herron said. Oxtoby, who died March 6, 2003, and his wife, Julia Ching, who preceded him in death, were friends and neighbors of President Roseann Runte when she was president of Victoria University in Toronto. Before Oxtoby died, he told his son about the gift he planned to make to Old Dominion. “This collection is a tribute to a fine scholar and a generous man and to his son, who was true to his father’s word,” Runte said. An ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church of California, Oxtoby worked in Jerusalem from 1958 to 1960 with a group of scholars translating the Dead Sea Scrolls. He taught at Harvard, Yale and McGill universities and at Trinity College in the University of Toronto, where he was founding director of the Centre for Religious Study. On his retirement, he was named professor emeritus at the University of Toronto. Earlier this year, Perry Library and Old Dominion University’s Institute for Jewish Studies and Interfaith Understanding received a collection of more than 1,000 books and videos from Ruth Peisach-Schepper. The Schepper German-Jewish History Collection depicts, through historical documents, narrative and memoir, the lives of German and European Jews in the 20th century. Back to top
For more information call 683-3072. Back to top
Registration is required. To register visit www.clt.odu.edu/facdev. For more information contact Susan Boze at 683-3172 or sboze@odu.edu. Back to top Development office cited for fund raising improvement The Office of Development recently won a 2004 CASE/Wealth ID Award for Educational Fund Raising from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). The awards are given to exceptional colleges, universities and independent schools from across the country based on their overall performance or overall improvement in fund raising. The ODU office was selected for the award based on overall improvement of fund raising over the past three years. Of the 274 colleges and universities considered for the award, Old Dominion was one of only 37 chosen to receive the honor. Institutions become eligible for the awards when they submit data to the Council for Aid to Education’s Voluntary Support of Education survey for three consecutive years. This year there were 1,204 eligible institutions from K-12 and colleges and universities. Back to top
Barham was nominated for the award based on her creative ways to teach, learn and use technology. It was presented at the International Conference on College Teaching and Learning in Jacksonville, Fla. Barham received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from Old Dominion and has been teaching at the university for 23 years. She is the chief academic adviser to all new nursing students. Barham has also been involved in the development of ODU’s virtual hospital, an online hospital designed to stimulate the challenges and duties of the nursing profession. Back to top
“Our geographic footprint will stretch from the shadow of the Statue of Liberty to Atlanta, Ga., resulting in increased exposure for the CAA in one of the nation’s top media markets,” Yeager said. Currently a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference, Georgia State fields teams in 15 sports in which the CAA conducts championships. The Panthers will become the CAA’s 11th member. GSU anticipates participating in CAA athletic events beginning in fall 2006. Back to top
Verlander is the all-time strikeout king at Old Dominion, in the Colonial Athletic Association and in the state of Virginia with 427 in 335.2 innings. He fanned a CAA, ODU and state record 151 batters in 105.2 innings this year, including 17 against JMU and 16 against VCU. Verlander was named first team All-CAA and was one of 10 semifinalists for the prestigious Roger Clemens National Pitcher of the Year award. His 12.8 strikeouts per nine innings ranks him third nationally. Last summer, he was 5-1 for team USA and helped the squad earn a silver medal in the Pan Am Games. Back to top
Two new chairs were elected to standing committees: Robert Dias, Committee C (Library), and Jill Jurgens, Committee E (Student Services). Back to top
Working in various media, Brogden, an associate professor of art at the University of Tennessee, and Broderick, assistant professor of art at Florida Atlantic University, re-interpret understood information from the world. The University Gallery, located at 350 W. 21st St., Norfolk, is open noon to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; noon to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 1-4 p.m. Sunday. For more information call 683-2355 or go to www.odu.edu/al/art/gallery. Back to top
Participants in the program are asked to spend approximately one-half hour each week with an international student for informal conversation. The ELC will try to match participants with an international student whose language and/or culture is of interest to them. For more information or to register go to www.odu.edu/conversation. Back to top
