ODU administrator Johnny Young Recognized with National Role Model Award
September 29, 2017
Johnny Young
Johnny Young, associate vice president for Student Engagement and Enrollment Services (SEES) was recently honored with the 2017 Minority Access National Role Model Award.
Minority Access is a nonprofit organization committed to increasing diversity, decreasing disparities and reducing incidents of environmental injustice.
Young started Old Dominion's Brother 2 Brother chapter in 2016. Brother 2 Brother is an organization that mentors and provides support to minority males. The organization's goal is to increase the number of young African American and Hispanic men graduating from college by creating a positive peer community based on support.
ODU is already seeing positive results in African American male retention rates.
Minority Access also recognized Old Dominion University as an institution committed to diversity at its 18th National Role Models Conference in Washington D.C. this past weekend.
One of the University's top priorities is promoting diversity and inclusion. Old Dominion is now the most diverse four-year doctoral institution in Virginia. Best Colleges also ranked the University No. 31 out of 100 largest universities in the country for diversity.
Some other key initiatives helping the University reach its' goal of diversity and inclusion includes the President's Task Force on Inclusive Excellence and the establishment of the ODU Student Inclusive Excellence Advisory Board.
The President's Task Force on Inclusive Excellence is an initiative to help move the University towards becoming a more deliberately inclusive community by leveraging diversity to attain the goals outlined in the University's Strategic Plan. The ODU Student Inclusive Excellence Advisory Board serves as a pulse for University leadership on student sentiment concerning inclusivity and diversity.
Minority Access honors inspiring students, faculty, alumni, innovators and diverse institutions as role models to expand the pool of minority scientists, researchers and professionals in fields underrepresented by minorities. The annual conferences serve to directly link federal agencies with institutions that they support. The linkages are mutually beneficial.
Over 250 colleges, universities and other institutions are represented at the conferences. Now in its eighteenth year, the Minority Access National Role Models Conference is established as one of the most prestigious conferences of its kind.
