Journalists share words of advice with graduates Two respected members of the media addressed more than 2,000 graduates who participated in Old Dominion’s commencement ceremonies May 10 at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. Chris Matthews, the host of MSNBC’s “Hardball with Chris Matthews,” delivered the afternoon address to graduates from the colleges of Arts and Letters, Engineering and Technology and Health Sciences. In a speech punctuated with jokes and anecdotes, Matthews touched briefly on the current political climate and the upcoming elections. “This is an interesting country with an interesting choice,” he noted. He went on to say that the country is great because its citizens continue to have hope, optimism and the belief in the possibility for change. Matthews closed his message to the students by encouraging them not to be afraid to ask for what they want in life. “In dealing with ambitious people, I’ve learned that they do one thing different than everybody else: they ask for it. If you want something, ask,” Matthews said. “There’s a false assumption out there that talent will always be recognized. Don’t believe it. The world is not checking in with us to see what skills we’ve picked up. ... When a job opens up, it goes to the person standing there.” Leonard Pitts, a nationally syndicated columnist with the Miami Herald, spoke at the morning ceremony for graduates of the colleges of Business and Public Administration, Education and Sciences. He talked about “evergreen truths,” those things that are fundamental and by which one’s reputation is made. He also stressed the importance of being able to defend one’s beliefs. “That right (to hold an opinion) ... comes complete with a moral obligation to be able to defend it. Because ... what you think and believe is not just a matter between you and your conscience. ... What we think and believe determines how we vote, which causes we support, how we shape the world,” he said. “Class of 2008, we need you to think, to question authority, to question the status quo, to question your own assumptions. Earn the right to your own beliefs. Because into your hands comes the unfinished business of the generations that came before.” Back to top
The appointment was announced at the board’s April 11 meeting. Runte, Old Dominion’s seventh president, will become the president of Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, effective July 1. “While the Old Dominion University community is saddened by the departure of President Roseann Runte, the Board of Visitors is very pleased that the current vice president for institutional advancement and chief of staff, John R. Broderick, has been elected to serve as acting president,” said Rector Marc Jacobson. “With his significant institutional knowledge and considerable experience and abilities, Mr. Broderick will ensure that the leadership and momentum provided by President Runte continues.” Broderick joined ODU in 1993 as director of public information and has served as a vice president since 1996. His areas of responsibility include admissions, athletics, community relations, governmental relations, licensing, marketing, media relations, military affairs, photography, publications, special events, student financial aid and the campus Visitor Center. In addition, he serves as executive editor of both the alumni magazine and Quest, the faculty research magazine. Broderick recently chaired the committee to select ODU’s provost, and he currently heads university-wide initiatives for branding, enrollment management and emergency communications. Broderick was one of four finalists for the PR News’ 2006-07 Professional of the Year award for an academic institution. In addition to his administrative duties, he annually teaches the School, Community Relations and Politics course to graduate students in the Darden College of Education and has written articles for the Chronicle of Higher Education, Hartford Courant, Baltimore Sun, Sporting News, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press. Prior to coming to ODU, Broderick was a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh and an administrator at St. Bonaventure University. He also served as tourism director for The Island of Martha’s Vineyard and as a reporter for several newspapers in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
State bond package would provide funding for three major buildings A statewide bond bill approved by the General Assembly – and awaiting the expected signature of Gov. Tim Kaine – would provide funding for three Old Dominion buildings. The capital bonds package would support a new $19.2 million consolidated arts complex, a new $11.1 million student success facility and allow the purchase, for $13.3 million, of the new headquarters of the Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center in Suffolk. “The consolidated arts complex will combine several existing art buildings and open up additional classroom space along Kaufman Mall,” President Roseann Runte said in a letter to the campus community. The renovation, along with new construction on Monarch Way across from the Stables Theatre and renovations to buildings to the east, will create a centralized home for the art department. Work on the facility would likely begin in spring 2009. Once the complex is built, the Visual Arts Building would be renovated. The Student Success Center will be the future home of the University College, the Honors College and the Office of Admissions, “centralizing all services needed to help all students succeed at ODU,” Runte noted. “It will support academic skills, writing, testing, tutoring/mentoring, advising and career management.” Construction on the center, to be located on 49th Street just north of the Roseann Runte Quad, would begin in late spring or early summer of next year. As part of the proposed bond package, ODU also would receive $726,000 in planning funds for a systems research and academic building to be located between Perry Library and Kaufman Hall. Completion of the planning will place this new facility in line for future state capital funding. The previously funded Hughes Hall renovation is scheduled to begin next month. Back to top
