Acting President Broderick Receives Distinguished Service Award from College Communicators
Old Dominion University Acting President John R. Broderick received the Distinguished Service Award from the College Communicators Association of Virginia and the District of Columbia at the group's fall conference Nov. 7.
The annual award honors college and university professionals who have made particularly meritorious contributions in the area of communications. Broderick is the second Old Dominion administrator to be honored since the award's creation in 1993. Kay Kemper, who served as vice president of institutional advancement for the university, received it in 1996.
Broderick was appointed acting president by the university's Board of Visitors last July. He joined Old Dominion in 1993 as director of public information and was named vice president of institutional advancement and admissions in 1996. In 2003, he was given the additional responsibilities of the president's Chief of Staff, and oversaw the areas of admissions, athletics, community relations, governmental relations, licensing, marketing, media relations, military affairs, photography, publications, special events, student financial aid and the campus Visitor Center.
Under his direction, the university launched its award-winning research magazine Quest, unveiled a glossy new design on its alumni magazine, created one of the first university daily news web sites in the state, and more than doubled its national media exposure, among many other communications successes. More recently, he spearheaded Old Dominion's university-wide initiatives on branding, enrollment management and emergency communications.
In 2002, Broderick was one of the leaders of the state-wide public relations campaign for the Higher Education Bond Referendum, which voters overwhelmingly approved and which provided millions of dollars in desperately needed funding to colleges and universities throughout Virginia.
Broderick has received numerous honors for his work, including being one of four finalists for the PR News' 2006-07 Professional of the Year award for an academic institution.
He continues to write commentary and other pieces and his articles have been published in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Hartford Courant, Baltimore Sun, Sporting News, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Richmond Times-Dispatch and Virginian-Pilot.
He annually teaches the School, Community Relations and Politics course to graduate students in ODU's Darden College of Education.