Broderick Commentary in Chronicle of Higher Education
John R. Broderick, Old Dominion University's vice president of institutional advancement and chief of staff, has published an article titled "Here's the Lineup for the 'Dream Team'" in the June 6 edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Broderick, who is a member of the university's Presidential Search Committee, describes in the article the ideal makeup of such a committee. He compares a successful search committee to an athletic team, saying that qualities valued in a wide variety of sports are necessary for the search process to run smoothly.
"The more I've thought about it, the more it seems to me that a solid search committee for an academic or administrative job resembles an athletic team on which various people play key positions in a coordinated role," he writes in the article.
Broderick is experienced in leading such efforts, having previously chaired search committees for ODU's vice president of research search and provost, and co-chaired the search for the school's head football coach.
"I must be doing something right (or wrong), since I keep getting that assignment," he writes in the article that can be viewed online at http://chronicle.com/weekly/v54/i39/39c00301.htm.
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.