The summer institute, which runs from Monday, May 19, through Wednesday, May 21, opens with a technology fair that will include demonstrations of various available technologies. From Tuesday morning through Wednesday afternoon, guests are invited to participate in seminars with ODU faculty members who have used those and other technologies to facilitate their students’ learning and success. The institute also features a series of panel discussions on the inclusion of portable online delivery (POD), which uses the Internet and portable devices (such as hand-held audio or video players) to increase class interaction and to ensure better student retention. This technology is heavily used by multitasking students, and has been employed successfully by several ODU professors to broaden the delivery of their course materials. Luncheons will be provided. For more information write clt@odu.edu; to register, visit http://clt.odu.edu/facdev. Back to top
SOBO offers hearth-roasted neo-Neapolitan pizzas using fresh local produce. The smoke-free restaurant offers 36 craft beers on draft from around the world and a wine list of more than 100 bottles. Another new tenant, Starbucks, will open in the University Village Bookstore this summer. It will be operated by Aramark, the company that manages on-campus dining operations. Located at the south end of the bookstore on the first floor, the coffeehouse will have outdoor patio seating. Patrons will be able to enter from the street or from inside the bookstore. Back to top
A self-taught artist who lives in Vancouver, Olynyk employs a wide variety of leading-edge techniques, many of which have been developed in his studio. The piece given by Runte is an untitled work from his Arc Series. “The sculpture is a most generous gift,” said Ramona Austin, curator of the Gordon Galleries. “Dr. Runte’s sensitivity to the architectural statement of the facility is evident in that her gift creates a visual dialogue with the strong linear statement of the undulating glass atrium wall uniting the galleries.”
The book tells how a 19th-century would-be explorer, Henry Wickham, absconded, literally, with the seeds of Brazil’s most valuable natural product. Jackson writes, “Henry’s theft was no different than that by scores of others before him – and yet, in a fundamental way, it was." Thirty-four years after Henry’s theft, the British rubber grown in the Far East from Henry’s seeds would flood the world market, collapsing the Amazon economy.” Jackson, who lives in Virginia Beach, was an investigative reporter with The Virginian-Pilot for 12 years. His talk, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by Friends of the Old Dominion University Libraries Back to top Faculty Wives and Friends group elects officers The ODU Faculty Wives and Friends organization recently elected officers for 2008-10. Tamara Haines, the wife of Russell Haines, assistant professor of information technology/decision sciences, will serve as president. Gisela Schoenbach, the wife of Karl Schoenbach, eminent scholar of electrical and computer engineering, is the new vice president. The purpose of the group, which was established in 1950 by President Lewis Webb’s wife, Virginia Rice Webb, is to bring together university people and others to promote ODU interests, to acquaint them with the university and to fund a scholarship for a female student. The organization sponsors social activities, on and off campus, and includes special-interest groups. For more information contact outgoing president Joan Griffey at jgriffey113@msn.com or 440-9508. Back to top
The awards program is the original and premier showcase for first-rate work being done by corporate, nonprofit and institutional inhouse departments. Of the more than 5,000 entries from across the country in this year’s program, approximately 500 departments were honored with a Certificate of Excellence. Victoria Burke is ODU’s director of university publications. The winning publications and their designers are:
“What has become obvious in the last few years is that, when you compare this place and this program across the board with others, we are now in a position that I never dreamed of when I first arrived on campus,” said Taylor, the 2005 Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year. The Monarch program has won a school-record 94 games the last four years. Back to top
Senior women’s golfer Bailey Mosier of Las Vegas and senior baseball pitcher Ryan Bergh of Reddick, Fla., were named the 2008 recipients of the Jack Wilkins/James Howard Scholar Athletes of the Year awards. Jordan is ODU’s and the Colonial Athletic Association’s all-time three-point scorer with 323. She is a two-time CAA Tournament MVP. Guerrero helped lead the Monarchs to a second-place finish in this year’s CAA championships. He compiled a 71.9 stroke average in the fall and finished with an overall 73.2 average. Mosier, a finalist for the Kaufman Prize, had an 83.2 stroke average. She carried a 3.83 GPA in communication. Bergh, who has a 5-4 record and 3.07 earned run average, had a 3.51 GPA in sport management.