Registration deadlines are June 23 for the singles tourney and July 7 for the doubles competition. Play begins June 26 and July 10, respectively. To register or for more information call 683-3384 or visit www.odu.edu/recsports. Back to top
Community involvement is a key component of the program and each contestant has a platform issue to which they are committed. Batcher’s platform is M.U.S.I.C. – Music Uplifts Schools, Individuals and Communities – which includes visiting area schools and encouraging students to become involved in music. Back to top
Budget package includes merit raises for staff, faculty, administrators The budget includes funding for a 3 percent merit raise for classified staff, and average 3 percent merit increases for administrative, teaching and research faculty. The university will add an average of 1.5 percent for a total merit increase averaging 4.5 percent for teaching and research faculty. The raises will become effective Nov. 25. The budget also authorizes the expenditure of $55 million in nongeneral funds to support various capital projects, including $16.5 million for renovation of the Health and Physical Education Building; $14.6 million for two parking garages; $5.7 million for athletic facilities expansion; $4.6 million for TELETECHNET expansion at the Virginia community colleges; $4 million for an indoor tennis center; $2.9 million for an Elizabeth River waterfront project; and $1 million for 43rd Street improvements. The budget increases student financial aid by $438,034 per year. “We must all try to use this funding wisely by supporting our most urgent needs and the strategic initiatives that will help our wonderful university become even better,” Runte said in a May 17 letter to the campus community. “As we complete our budget, let us celebrate the wisdom of those who drafted it and take pleasure in the use of black ink instead of red, and plus signs instead of minuses!” Also in her letter, Runte thanked members of the campus community who contacted their state legislators on behalf of the university, and included a special note of appreciation for the work of John R. Broderick, vice president for institutional advancement, and Elizabeth Wallace, director of governmental relations, for their work in Richmond. According to the state conferees who drafted House Bill 5001, the budget provides “a portion of the funding needed to provide adequate base support of the institution’s core academic function. These additional funds will allow the institution to serve more students, retain existing students more effectively, increase the number of students receiving a degree or certificate, and enhance the quality and rigor of academic programs.” Back to top
Robert L. Ash was named associate vice president for research and economic development. He will be responsible for assisting in the development of a research park as well as furthering the growth of the university’s research and enterprise centers. Additionally, he will continue to represent ODU’s research interests in Washington, D.C. Philip J. Langlais will continue to serve as dean of graduate studies and associate vice president for research with an emphasis on building the university’s graduate programs and identifying and promoting interdisciplinary research. “Dr. Ash’s experience and contacts are invaluable. He is totally committed to Old Dominion’s success and we are most fortunate to be able to keep him on the team,” President Roseann Runte said. Ash, who had served as interim vice president for research since July 2002, joined the faculty in 1967 and later was named eminent scholar and eminent professor of engineering. During his tenure, he has served in numerous research and administrative positions, including chair of the mechanical engineering and mechanics department and acting dean of the College of Engineering and Technology. He was also a Visiting Distinguished Research Engineer at NASA Langley Research Center. Deanne Shuman, professor and chair for the School of Dental Hygiene, became acting dean for the College of Health Sciences effective June 7. Shuman has worked in the School of Dental Hygiene 29 years, holding such positions as clinical instructor, associate professor and graduate program director. She has published several works and designed the ODU 11-12 Explorer, a dental instrument. Shuman holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in dental hygiene, and a doctorate in urban services management, all from ODU. Deborah Polca, senior associate athletic director at Eastern Illinois University, was named an associate athletic director and a senior administrator. She succeeds Mikki Baile, who recently retired after 30 years as senior associate athletic director. She will work directly with head coaches regarding the oversight and coordination of student-athlete support services, which include the areas of NCAA compliance, life skills, strength and conditioning, and sports medicine. She will have direct oversight for all sports and head coaches with the exception of men’s and women’s basketball. Polca has more than 25 years of intercollegiate athletic administrative experience. In addition to her nine-year tenure at Eastern Illinois, she has held