By Harry Minium and Philip Walzer
Old Dominion University's Board of Visitors on June 17 unanimously approved a $574 million budget for the 2021-22 school year that increases funding for financial aid, faculty and staff salaries and new academic facilities without raising tuition or fees.
This is the third school year in a row ODU has frozen tuition for in-state students and the second straight year that tuition has been frozen for all students, including those from out of state.
For the first time ever, ODU also froze all mandatory fees.
The tuition freeze ensures that the University will remain the most affordable doctoral institution in Virginia. In-state undergraduates taking 30 hours of classes a year will spend $11,160 in tuition and mandatory fees, the same as in 2020-21.
ODU has set aside $20 million in part from cost savings to be used for new initiatives in the upcoming school year or as a cushion if enrollment dips or the economy sours.
President John R. Broderick is leaving the presidency at the end of June to become President Emeritus and Board of Visitors Distinguished Lecturer in the Darden College of Education and Professional Studies.
In the budget, the board increased funding for faculty for Old Dominion's growing cybersecurity program, student services, Title IX staffing and operations, and student success coaches, who help students enroll in classes and monitor their progress.
ODU retained state funding for a new Health Sciences Building, a $74.9 million project that will open in the fall of 2023, as well as $5.2 million in stormwater improvements. It also received state approval to begin planning a $128 million Biology Building.
The state allocated $2.5 million in new funds to help ODU establish a School of Public Health with Norfolk State University and Eastern Virginia Medical School.
It also approved $5.3 million for need-based aid for Virginia students and $4.5 million to help ODU maintain affordable access for students.
At the end of the meeting, Kay A. Kemper announced that she will step down as rector of the board on July 16 but will remain as a member. She has led the board since 2020 and been a member since 2016.
Bruce Bradley, the vice rector of the board and a member since 2016, will serve as interim rector until Sept. 16, when the board plans to elect a slate of officers to serve until June 30, 2022.