SThe first winners in the Staff Dream Fund program, which President Roseann Runte established to provide time off and money for deserving employees to pursue a long-held dream, were announced recently. They are Tracey Bowry, acquisitions coordinator at Perry Library and an 18-year employee, and Elizabeth Newberry, customer service supervisor in the Department of Human Resources, a 12-year university employee. Newberry, originally from England, plans to take a trip to Edenbridge in time for her father’s 90th birthday party next January. This will be her first trip back to her home country in more than six years. “I could not believe it. I put in for it the last day, and thought, ‘What the heck,’” Newberry said. “I definitely did not think I would win. I am very thankful for the chance, which I would not have been able to afford otherwise.” Bowry will be taking a fun vacation to Pigeon Forge, Tenn., this August with her four adopted children, ages 11-16. “My dream was to take a family vacation without the financial stress,” she said. “This will give all of us a time to bond.” She added that the family will stay in a cabin deep in the Smoky Mountains, and see Dollywood, the Ripley Museum and other attractions in the area. “It felt like I won a million dollars. It was good to be able to tell the kids that ‘good things do happen to us.’ They were very excited.” The Dream Fund program will provide monetary awards of $2,000 to $4,000 and up to five days’ paid time off each year for one or more staff members to fulfill a long-held dream. Privately funded through an endowment, the program is open to full-time classified staff and full-time administrative and professional faculty who have worked at the university a minimum of five years. Winners are chosen by a committee that is reflective of the university workforce. Back to top
ODU will increase its campus-based student financial aid by $1.4 million and provide $400,000 more funding for on-campus student employment. This adjustment of in-state undergraduate tuition will qualify the university to receive Tuition Moderation Incentive Funds. Combined with the comprehensive fee, full-time, in-state undergraduates will pay $6,918 for 30 credit hours, a $390, or 6 percent, increase over this year’s rate. In-state graduate students will pay $7,902 for 24 credits, a 5.4 percent increase in tuition and fees. Room and board rates will go up an average of 6.7 percent, or $449. Out-of-state undergraduate students will see a 4.7 percent increase in yearly tuition and fees, to $18,588 for 30 credit hours; out-of-state graduate students will pay $19,318 for 24 credits, or 4.5 percent more than in 2007-08. The board voted unanimously to name the area adjoining Ireland House, Virginia House and Scotland House the Roseann Runte Quad in honor of ODU’s seventh president, in recognition of her “extraordinary leadership, vision and service.” In other action, the board voted to sell a parcel of land on 49th Street to the Muslim Community of Tidewater to be used to expand its Islamic Center and establish 27 parking places. The board voted to appoint Meredith Brier Lee as student representative to the Board of Visitors. A senior English major from Chesapeake, she carries a 3.90 GPA. She is a member of the Honors College and has a minor in dance. Back to top
The 3,400-square-foot facility, which will be operated in conjunction with Virginia Tech, will have classroom, shop and office space, and a chassis dynamometer for measuring wheel horsepower, among other features. According to Oktay Baysal, dean of the Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology, the institute will help to attract more economic investment to southwest Virginia. Students will use the facility on weekdays, and it will be rented out to race teams during the weekend. Starting with the fall 2008 semester, VIPER will accept engineering motor sports students who have progressed from coursework at community colleges to the New College Institute in Martinsville, or who have studied at other state or regional higher education institutions. VIPER also will be the site of testing and evaluation for alternative fuels, specifically algae-based biodiesel that is being produced by ODU and the Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium. The new lab’s instrumentation and testing capabilities will be used to validate fuel performance and develop engine technologies. The hope is that this will lead to the production of highly efficient engines that can run on biodiesel fuel consistently. Having already successfully tested the fuel in remote-controlled cars, the next step for ODU researchers is to test their product in full-sized engines. Back to top
The CRADA provides a three-year agreement with two one-year options, focusing on using Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center (VMASC) capabilities to advance modeling and simulation and research and development. Michael McGinnis, VMASC executive director and a Research Foundation principal investigator, said, “What we’ve recognized is that the CRADA sets conditions for us to explore how we can leverage and advance to make our fighting forces more effective and our expenditure of resources more efficient.” Back to top
