BCET 'TITLE IX TRAILBLAZER' HONORED

Four current and former members of the Old Dominion community were honored at a campus celebration marking the 40th anniversary of Title IX.

A law passed in 1972, Title IX states: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance."

Among the ODU Title IX trailblazers honored was Linda Vahala, associate dean of the Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology. Vahala started her career at ODU as a research assistant professor in the physics department in 1984 and in 1985 made the switch to electrical and computer engineering. She became the first female faculty member to achieve tenure in electrical and computer engineering in 1994. She received the Outstanding Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Award in 1999 and the prestigious Peninsula Engineer of the Year Award in 1995 (and at that time was the only ODU faculty member to have received the award).

In 2005, Vahala became the first female associate dean in the Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology. The Kaufman Award winner from 2012, Brittany Gesner, named Vahala as her Most Inspiring Faculty Member. Vahala has also been an active member of the University Women's Caucus and has served as its president. Vahala's continued work with NASA as well as plasma and magnetohydrodynamics engineering are evidence of her continued distinction in the field of engineering.

She was joined in receiving the award by: Beth Anders, longtime field hockey coach; Julie Dodd, recently retired director of the Women's Center; and Janis Sanchez-Hucles, professor emerita of psychology and former university faculty representative to the NCAA.

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