SJ300: Commending Old Dominion University on its 75th anniversary.
WHEREAS, Old Dominion University, founded in September 1930 as a two-year division of the College of William and Mary, will celebrate its 75th anniversary throughout the 2005-2006 academic year; and
WHEREAS, the Norfolk Division gained its independence from William and Mary in 1962, becoming Old Dominion College, and Frank Batten, publisher of The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star and a member of the Norfolk Division’s advisory board, was chosen as the new college’s first rector; and
WHEREAS, from its humble beginnings as a one-building school, Old Dominion University responded to the needs and demands of eastern Virginians as an institution offering an excellent, affordable, and accessible education; and
WHEREAS, although Old Dominion University did not become a four-year college until 1962, it offered its first four-year programs in nursing, teacher education, and business administration in 1953; the school awarded its first four-year bachelor’s degrees to 15 students in June 1956; and
WHEREAS, known as a pioneer in distance learning, Old Dominion University was the first higher education institution in Virginia to realize the major role television could play in education, offering the first noncredit televised class in 1952, and six years later world geography and music appreciation became the first credit courses taught over open-circuit television on WVEC-TV; and
WHEREAS, Old Dominion University has grown considerably since the 1930s, and it continues that growth today, enriching individual lives, surrounding communities, and the nation through engaging, exciting teaching, and innovative, cutting-edge research; and
WHEREAS, Old Dominion University's motto, Portal to New Worlds, is particularly appropriate in describing a university that opens doors of discovery to new knowledge, ancient wisdom, the most modern science and cutting-edge technology, and the civic and cultural understanding needed by the leaders of tomorrow; and
WHEREAS, in recent years, Old Dominion University has claimed a Rhodes Scholar, a Truman Scholar, and three USA Today Academic All-Americans, as well as an Emmy award-winning television producer, an astronaut, the head of the U.S. Pacific Command, the chief of surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, award-winning authors, engineers, and scientists, and professional coaches and athletes; and
WHEREAS, Old Dominion University has an exemplary staff of dedicated and outstanding professors who have won numerous honors, including 19 Outstanding Faculty Awards from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and three Virginia Outstanding Scientists of the Year awards; and
WHEREAS, the university is old enough to value tradition yet young enough to facilitate change, and through creative experimentation, innovation, research and technology, Old Dominion University will meet the challenges of the 21st century; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly commend and congratulate Old Dominion University on the occasion of its 75th anniversary; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Roseann Runte, president of Old Dominion University, as an expression of the General Assembly’s gratitude for the university's commitment to higher education and longtime service to the citizens of the Commonwealth.