administrative positions at St. Francis College (Loretto, Pa.), including head women’s basketball coach. Polca earned a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education from Slippery Rock State College and a master’s in education from Ohio University. She was a faculty member and head women’s basketball coach at Bridgeport Arnold College from 1977-83. The athletic department also announced the appointment of Steve Martin as wrestling coach. He succeeds Gary Simons, who retired in March after 17 years. Martin has led Chesapeake’s Great Bridge High School to 12 Virginia High School State Championships in 13 years. He took over the program in 1991 and compiling a 306-15-1 career record. Great Bridge was the nation’s top-ranked public high school in wrestling for 2003 and 2004. Martin coached 40 state champions, 35 All-Americans and six national champions. He was named NWCA State and Regional Coach of the Year in 1995 and 2000 and was a finalist for National High School Coach of the Year. Martin won three Virginia High School wrestling championships (1983-85) at Kempsville High in Virginia Beach. At the University of Iowa, he earned All-America honors and led the team to two NCAA titles. The son of the legendary Granby High School coach Billy Martin Sr., Martin earned a bachelor’s degree in 1991 from Iowa and a master’s in education and human development in 1996 from George Washington University. Back to top
Currently, most digital libraries use different, non-interoperable technologies, making searches time-consuming and less accessible to the majority of Internet users and researchers. Kaufman Professor and Computer Science Chair Kurt Maly, Assistant Professor Michael Nelson and Professor Mohammad Zubair, along with Herbert Van de Sompel of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, were recently awarded a $122,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to create a high-performance federated search engine for digital libraries and a framework to integrate the current disparate digital libraries and general Web communities. “Google does an incredible job at providing discovery services of the ‘shallow’ Web to the general public,” said Maly. “The ODU team envisions a similar quality, sustainable, free discovery service for students and researchers for parts of the ‘deep’ Web.” The parts of the deep Web referred to in this vision are digital libraries and collections that expose their metadata using the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH.) A high-performance federated search service that exploits the resources of a grid will make available a large amount of information that is distributed among heterogeneous digital libraries. A search user will be able to access a research paper, preprint, a technical report, an image of a painting or a musical performance in a few seconds from thousands of libraries throughout the world. Despite sharing a common toolset, there is not enough interaction between digital libraries and the general Web, according to Maly. The group plans to create an Apache module, mod_oai, which will enable OAI for the general Web community. This will greatly increase the number of people who will be able to export their metadata and resources via OAI-PMH. Apache is an open-source Web server that is used by 63 percent of the approximately 27 million Web sites in the world. OAI-PMH, a protocol to selectively harvest data from repositories, has had a considerable impact in the field of digital libraries, but it has yet to be embraced by the general Web community. Through mod_oai, the ODU team hopes to achieve broader acceptance by making the power and efficiency of the OAI-PMH available to Web servers and Web crawlers. For example, mod_oai would be able to respond to requests to collect all files added or changed since a specified date. Encouraging the switch from the current, resource-intensive Web harvesting model to the more efficient OAI-PMH model will also significantly reduce the load on Web servers, decrease the amount of repetitive traffic on the network and increase the freshness of harvested resources. Back to top
Time will only tell whether the Iraq War will be seen as the opening salvo of a “Golden Age of Democratization” in the Middle East or a successful military campaign that produced no long-term change. How historians view it will likely lie somewhere in between, says Steve Yetiv, associate professor of political science and one of the nation’s leading experts in Middle Eastern affairs, in his new book, “Explaining Foreign Policy: U.S. Decision-Making and the Persian Gulf Wars” (Johns Hopkins University Press). Nation-building doesn’t happen overnight and it may well take years to see how history will look back on America’s Iraq policy, according to Yetiv. In the book, he explores the role of domestic politics, analogies, groupthink, rational thinking and bureaucratic politics in explaining how and why the United States entered both the Iraq and Persian Gulf wars. The processes that led the U.S. to war have commonalities beyond the two Bush administrations. They