Richard and Loree Heller, husband and wife pioneers in electrogenetherapy, are joining the Old Dominion faculty as researchers at the Frank Reidy Research Center for Bioelectrics. Their expertise promises to advance the center’s already groundbreaking research in cancer therapies that utilize ultrafast pulses of electricity. The Hellers are moving from faculty positions at the University of South Florida College of Medicine. In addition to the Bioelectrics Center appointment, Richard Heller will assume a position as professor in the College of Health Science’s School of Medical Laboratory and Radiation Sciences. “We are very fortunate to have Richard and Loree Heller joining us,” said Karl Schoenbach, the Bioelectrics Center director, eminent scholar and Batten Endowed Chair in Bioelectric Engineering. “They are known worldwide for their pioneering research in electrogenetherapy. Their research will allow us to greatly expand our efforts to develop new electrotherapies for cancer treatment.” Mohammad Karim, vice president for research, added, “This is a major coup for ODU and the Reidy Research Center.” The Hellers are known in the field of bioelectrics for their success with the delivery of molecules into live, target cells by means of electroporation. Pulses of electricity, in effect, open the membrane of live cells – tumor cells, for example – temporarily, allowing the delivery of molecules to the cells. The deliveries could be of genetic material or drugs, both of which can serve as pinpoint applications of therapies against cancer or other maladies. This procedure allows tumors to be targeted for treatment without the broad damage to healthy tissue caused by most chemotherapies today. In gene therapy via electroporation, the deliveries might be of anti-tumor agents such as the so-called “suicide” genes, or of genes encoding toxins. Still other deliveries might be of immune modulators that reduce the immunity of cancer cells to the body’s own defenses. The Hellers have reported significant tumor regression from their gene therapies. Richard Heller currently is supported by $5 million in research funding, mostly from the National Institutes of Health. Previous support from the NIH, National Cancer Institute and many other public and private sources totaled another $5 million. In 2004 he received the Iwao Yasuda Award from the Society for Physical Regulation in Biology and Medicine, and the Fellow Award of the Society for In Vitro Biology. The next year he won the latter society’s Distinguished Service Award. Most recently he has been professor of molecular medicine and chemical engineering and co-director of the Center for Molecular Delivery at USF. He received his Ph.D. in medical sciences with specialization in medical microbiology and immunology from the USF School of Medicine in 1989. Loree Heller is currently supported by a $400,000 NIH grant, and has completed another $500,000 in supported research. She leaves positions as an assistant professor of molecular medicine at USF and a clinical scientist for Tampa General Hospital. Loree is scheduled to arrive in Norfolk in July, Richard in September. Research by the couple complements the advances made by Schoenbach and other ODU researchers. Two years ago, a team at the Bioelectrics Center reported research showing that millionth of a second pulses of electricity alone will destroy tumor cells and bring complete remission of melanomas on the skin of mice. The researchers also have reported the development of strategies using antennas to zap tumors inside the body. Back to top
The awards, presented by the Alumni Association, are given to the student with the highest grade point average in each college. The top scholars and their inspirational faculty members (in parentheses) are:
The $10,000 prize is awarded to a graduating senior “who has exerted an exceptional and constructive influence on the university, its students or the community by demonstrating the highest qualities of leadership and service.” Landmark Communications established the award to honor Charles L. Kaufman. ODU’s student body president during his senior year, Asamoa-Caesar had a 3.51 GPA and minored in political science. He was the founder and president of TRUST and an intramural flag football and intramural basketball co-captain. He received the Stihl Inc. Hometown Hero Award (January 2007) and Emerging Leader Award (April 2006). He plans to attend William and Mary Law School and study international human rights law. Asamoa-Caesar, who chose to attend ODU because of its diversity, named Lesa Clark, director of multicultural student services, as his most inspiring mentor. James R. Lin, a biology major with a 4.0 GPA from Virginia Beach, was named runnerup for the Kaufman Prize and received a cash award of $2,454. Lin, who recently won a fellowship from the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi for the 2008-09 academic year, plans to pursue a degree in medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School. Lin named Nancy Wade, associate professor emeritus of biological sciences, as his most inspiring mentor. Back to top
