Audrey T. "Bud" Paul, who enrolls at the Norfolk Division as a business administration student in 1933, is hired a year later as manager of the school snack bar, an establishment that would soon bear his name. A popular figure on campus, the diminutive Bud becomes the Division's only resident after the Administration Building opens in 1936, occupying a small room in the facility. Bud's Emporium, the school's first student hangout, moves from the Larchmont School building to the Administration Building in 1945.

Old Dominion presents its first Distinguished Alumni Award to Forrest D. Murden Jr. '40 in 1962. Since then, more than 150 alumni are accorded the honor. Among them are Mills E. Godwin Jr. '32, George Dragas '57, Alf J. Mapp Jr. '61, Robert M. Stanton '61, Meyera Oberndorf '64, Col. Mary Maniscalco-Theberge '78, Adm. William J. Fallon (M.A. '82), Anne Donovan '83, Mark West '83, Peter Yngwe '83 (M.B.A. '84), Joanna Lau (M.S. '85), Jay Harris '87, Michael Bloomfield (M.E.M. '93), Nancy Lieberman-Cline '00, Elizabeth A. Duke (M.B.A. '83), Shamina Singh '91, David Twardzik '72, Thomas Dicillo '75, Wil James Jr. '78 and Andrew Ungvarsky '02.

The first two Greek organizations on campus - both sororities - attain national affiliation with Alpha Xi Delta and Chi Omega on Feb. 28, 1964. Actually, the forerunners of Greek fraternities and sororities get their start on campus during the 1930s with the formation of social clubs: Tri-K and Cotillion clubs for women and Imps and Tigas for men. Today, the university has 11 social sororities and 21 social fraternities.

In September 1964, students move into Old Dominion's first dormitory, Rogers Hall, which houses 304 residents. It is named for Crawford S. Rogers, a former president of Norfolk Shipbuilding and Drydock Corp. and a member of Lewis Webb's advisory board. Construction soon follows on Gresham Hall, named in honor of Norfolk contractor E.T. Gresham, another member of the advisory board. Today, as many as 4,817 students can be housed on campus.

The Faculty Senate forms the Committee to Save the University during the 1970 spring semester, after Gov. Mills Godwin's proposed allocation falls $8 million short of the $23 million requested. Students join the protest, even changing the homecoming theme from "A Time for Love" to "A Time for a Fair Appropriation." Under the guidance of Professor Robert Stern, 23 students trek to Richmond to talk with legislators. The "Save ODU" campaign is successful in gaining an additional $1.6 million.

Student body president Bruce Bishop is appointed by Gov. Linwood Holton to the university's Board of Visitors in September 1972, making him the first undergraduate to be seated on the Board of Visitors of any Virginia college or university. A senior and political science major, Bishop had been an advocate for student representation.

Five years after Woodstock, an estimated 35,000 music fans fill Foreman Field to overflowing on a hot day in August 1974 for a concert featuring Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Despite the turnout, it would be another 24 years before Foreman Field hosts another major concert and another 35 years before the ODU Monarchs Football team would take the field with the return of football.

Civil and environmental engineering major Samantha Salvia, a field hockey All-American, becomes the university's first Rhodes scholar on Dec. 10, 1995. One of only 32 U.S. students who receive the award that year, Salvia wins a two-year full scholarship to study at the University of Oxford in England.

Michael Bloomfield, a 1993 graduate of Old Dominion's master's in engineering management program, participates in his first space shuttle mission in 1997, rendezvousing with the Mir Space Station to drop off one fellow astronaut and pick up another for the return trip to Earth. Since then, he has gone on two other NASA shuttles.

Kristine Gonzalez, a senior biological sciences major, becomes the first Old Dominion student named to USA Today's All-USA College Academic Team in February 1999. Shortly thereafter, two other students are selected for the team: Rosemarie Liu, a pre-med student, in 2002; and Linda Wolfe, an interdisciplinary studies major, in 2003.

At the afternoon commencement ceremony of its 104th commencement exercises on May 6, 2006, the university awards a diploma to its 100,000th graduate, Jacqueline Honaker. The recipient of a bachelor's degree in nuclear medicine technology, Honaker is congratulated on stage by W. Frank Latham Jr., a 1956 Old Dominion graduate who was among the first 15 students to have received a baccalaureate degree from the institution. Norfolk-based writer Michael D'Orso is the speaker for the afternoon ceremony. CNN's Wolf Blitzer delivers the address at the morning commencement program.

In 2010 President Broderick commissioned consultants to provide an administrative office restructuring plan that would result in an infrastructure focused on student success. His vision was realized in the formation of a new division, Student Engagement & Enrollment Services, with its mission to be a student-centered educational partner that impacts the learning environment through an innovative signature experience that seamlessly connects recruitment, engagement, active learning, and student success.

On Friday, Oct. 4, 2013, a 7-foot-tall bronze likeness of Big Blue was unveiled in Webb Center. The idea for the statue, the work of Virginia Beach sculptor Richard Stravitz, was conceived by members of ODU's Student Government Association (SGA) after seeing a similar statue at another university. The SGA leaders hoped to start a new tradition to go along with the statue. As students start their career at ODU, each student will take their picture with Big Blue to mark the beginning of their Monarch journey. Throughout their journey, ODU students are encouraged to revisit the statue and rub Blue's belly so as to bring wealth, good luck and prosperity. Four years later, students will again take their picture with Big Blue as part of their graduation celebration.