include the concern in 1991 of getting stuck in the Persian Gulf region as a deterrent to invading Baghdad. As one decision maker put it then, “After achieving our critical objectives, (President George H.W.) Bush did not want to stick around and lose Arab support and get into the types of troubles that U.S. forces faced in the terror bombings in Saudi Arabia in 1996.” In his 11th year at ODU, Yetiv has been a consultant to the U.S. Departments of State and Defense and received the Secretary’s Open Forum Distinguished Public Service Award from the State Department (1996) for his “contributions to national and international affairs.” He has appeared on CNN and C-SPAN and is regularly interviewed by the national media. He has traveled widely in the Middle East and has published more than 225 editorial commentaries. Yetiv also is the author of “Crude Awakenings: Global Oil Security and American Foreign Policy” (Cornell University Press), scheduled for publication in July. Back to top
With six children total – three of her own and three step-children – it is no surprise that the most treasured possessions in her office are her pictures of Adanna, Whitney, Wynter, Tanya, Wilma and Will. Another important item in Brown’s Rollins Hall office, which reflects her positive outlook, is the bobble-head dog that sits atop her computer monitor. “When the answer is ‘no’ my dog’s head always says ‘yes,’” she explains. As the lead application counselor for the Office of Admissions, students especially appreciate Brown’s positive attitude. A recent ODU graduate herself, Brown earned a bachelor’s degree in human service counseling in May, the culmination of 15 years of taking classes off and on. She credits three people at the university with helping her reach her educational goal: Dana Burnett, vice president for student services; Jackie Hines, director of student support services; and Barry Smith, director of the Tri-Cities Center. When Brown gets a chance to take the day off and doesn’t have choir practice or Girl Scout meetings to run to, she says she likes to “send the hubby off to work, the kids off to school and go to the movies to check out a good flick.” – Michelle Nery Birth date: Oct. 27 Hometown: Chesapeake Spouse: William E. Brown, an engineer for the federal government Children: Three children – Adanna, 26, Whitney, 12, and Wynter, 8 – and three step-children – Tanya, 35, Wilma, 28 and Will, 26 Pet peeve: Rubberneckers who slow down to check out the scene of accidents and broken-down vehicles which cause traffic backups themselves Favorite place on campus: The Elizabeth River site near Whitehurst Hall Most memorable campus experience: When I walked Sam Donaldson across campus to Webb Center. We had a wonderful conversation. Last book read: “Married Men” By Carl Weber Favorite quotation: “Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend.” Greatest accomplishment: My greatest accomplishment personally was the birth of my children. My greatest accomplishments both personally and professionally are being an employee in the Office of Admissions for the past 24 years and obtaining my bachelor’s degree. Favorite songs: “I Need You Now” by Smokie Norful and “Dance with My Father” by Luther Van Dross Hobbies: Reading, shopping and fishing with my husband Favorite movies: “Shrek I” and “Shrek II” Favorite TV show: “My Wife and Kids” Favorite meal: Steak, baked potato and a salad Vice: Chocolate Favorite sport: Basketball Last vacation: Disney World this past summer Favorite area restaurant: Outback Steakhouse Last smart thing I did: Obtained bachelor’s degree Last dumb thing I did: Me, do dumb things? OK, I got a speeding ticket. Worst job: Worked at Ocean View Amusement Park when I was 17. I ran a game where you had to throw a pingpong ball in a bowl, which was revolving in a little pool, to win a prize. Profession I might like to attempt: Guidance counselor in an elementary or junior high school setting Appropriate epitaph: Chariety is definitely gone but certainly not forgotten. The world and ODU have lost a truly wonderful person! Back to top
Mohieldin, who holds master’s and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering from ODU, was the 2002 winner of the A. Rufus Tonelson Faculty Award. He joined the faculty in 1989. His teaching philosophy has always been to provide students with the desire for and ability to accomplish lifelong learning. In addition to undergraduate education, Mohieldin has broadened his instructional skills to include teaching four graduate courses for the mechanical engineering department. His areas of research include combustion, heat transfer, high-speed flows and energy systems design. Back to top