Together with Asiye Ivrendi of Pamukkale University in Denizli, Turkey, Wakefield will introduce Turkish educators to constructivist teaching and learning while the two continue their research investigating gender differences of freely chosen physical knowledge activities in preschool/kindergarten children both at Pamukkale and Old Dominion. There aren’t many Fulbright awards that involve university exchanges, and the application process was complex, but Wakefield, an associate professor of early childhood education, and Ivrendi, who first met in 1997 when Ivrendi completed a master’s degree in early childhood education at ODU, persevered together. The award funds will bring Ivrendi to ODU in the fall of 2008 and send Wakefield to Pamukkale next spring. Wakefield previously had a Fulbright-funded trip to Qatar in 2002-03. “In Qatar, as in Turkey, there is government interest in educational change toward constructivist learning. Constructivist teachers orchestrate opportunities for problem solving, invention and inference, and let their students do the talking,” she said. – Lane Dare
With his retirement at the end of the spring semester, history professor Harold S. Wilson has made a bit of history himself. Of the 20 faculty members with 30 or more years of university service who are stepping down this year, Wilson was the first to join the teaching ranks here – in 1966. Consider the following: When he came on board that fall, with his Ph.D. fresh in hand from Emory University, Lewis Webb was the president, ODU was still three years away from being the school acronym and ODC had been a four-year college only since 1962. In his first years on campus, the Folk Music Club hosted hootenannies and Kappa Alpha was still sponsoring its annual Sadie Hawkins Dance. Enrollment had not yet reached 10,000. For one accustomed to attending and teaching at private schools – Wilson had taught four years at Wesleyan College in Macon, Ga., before coming to Norfolk – the look of the campus left something to be desired. “When I saw the architecture, I wondered what I had done,” Wilson said with a laugh. But he also saw great potential. His first office was on the second floor of an old barracks building that the school had purchased – and moved – from the Naval Operating Base. The two-story building was located approximately between the current sites of Koch Hall and the Kornblau Alumni Center. “That was the history building,” Wilson said. “The psychology people were on the first floor with their rat lab, and certainly an aroma came from that. The building was extremely dusty and dirty, so the floors were oiled down and one could not wear very good clothing. Also, the acoustics were not very good; you could hear fellow faculty giving lectures all the way down the hall.” Wilson also recalls the cafeteria at the time, a structure that was attached to the south side of what is now Spong Hall, which he likened to a Third World facility. But elsewhere on campus things were beginning to take shape, particularly around the area that would become known as Kaufman Mall, where various buildings had started to spring up. And the building where Wilson has spent the past three-and-a-half decades, Batten Arts and Letters, opened in 1972. The look of the campus in the late 1960s notwithstanding, for a young history professor whose area of interest was the Civil War, teaching at a school in Virginia just made sense, particularly for someone who had lived in Bristol, Va., from the second grade through college. “Virginia is where half of the Civil War battles were fought,” he said. “And we have a local Civil War history here, as well as a maritime history of significance, so I knew we would have students interested in studying this. Plus there were many major archival resources nearby where I and my students could do research.” Since coming to Old Dominion, Wilson has written two books, “Confederate Industry: Manufacturers and Quartermasters in the Civil War” (2002) and “McClure’s Magazine and the Muckrakers” (1970), and is at work on a third. In addition, he has written numerous journal articles and book reviews, given many public lectures, received two Fulbright awards and directed more than 30 master’s theses. “The students have been a great joy here,” he said. “They are infinitely creative and interesting. One great advantage of teaching is having interaction with students and being subjected to youth culture.” Wilson has also enjoyed the diversity of the student body. “One characteristic of the school that has proven very true from when I started to now is that we have benefited extremely from the military presence here. They have provided us with excellent students.” Wilson served as department chair for seven years in the 1990s, a period when the university experienced a number of budgetary setbacks. “On a few occasions I would come in to the departmental meetings with a bottle of cheap champagne and some cups, and my colleagues knew that the news was going to be bad,” Wilson remembers. “But somehow we got through that era.” After stepping down as chair, he joined the Faculty Senate, where he has served continuously ever since. Wilson said he never developed an overarching teaching philosophy. “I remember a dean who always said, ‘You take them where they are; that’s where you start.’ You find out where they are in terms of their learning, and then you take them where it is you want them to go.” And when one’s former students go on to successful careers, it makes it all worthwhile. “A few years ago, we had four or five of our graduate students come back to campus. They bounded into one of my classrooms, and surprised me to death. It was a very emotional experience, because you get tied to these people. One doesn’t direct a thesis without getting to know people rather well, so the human quality is very enriching.” Atsuko Biernot, who graduated in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in history and English and later took graduate courses in history, recalls Wilson’s zeal for his subject matter and dedication as a teacher. “Being of Japanese descent in a graduate Civil War class was an interesting experience in and of itself,” she said. “What I remember most was his enthusiasm, and that enthusiasm was evident both inside and outside the classroom.” Lisa M. Castellanos, who earned her history degree in 2005 and is now pursuing a master’s, noted, “I would find it hard to believe that there was any other scholar out there with so much enthusiasm and knowledge about the American Civil War as Dr. Wilson. His energetic lectures drew us into another time, allowing for a full perspective of not only the battles, but the personalities and social contexts of the era. I thoroughly enjoyed having him as a professor and will always remember Dr. Wilson for his passion with respect to educating others about the War between the States.” Annette Finley-Croswhite, chair of the history department, added, “Harold Wilson has had an amazing presence in the department. His institutional memory is a vital part of the history department, and his dedication to Civil War history is admirable. He has taught generations of students with his own particular erudition and charm. Students often comment on his impressive memory and story-like lectures that both entertain and enthrall.” While Wilson, 72, expects to have more time soon to spend with his grandchildren, he, in fact, is hoping to stay on campus in some part-time capacity that will allow him to continue to teach a class or two and to conduct research. “I love college life and I’m not going to walk away from it completely.” Speaking from his eighth-floor office in BAL, he explained, “I had no overwhelming, compelling reason to go into retirement, but the early-retirement initiative made sense to me. I don’t expect to make any great change in my lifestyle. I really don’t like golf very much, and I haven’t fished for a long time.” “I expected to grow old and gray-headed; to be on a campus with young people who had a lot of vim and vigor; to be paid a very modest salary; to have a library nearby from which I could check out any book of my choice; to have a social relationship with my fellow faculty and students; to eat in a cafeteria that would not be first rate, but fairly cheap; and to make enough income to get my children into school and keep my wife in groceries. That was pretty much my expectation.” All things considered, as he closes this long chapter in his personal history, Wilson says it’s been a gratifying experience. Back to top
During her time at ODU, she has established a reputation as one of the best teachers in the College of Business and Public Administration. She received the college’s Faculty Teaching Award in 2004 and won the prestigious recognition of University Professor in 2005. Dean Nancy Bagranoff stated, “Professor Bartkus is that rare talented teacher who impacts both student learning and student lives. She has also served her academy and the larger community surrounding her as well.” The Tonelson Award, which includes a $2,000 prize and free parking for a year, is named for one of ODU’s first students, the late Alan Rufus Tonelson ’33, who went on to serve as a professor and administrator of the university. Provost’s Award for Leadership in International Education Carpenter has a long history of international activities, including work as a Peace Corps volunteer, employment with the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations in Rome and ecological research in the Middle East. He was selected to oversee the marine animals’ portion of the prestigious International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the multinational organization which designates rare and endangered species. He has received high-profile exposure in national and international media, including the Christian Science Monitor. This past year he received two National Science Foundation grants totaling more than $2 million for international work. J. Worth Pickering Administrator of the Year Award As an adjunct faculty member in early childhood, speech-language pathology and special education, Butler was the 2000 TELETECHNET Teacher of the Year. Currently, she is involved with several collaborative grants between the Virginia Department of Education, ODU and local school divisions.
