Presidential Search on Hold

Dear Members of the University Community:

As you know, the Board of Visitors recently announced that it has put on hold the search for Old Dominion University's next permanent president.  I will continue to serve until that individual is identified and takes office.

During this time, I assure you that I will work closely with the vice presidents, deans, faculty, staff and student leadership to move the institution forward. It is important that we demonstrate to all of our constituents that this interlude in the presidential search will not in any way reduce our productivity.  Our teaching, research and service must carry on at the highest levels. 

My priorities in the months to come are as follows:

• Completing a careful enrollment management study that simultaneously reflects
  realistic enrollment projections and our desire to enhance our academic reputation. If we grow more slowly than previously projected, then we will generate less revenue and our faculty and staff may not expand as rapidly. However, against this, if we do grow more modestly, we will be able to increase our admissions selectivity and improve our academic standards, performance and reputation.  We must have an open campus discussion about the optimal mixture in this regard.
• Dealing efficiently and intelligently with anticipated reductions in Commonwealth general fund support.
• Continuing our efforts to improve student learning and retention.
• Determining what Old Dominion's future should be in the realm of distance learning.
• Representing Old Dominion successfully in the forthcoming session of the General Assembly.
• Improving our relationships and collaboration with neighboring academic and governmental institutions. 

I'll need your help and cooperation in order to achieve these goals. I should add that I have been pleased with the quality of suggestions from the campus community regarding ways to reduce our energy costs. In the next several weeks, we will propose some changes, based exclusively on your suggestions and commitments. More than 100 of you took the time to write me.

In closing, let's keep the lines of communication open. I pledge to keep you as well informed as possible and I encourage you to do the same with me.

Sincerely,

John R. Broderick
Acting President