By the end of June, the aerospace engineering (including graduate modeling and simulation labs), mathematics and statistics and computer science (research component) departments are expected to join the Office of Computing and Communications Services in the new Engineering and Computational Sciences Building, according to Ron Tola, assistant vice president for facilities management. Exterior work on the four-story facility is also scheduled for completion by month’s end. Elsewhere on campus, work is continuing on the latest phase of the University Village Apartments complex, which will result in an additional 580 beds and 30,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space by the start of the fall semester. “The ODU Real Estate Foundation is actively marketing the ground-floor retail space for lease and has many interested prospects. Most of the current prospective tenants are restaurants. The foundation expects to announce some of the tenants in early July,” said Julie R. Adie, director of real estate development. Also in the Village, a 3,000-square-foot fitness center is expected to open on Monarch Way in August, and plans are continuing for construction of a four-to-five story extended-stay hotel and adjacent parking garage, to be built on the parking lot between the Ted Constant Convocation Center and the Technology Building. Adie said she is hopeful to have a hotel developer selected by sometime next month. If plans go accordingly, construction could begin early next year, she added. The fitness center will be able to accommodate up to 50 people at a time and will feature a combination of cardio, strength-training and free-weight equipment. Other projects slated for the summer months include the construction of the university’s third student computing mega lab in the Batten Arts and Letters Building, with 126 computer stations, which is scheduled to open in August, Tola said. Also due for August completion are the renovation of two organic chemistry labs in the Alfriend Chemistry Building and lecture hall 102 in the Mills Godwin Jr. Life Sciences Building. Tola said the university hopes to have figures from a rebidding on renovation work at the Technology Building by the end of June. The one-story wing at the east end of the building was recently demolished, and the facility’s existing two-story wing and three-story section will undergo an extensive renovation as part of the $9.1 million project. The exterior will be transformed by the addition of new brick, cast stone and panels, and landscaping improvements. This is the university’s first general obligation bond-financed project, and the renovated facility is expected to reopen in fall 2005. The maglev project is undergoing both construction and deconstruction. S.B. Ballard Construction Co. has begun demolition work on portions of the University Village and Powhatan Avenue maglev stations due to structural issues, and by month’s end will begin making improvements to the Webb Center station to support vehicle testing. These are the first visible signs of renewed work on the project, which came to a halt in October 2002 due to a lack of funding and issues with ride quality. The Webb Center station will become the starting point for future test runs of the maglev vehicle. Researchers are aiming for a demonstrable engineering prototype , but note that the system will require additional research and funding beyond that needed for this upcoming work, along with required testing and evaluation for certification, before the Powhatan Avenue and University Village stations are rebuilt and the maglev can transport passengers. The demolition and construction work on the stations is expected to take up to three months. Construction also has begun inside the Gresham and Rogers residence halls. Both facilities will get room upgrades for the start of the fall semester, and the Gresham Hall lobby will undergo a complete renovation. By the end of June, the university expects to have selected architects for renovation work at the Batten Arts and Letters Building, a $9.6 million phased project financed by general obligation bonds, and on the Health and Physical Education Building. The H&PE Building project calls for turning the facility into a student recreation center and renovating existing space for the exercise science, sport, physical education and recreation department. A design for the facility is expected to be in place by next February, to be followed by the renovation, which will take approximately 18 to 20 months. Once completed, the recreation center will feature an enlarged aerobics and conditioning area, an indoor track, a climbing wall, basketball courts, multi-use rooms and a juice bar. This $16.5 million project will be complemented by an expansion and renovation of athletic facilities, including the Athletic Administration Building, the soccer stadium (new lockers) and the Bud Metheny Baseball Complex (new batting cages). By the end of this month, the university is expected to have contracts in place for construction of a parking garage on the lot bordered by Perry Library, MGB and the garage at the corner of 43rd Street and Elkhorn Avenue. Construction is expected to begin in August. Back to top
