DAVID HARNAGE ACCEPTS POST AT LONGWOOD COLLEGE

David F. Harnage, who has served as Old Dominion University's vice president for administration and finance the past six years, announced today that he has accepted the position of executive vice president at Longwood College in Farmville, Va., effective Aug. 1.

The new position represents a significant broadening of his current responsibilities, encompassing not only the business affairs of the college, but also other activities at the institution.

"While I am excited about the new opportunity, Old Dominion will always be a special place to me," Harnage said. "It has been a real pleasure to work closely with President Koch, an individual whom I admire and respect, as well as my colleagues who have helped and supported me."

At Old Dominion, Harnage was widely known as the force behind the dramatic transformation of the physical campus. A visionary who oversaw numerous improvements to the grounds and physical plant, he managed projects that ranged from the creation of green spaces to new academic buildings to the planning for the University Village.

"Vice President Harnage has been an exceptionally productive administrator. I will miss him personally and Old Dominion will miss him in more ways than most can imagine," said President James V. Koch.

"His imprint is writ large on the university in terms of its physical beauty and expansion, including the new Virginia Beach Center, its devotion to technology, its superb audit reports and its reputation for good management. He is easily one of the most influential vice presidents ever to serve at Old Dominion."

Harnage, who joined Old Dominion in 1985 as associate vice president for computing services, also left his mark on the university's advances in computing, which ultimately led to the recent acquisition of a supercomputer and a new network that provides Internet access to every student in campus housing.

Harnage was named associate vice president for administration and finance in 1991 and became acting vice president for administration and finance in 1994. He oversaw many university divisions during his vice presidency, including computing and communications services, the budget and finance offices, financial aid and registration, auxiliary services, human resources, facilities management and public safety.

While his tireless work on behalf of the university was felt in many arenas, he will perhaps best be remembered for his efforts to beautify the campus. His ideas led to such landscaping improvements as the creation of Monarch Gardens along historic Quarantine Road, behind Webb University Center; Bugg Plaza and the nearby reflecting pond, outside the Batten Arts and Letters Building; and the bronze lion and fountain at the west end of Kaufman Mall. Harnage liked to call these and other places he helped create on campus "points of destination."

"You can't overstate the contributions Dave Harnage has made to this university," said Gilbert Yochum, a longtime faculty member in the College of Business and Public Administration. "Ten years ago, Old Dominion, frankly, was not an attractive school from an aesthetic perspective. Today, we have what I believe is one of the more beautiful campuses in Virginia. That's a wonderful thing for those of us who work here, but more importantly, we're now a more attractive school, literally, to prospective students and other visitors."