Instructional Technology Teaching Award She developed a Web-based course for MGMT 350 Employee Relations, which rolled out to nursing students in fall 2006. She attributes her success to her experience at Coastal Training Technologies where she performed research and served as project coordinator for several human resource-related videos and CD-ROMs, as well as her training and communications experience at Stihl Inc. Joyce Magnotto Neff, professor of English and coordinator of professional writing, previously served as director of composition, associate chair and interim chair of the English department. She is a co-author of “Professional Writing in Context” and has published many articles and book chapters on writing across the curriculum, writing centers, grounded theory and workplace writing. Her 2008 book, “Writing Across Distances and Disciplines: Research and Pedagogy in Distributed Learning” (co-authored with Carl Whithaus), includes a longitudinal study of writing in TELETECHNET courses. She has a Faculty Innovator Grant from the Center for Learning Technologies to study collaboration and interactivity in distance education. He has published more than 100 articles in the most respected refereed journals in his field and in published proceedings. These articles have been cited more than 6,000 times. Recently he was elected as a Fellow of the American Physical Society, “for his leadership on measurements of the nucleon structure functions, in particular in the non-perturbative and valence region.” At the Jefferson Lab he has served as a director on the Users Board, is now the chair of the Deep Processes Working Group for the CLAS collaboration and was instrumental in developing the scientific motivation for the proposed $310 million upgrade to the CEBAF accelerator.
Eminent Scholars David Burdige, professor of ocean, earth and atmospheric sciences, joined Old Dominion in 1985. He holds a joint appointment in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and is an internationally known expert in marine geochemistry. Sebastian Kuhn, professor of physics, came to Old Dominion in 1992. At the Jefferson Lab, he has led collaborations of 150 physicists from 35 institutions in research focused on an experimental investigation of the structure of the protons and neutrons that comprise the atomic nucleus. Jeffrey Richards, professor of English, joined Old Dominion in 1992. He is the graduate program director for the English M.A. and Ph.D. programs, and is best known for his groundbreaking work in early American drama and theater. University Professors Lawrence Hatab, professor of philosophy, joined Old Dominion in 1976. He is a past recipient of the College of Arts and Letters’ Robert L. Stern Award for Outstanding Teaching, the Charles O. and Elisabeth E. Burgess Award for Research and the Most Inspiring Faculty Award. Garrett McAuliffe, professor of educational leadership and counseling, joined Old Dominion in 1988. He has received the TELETECHNET Teacher of the Year Award, the Sara and Rufus Tonelson Award from the Darden College of Education, and twice received the Instructional Publication Award from the education college. Alan Savitzky, professor of biological sciences, came to Old Dominion in 1982. A former graduate program director for the Ph.D. program in ecological studies, he has also enjoyed visiting appointments at Clemson University, Kyoto University Museum in Japan and the University of the Ryukyus in Japan. Doctoral Mentoring Awards Stacey Plichta, professor of community and environmental health, came to Old Dominion in 1995. About her mentoring skills, one student said, “In many aspects, Dr. Plichta served as my role model. I aspire to emulate her professionalism, character and rapport she has with her students.” Ravindra Joshi, professor of electrical and computer engineering, joined Old Dominion in 1995. The influence of his mentoring is reflected by statements such as, “I have been with the department for the last six years, and there is no other faculty member that has influenced me with their positive attributes as much as Dr. Joshi. He steps above and beyond the official obligations to do his utmost in guiding and nurturing students to new levels.” Lepsha Vuscovic, professor of physics, joined Old Dominion in 1993. Former students’ praise was deeply felt and reflected in statements such as, “Because of her professional achievements and great care for her students, her research group has always been able to attract the top students to her Ph.D. program. I still remember how proud I was to be in her program.” Back to top
Dwight W. Allen Katherine T. Bucher Thomas F. Cash Gary E. Copeland James L. Cox Jr. Ernest J. “Jim” Cross Jr. Gary R. Crossman William G. Cunningham Stephen G. Cupschalk Ram C. Dahiya Walter F. Deal III Chris Drake William A. Drewry Perry M. Duncan Anita C. Fellman Ann E. Gargett David R. Hager Louis H. Henry Clare W. Houseman Elizabeth Lipsmeyer Otto B. Martinson R. Bruce McAfee Chuh Mei Leonard I. Ruchelman Joseph H. Rule Stewart N.T. Shen J. Taylor Sims Jr. Ronald W. Snapp John J. Swetits Surendra N. Tiwari Larry W. Wilson James H. Yuan Editor’s note: History Professor Harold S. Wilson, who was the first emeritus faculty member from this year’s class to teach at Old Dominion, is profiled in a feature story on page 5. Back to top
