Murry Pitts will serve as vice rector of the board.
Jerri Dickseski will serve as secretary of the board.
The Old Dominion University Board of Visitors unanimously elected its officers for the 2022-2023 term at its June 2 meeting.
Bruce Bradley, of Virginia Beach, will continue serving as rector. Prior to his retirement, Bradley served as president of Landmark Publishing Group and executive vice president of Landmark Media Enterprises, LLC.
Bradley received his B.S. in business administration from Villanova University in 1971 and an M.B.A. from ODU in 1978. The University awarded Bradley an honorary doctoral degree in 2010 and a Distinguished Alumni Award in 2015. He is also a Navy veteran. Among his many philanthropic gifts to ODU, he established the Bruce and Lilly Bradley Distinguished Research Fellowship in Coastal Resilience in 2018. He is an adjunct professor at the University.
P. Murry Pitts, of Charlottesville, was unanimously elected vice rector. Appointed to the board in August 2020, Pitts has served on the committees for academic and research advancement, athletics and student enhancement and engagement. Pitts is chief executive officer of Burlington Medical and Bar-Ray Medical Products, companies that manufacture surgical radiation protection gear.
Pitts graduated from ODU in 1980 with a degree in criminal justice and began his career working for United States Lines, a container shipping company, for seven years. He entered the paperboard carton business and in 1988, acquired Pell Paper Box in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, followed by another company that was merged to create Carded Graphics LLC. After selling the company in 2015, he became CEO of a Swiss converting-machine manufacturer. Following a brief retirement, he joined private equity firms, including the one that co-owns Burlington Medical and BarRay Products.
Jerri F. Dickseski, of Hampton, was unanimously named secretary of the board. First appointed in 2017, Dickseski has served on the executive committee, along with committees for academic and research advancement, athletics and university advancement. She is also chair of committees for governance and audit and compliance.
Until her retirement in September 2021, Dickseski was executive vice president of communications for Huntington Ingalls Industries, America's largest military shipbuilding company. From 2011 until her retirement, Dickseski was responsible for the company's communications strategy and execution, including all external communications, advertising, web and social media, and branding and corporate image.
Dickseski earned bachelor's and master's degrees in English from Old Dominion University. She serves on the board of directors for the United Way of the Virginia Peninsula and the board of trustees for the Old Dominion University Educational Foundation.
Three outgoing members were recognized for their service to the board: Carlton F. Bennett, Alton J. (Jay) Harris and Lisa B. Smith. All three served from 2014 to 2022.
