BOARD APPROVES SLIGHT INCREASE OF STUDENT FEES
The Board of Visitors approved a $1 per credit hour increase in the student activity fee at its Dec. 7 meeting, a measure that was requested by the Student Senate.
Speaking to board members at the Student Affairs Committee meeting, student body president Mike Arendall said that while the university has enjoyed a prosperous decade and committed itself to a number of projects, there haven't been any increases in appropriations for student organizations.
Nearly 70 percent of the 400 students who voted in a referendum last year approved of the proposed increase, Arendall said, noting that a portion of the additional money could be used to hold concerts, homecoming activities and other events.
"Because our money has stayed the same, the buying power of student activities has decreased," he said.
Budget requests from student groups are submitted to the Student Senate's Finance Committee, which recommends them to the senate. Because of financial constraints, some groups are granted only a portion of their requests. According to Arendall, there are nearly 200 active student groups at the university, and another 20 have applied for recognition this semester.
Arendall said the $1 per credit hour increase would generate approximately $350,000 in additional revenue for student activities.
"Right now, student organizations are the only outlet for student activities in close proximity to campus," James Toscano, student representative to the Board of Visitors and general manger of Old Dominion's student-run radio station, WODU, said at the committee meeting.
Dana Burnett, vice president for student services, also presented a review of the university's policies governing student alcohol use on campus during the Student Affairs Committee meeting.
Burnett said the university's alcohol use policy, which includes fines and preventative workshops as well as a "three strikes" standard for student expulsion, is stringent. But, he added, "You can take in all that information, and what it comes down to is choices."
Burnett also paid tribute to freshman Terry Stirling of Ruckersville, Va., who died Dec. 1.
"We lost one of our best and brightest," he said.
In other matters, the board approved the appointment of two faculty members with the award of tenure: Ahmed Noor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Ann Elizabeth Gargett in the Department of Ocean, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. The appointments become effective Dec. 25 and Feb. 1, respectively.
Since 1990, Noor has been the Ferman W. Perry Professor of Aerospace Structures and Applied Mechanics at the University of Virginia and director of the Center for Advanced Computational Technology at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton.
Gargett comes to Old Dominion from the Institute of Ocean Sciences in British Columbia where she has served as a research scientist.
The board also approved awarding a mid-year tenure appointment to Gail Dodge of the Department of Physics. It will become effective with the spring 2001 semester.
In other action, the board endorsed 15 administrative appointments, including:
*Lesa C. Clark as director of multicultural student services. She has been the assistant director of multicultural student services at Old Dominion since 1997.
*Kellie C. Sorey as coordinator of training and operations for the Office of Distance Learning and Extended Education. She has worked as a TELETECHNET site director since 1994.
*Mark Benson as director of athletic giving in the Office of Development. He has also worked as director of marketing and promotions for the university's athletic department.
Also at the Dec. 7 meeting, the board was introduced to members of Old Dominion's national champion field hockey team, and a portrait of former Board of Visitors Rector Edward L. Hamm Jr. was unveiled.