Doctors worldwide are fighting a war against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which can cause serious infections in hospital patients with low immune systems. X. Nancy Xu, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and two of her graduate students, Sophia Kyriacou and Robert Jeffers, have synthesized “nanoprobes” and discovered that they are capable of inhibiting the cell growth of the bacteria, pseudomonas aeruginosa. Their research was published in the journals Nano Letters and Biochemistry and is currently under review by the U.S. Patent Office. “This is not science fiction or hype,” Xu said. “We are ahead of the game with single-molecule detection and using nanoprobes not only as an unconventional drug, but as a way to understand why bacteria behave the way they do.” The bacteria P. aeruginosa can be found in most environments, but in hospitals it causes dangerous infections, especially in those suffering from severe burns, cancer, AIDS and cystic fibrosis as well as patients undergoing transplants. “Doctors use higher and higher doses of antibiotics in trying to kill bacteria that is multidrug-resistant, which only causes the bacteria to become more resistant,” Xu said. “Pharmaceutical companies design more and more antibiotics to treat the infections, which only leads to more and more strains of bacteria that are drug-resistant.” These infections are impossible to eradicate in part because of their intrinsic resistance to the wide spectra of structurally and functionally unrelated antibiotics, Xu added. “In our study, we used silver-enhanced gold nanoparticles as nanoprobes in low concentrations to view single bacterial cells in real-time,” she said. “Eventually, when the concentration of nanoparticles is increased, the bacteria basically run out of space to accommodate nanoparticles and hence stop growing. We envision that these nanoprobes could be used as a cream or a disinfectant that could be applied topically to inhibit bacterial growth. Furthermore, these nanoparticles can be used to study other important membrane transport mechanisms, such as multidrug resistance in tumor cells, for exploring the possibility of effective and low side-effect chemotherapy and radiotherapy.” Xu’s research team developed single nanoparticle optic assays and single living cell imaging to study the real time-sized transformation of cell wall and membrane permeability in individual living cells at nanometer-sized resolution and millisecond temporal resolution. Supported by the National Institutes of Health, the group is also studying how the bacteria become resistant to antibiotics, probing their metabolic capability, environmental versatility and ability to cause disease. In addition, the group is using the technology to better understand the effect of radiotherapy on brain tumors and surrounding cells, to better understand heart disease and to detect cancer earlier. Back to top
For the first time since the inception of Old Dominion’s licensing program in 1985, the university has topped $1 million in annual retail sales of merchandise, ranging from T-shirts and basketball jerseys emblazoned with the Monarch lion logo to specially packaged coffees and teas from First Colony Coffee and Tea Co. ODU’s licensing team attributes the retail success to the university’s new athletic logos, the increased number of retail outlets, restaurants and grocery stores that carry university merchandise, and the greater variety of merchandise now available. Since the new athletic logos, which feature a fierce lion wearing the ODU crown, were unveiled in 2002, ODU’s annual retail sales have taken off. “The new logos are popular with everyone,” said Ken Gideon, assistant director of licensing. “People want merchandise bearing these great marks.” As of this May, 85 retail locations carry Old Dominion merchandise, including a number of restaurants and all 37 Hampton Roads Farm Fresh locations. ODU’s licensing office, headed by Karen Travis, assistant vice president for institutional advancement and director of university events and licensing, moved into the consumable marketplace in 2003, partnering with First Colony Coffee and Tea Co. to create a selection of ODU coffees and teas and Stewart’s Kitchen for cookies iced with the university logo. The licensing staff is now considering adding ODU ice cream and chocolates to its product line. “The licensing, marketing and athletic departments have developed a tremendous partnership and all three areas have worked tirelessly to improve the ODU merchandise program in a many ways,” Travis said. Back to top
An ODU alumnus, Higgins joined the university in December 1973 as director of operations and resigned in June 1991. He graduated in 1967 with a bachelor’s degree in business and received his M.B.A. in 1969. His first major project on the job involved the landscaping of Kaufman Mall. That, and the start of construction on a new fine arts center, were the most rewarding projects during his ODU career, Higgins said in an interview after announcing his resignation. In his 16 years with the university, the last 12 as vice president, Higgins was in charge of a staff of 500. During his tenure, he was responsible for guiding the university’s capital development program, which resulted in the renovation or construction of 36 major projects valued at more than $130 million. Under Higgins’ leadership, ODU