Governor Appoints Dean Baysal to State Board of Education

November 14, 2012

Oktay Baysal, dean of Old Dominion University's Batten College of Engineering and Technology, has been appointed by Gov. Bob McDonnell to the Board of Education of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Baysal, professor and eminent scholar of aerospace engineering, joined ODU in 1982 after finishing his doctorate at Louisiana State University. He was appointed in October by McDonnell to a four-year term on the nine-member Board of Education.

The board's vision is to, in cooperation with its academic partners, create an excellent statewide system of public education that derives strength from our diversity and that ensures equality of opportunity for each student in a safe and healthy learning environment that prepares all students to be capable, responsible, and self-reliant citizens in the global society.

The mission of the Board of Education and superintendent of public instruction is to develop policies and provide leadership that improve student achievement and prepare students to succeed in postsecondary education and the workplace.

Duties of board members include setting statewide curriculum standards; establishing high school graduation requirements; determining qualifications for classroom teachers, principals and other education personnel; establishing state testing and assessment programs; establishing standards for accreditation of local school divisions and preparation programs for teachers and administrators; implementing the No Child Left Behind Act and administering federal assistance programs; and developing rules and regulations for the administration of state programs.