Black  academician was appointed as Old Dominion University president

            For the first time in its 91-year history,  the Old Dominion University appointed  a  Black person. Brian O. Hemphill, as  its president.  Brian O. Hemphill, is the  ninth president  

Hemphill, has degrees in organizational communication, journalism and higher education administration. He succeed the university’s longest serving president, John R. Broderick.

The selection  board  considered 92 candidates, unanimously voted in favor of Hemphill.

Old Dominion University (ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia, America. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in  Virginia, with an enrollment of 24,176 students for the 2019 academic year.

Old Dominion University is also home to over 700 international students from 89 countries. Its main campus covers over 251 acres

Brian O. Hemphill,    said in a press meet that, “It is both an honor and privilege to be selected as the ninth president of Old Dominion University, which is a dynamic public research institution that has proudly served the Hampton Roads region and positively impacted the Commonwealth of Virginia,”

He added that,  he believes in student-centered approaches to leadership and is committed to diversity and inclusion

He joins the university as it works to launch a School of Public Health with Norfolk State University and Eastern Virginia Medical School, and expand online health efforts at its Virginia Beach Center.

He was previously president at West Virginia State University for four years and spent eight years as vice president for student affairs and enrollment management at Northern Illinois University.

He has also worked at the University of Arkansas, the University of North Carolina Wilmington, Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa and Iowa State University.

During Hemphill’s tenure at Radford, the  enrollment rates for the 2019 and 2020 school years .were high.

Mr. Brian O. Hemphill established an Academic Success Center to improve the first-year experience for students, retention and graduation.

Under Hemphill, Radford also received its largest federal grant,

worth $13.8 million, from the U.S. Department of Education, as well as $101 million in state funding for the school’s Center for Adaptive Innovation and Creativity, a hub for interdisciplinary engagement and research.

Hemphill  taught classes at Radford, including Communication and Leadership, Personnel Services in Higher Education and African American Imagery in the Mass Media. He is co-writing two books and has written or co-written more than two dozen journal articles on topics such as student activism and student orientation.

He established the Vinod Chachra IMPACT Lab, which provides online training to adult students in cybersecurity, geospatial intelligence and special education, and helped add 19 associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in health sciences to the school’s curriculum.

He has  won  so many awards over the years, including a Bert Alan Watson Award for Excellence in Professional-Scholarly Presentation from the American Association of University Administrators.

John R. Broderick, who is retiring after 28 years at ODU and 13 years as president, wished Hemphill well in the release “I believe his strengths and values will align well with Old Dominion’s culture and aspirations,” Broderick said. “In the remaining months of my presidency, we will work closely to ensure a smooth transition as we position Old Dominion for continued greatness.”                                                                                                                    courtesy Saleen Martin