What is climate change? According to Michael Glantz, a senior scientist at the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research, “When scientists talk of climate change, they are referring to shifts in the global climate system that have not been witnessed for one or more centuries or millennia, changes the likes of which societies have no memory.” This does not refer to the normal fluctuations in climate that happen over time but involves a warming of the Earth’s atmosphere that is expected to range between 2.7 and 10.5 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the 21st century. Causes Government can be influential in protecting or endangering the environment. In the United States, for instance, political and economic actors lobby members of Congress for or against environmental policies. When environmental legislation is enacted, individuals and businesses are required to abide by the regulatory standards or face sanctions. The laws that are enacted, however, are only relevant to the nations where the laws have been passed. While international environmental agreements are in effect, there has been difficulty in achieving consensus in terms of stringency and improvements. For example, the Global Climate Change Convention agreed upon at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 succumbed to President George H.W. Bush’s preference for voluntary timetables and guidelines. In contrast, its successor, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, required mandatory goals and timetables and went into effect when it was ratified by Russia in 2004. However, it failed to secure ratification by the U.S. Senate during the Clinton administration and the protocol was renounced in 2001 by President George W. Bush. Consequences Significant climate change will also impact the human environment. It is expected that there will be aggravated stress on human health, such as an increase in heart disease-related deaths, malaria, dengue fever and malnutrition. Agricultural development is likely to suffer as well. Many societal groups rely on this sector for economic reasons while the entire human population is dependent on this sector for food production. Biodiversity will diminish, landscapes will shift and human societal groups will have to adapt. A tangible outcome of global warming is an increase in storm severity. Moreover, in addition to sea level rise and rivers drying up, Glantz warns us, “There is concern in scientific and policymaking circles about how global warming might affect the frequency, intensity, trajectory and location of landfall of tropical storms.” Hurricane Katrina is a prime example of a severe storm that resulted in changes as outlined above. The Gulf region suffered massive contamination of coastal waters which led to the closing of 16 wildlife refuges. Economically, gas prices reached record levels and the forest industry lost over $5 billion in revenue. Also, public officials including President Bush, Michael Brown of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin faced serious criticism as citizens blamed them for inaction or delayed action. Solutions The role of the U.S. is especially important because it is one of the top producers of carbon emissions worldwide. In comparison to other industrialized countries, the U.S. ranks far behind in energy efficiency. China and India are also important because of their enormous growth rates and the consequent impact that they have on the environment. The EU has so far been leading the way and has been able to reduce emissions and promote environmentally friendly policies among its member states. There are several immediate steps that the U.S. can take in order to assume a leadership role on this issue. One is to impose an excise tax based on cylinder capacity and emissions, rather than on resale value, in order to penalize gas guzzlers and cars with high emission rates. Another is to increase federal gasoline taxes to encourage fuel efficiency by consumers and to encourage the development of mass transit. These new tax revenues can then be allocated in the investment of research and development of renewable energy. Furthermore, city planers should institute “smart growth” policies to reduce commute times and to make mass transit more convenient. Stricter building codes that demand the use of more energy-efficient building materials should be implemented. And finally, alternative energy sources, such as wind and solar, should be subsidized to encourage consumers to invest in them. Conclusion The EU has made tremendous progress within its geographical region. However, in the U.S. it is up to citizens to compel government officials that it is time for the country to move into a position of global leadership on this important issue. Only if the U.S. assumes this vital role will it be able to convince other countries to join in collective action in seeking solutions to this global environmental problem. Back to top
– “Move yourself” “To be one of the four finalists, out of three million teachers in the country, it’s pretty big. I’m not upset about it at all.” (Tommy Smigiel, 2000 ODU graduate) – “Norfolk teacher misses out on top national educator award” “We would draw more people here, draw more gate revenue, have more opportunity for advertising. History shows what we have to offer.” (Jim Jarrett, athletic director) – “In tournament bidding war, ODU willing to lose a battle” “Failing to act now is probably the worst thing we can do.” (John McConaugha, associate professor of ocean, earth and atmospheric sciences, speaking as a member of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission) – “Virginia clamps down on harvest of blue crabs” “They just want to make a living just like anyone else. And they’re very good at what they do.” (Daniel Sonenshine, professor emeritus of biological sciences) – “Eight-legged nuisance is terrifying, disgusting” “It was an awesome opportunity to take part in, and I know I will never forget it.” (Mallory Schafer, 2006 ODU graduate) – “Virginia Beach native carried Olympic torch”
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