HALF-STAFF FLAG HONORS PROFESSOR PINDUR
The Old Dominion University flag flies at half-staff in honor of Wolfgang Pindur, professor of urban studies and public administration, who died of a heart attack Monday at his home in Virginia Beach. He was 56.
An Old Dominion faculty member since 1974, Pindur was the founding director of Old Dominion's Ph.D. program in urban services and formerly served chair of the department and associate dean of the College of Business and Public Administration. He stepped down as executive director of the Graduate Center for Urban Studies and Public Administration last year after many years of service. His successor as executive director, William Leavitt, called Pindur "the heart of this department."
"Those will be tremendously difficult shoes to fill," Leavitt said. "Wolfgang was one of those people that, if you needed something, he delivered. His service to this department was beyond compare. He put us on the map."
Services will be at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 3900 Virginia Beach Blvd., Virginia Beach. His family will receive friends from 7-9 p.m. Wednesday at Hollomon-Brown Funeral Home's Lynnhaven Chapel, 3600 Virginia Beach Blvd., Virginia Beach.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to either Community Alternatives Inc., 3133 Magic Hollow Blvd., Virginia Beach, VA 23456 or to the American Diabetes Association, Always and Forever Memorial and Honor Program, PO Box 2680, North Canton, OH 44720.
A native of Oldenburg, Germany, Pindur authored more than 100 technical reports, articles and books. He lectured in China, Japan, France, Spain, Germany, Hungary and throughout the United States, and received numerous grants from local, state and federal agencies.
His areas of expertise included management, evaluation and outcome measurement. Locally, he worked closely with the juvenile justice system researching the effectiveness of treatment programs. His grant activity included work on customer service, strategic planning, low-income housing, pregnancy prevention and social service program delivery. His service to the community included organizing a multi-year strategic planning exercise for the city of Virginia Beach.
At the time of his death, Pindur was president of the Hampton Roads chapter of the American Society for Public Administration. He received the organization's Julian Hirsch Award and was a member of its national Hall of Fame. He was recognized by the governor for outstanding public service, and had been honored by the College of Business and Public Administration for his service to the community.
Pindur is survived by his wife, Nancy; a daughter, Renee; a son, Jason; a sister, Heidi Gibson; and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Willis.