GOOD NEWS, FROM THE TOP

The Governor of Virginia, Bob McDonnell, has released his 2012-2014 biennial budget proposal, which contained good news for both higher education in general and Old Dominion University specifically.

In recognition of the university's good work in meeting the stated objectives of the Governor and the General Assembly in enrollment growth, STEM education, student retention and degree attainment, as well as economic development and research initiatives, the governor has included $8.8 million in base General Funds for ODU each year of the biennium.

Among the funding established for the university, funds were reserved specifically for Project Lead the Way, a national, not-for-profit educational program that helps give middle and high school students the rigorous ground-level education they need to develop strong backgrounds in science and engineering coordinated through Business Gateway, as well as the Frank Reidy Center for Bioelectrics. In addition, the governor approved a $1.3 million capital outlay initiative for modeling and simulation activities, which will be used to market Virginia's strengths in modeling and simulation to incentivize the formation of companies using modeling and simulation and enhance collaboration among higher education institutions and the private sector.