acquired $10 million in property adjoining the university, and he created a quasi-endowment and university fund. He was credited with helping acquire a Ku-band satellite uplink for the university’s telecommunications programs and for expanding student housing by 1,350 beds. He also helped enhance support services by establishing a university training program, an employee relations department and the offices of Risk Management and Environmental Health and Safety. In partnership with area business leaders and the city of Norfolk, Higgins developed a design concept for improving Hampton Boulevard. After leaving ODU, Higgins accepted the position of executive vice president for finance and operations at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. He is survived by his daughter, Margaret Stacy Doummar of Virginia Beach. To share memories and offer words of comfort visit www.maestasandbaileyfuneralhome.com. Back to top
– “Carrier for Hawaii – A Big ‘What If?’” “I had expected to see the whole Island washed over.” (George Oertel, professor of ocean, earth and atmospheric sciences, commenting on Chesapeake Bay’s Fisherman Island) – “Isabel Left a Surge of Science” “This is not a comparative shopping ethics game. The prison abuse should stand on its own as contrary to our professed principles.” (Lawrence Hatab, chair of philosophy) – “Beheading Changes Debate Over Prisoner Abuse in Iraq” “As a society, we should be shocked by our decline in physical fitness and increased obesity.” (Sheri Colberg-Ochs, associate professor of exercise science, in an op-ed article) – “A Large-Scale Natural Disaster” “In response to Stephen Burd’s ‘Graduation Rates Called a Poor Measure of Colleges’ (The Chronicle, April 2), I would like to stress the importance of including all students when determining success rates. We should not omit certain students from our calculations because of the presumed difficulty of the process.” (Roseann Runte, president, in a letter to the editor) – “Accurate Measures of Graduation Rates” “We work on high-tech solutions that have direct uses to industry. Business wants a solution, not more questions – and with a practical application.” (Mool Gupta, director of the Applied Research Center) – “Nano Solutions: The Next Big Thing Could Be Tiny” “Before modeling and simulation, we didn’t have a realm where we could afford to make mistakes. With this facility, we have the opportunity to advance research ... and help the nation save lives.” (Roseann Runte, president) – “Battle Simulation Lab Opens in Suffolk” “And so I will approach my last class as I have always done. The topic will be a critical examination of the Critical Theorists in education ... . At the end of the lecture, without fanfare and avoiding a possible bathetic scene, I will say in minimalist fashion: ‘I am honored to have been your professor. Goodbye.” (Maurice Berube, eminent scholar emeritus of educational leadership) – “The Last Lecture” “... it is Runte’s reflections on the unsettled nature of our times that stay with us, and which ironically, give us hope. They do so, I think, because they convey the power and breadth of our common humanity. That, of course, is what all good poetry has to offer.” (from a story by Tom Robotham on the poetry readings by President Roseann Runte and Virginia Symphony music director JoAnn Falletta for the Virginia Arts Festival) – “Poets at Heart”
The standards ODU met were:
Nominations due July 15 for SCHEV faculty awards Award winners will receive a $5,000 stipend provided by Dominion Power and be honored at an awards ceremony with the governor. Since the program began, 15 ODU faculty have won the award. Nominations should be submitted to Vice Provost David Hager and include: a letter addressing the nominee’s qualification; a copy of his/her curriculum vitae; recent quantitative and qualitative teaching evaluations (for at least the past two years); and a letter of endorsement from the dean of the nominee’s college. Criteria and guidelines for the SCHEV Award are available at www.schev.edu. Igloria is a contributor to “Father Poems” anthology Igloria, an only child, said her memories of both her father and mother revolve around their “complete dedication to making sure I would get an education predisposed toward the humanities.” One of her poems, “Group Picture with Two-Seater Plane,” is based on an old sepia photo of her father, an attorney, and a group of his buddies. In another of her poems, she said she tried to capture “the ‘period feeling’ of my parents’ early years of marriage,” noting, “Most of it is linked with the feeling that this is a world that’s not the same as mine, or ours, today.” The book is available from Philippine Expressions Mail Order Books at lindanietes@earthlink.net. ODU offers summer camps Athletic camps are offered in baseball, boys and girls basketball, girls field hockey, sailing (youth and adult), boys and girls soccer, swimming, wrestling and girls lacrosse. For details about the sea camps call 683-4285; for the athletic camps call 683-4358. Back to top
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