By Joe Garvey
Throughout 2021, Old Dominion University's students, faculty and staff were featured on the ODU News homepage.
Ranked by number of website visitors, the following 10 stories were our most viewed in 2021.
ODU Celebrates 2020 and 2021 Graduates with Virtual and In-Person Ceremonies
May 6: In remarks to graduates at Old Dominion University's first in-person commencement ceremonies in a year and a half, President John R. Broderick said the venue where they are being held - Kornblau Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium - helps illustrate how disruptive COVID-19 has been. "Who would have thought two years ago when we rebuilt this football stadium that we would hold more graduation ceremonies this weekend - seven - than we would hold home football games - six - over two years?" he said.
Radford President Brian Hemphill Named ODU's Ninth President
Feb. 12: Old Dominion University's Board of Visitors announced that it selected, by unanimous vote, Dr. Brian O. Hemphill, the president of Radford University, to become the ninth president of Old Dominion this summer. Dr. Hemphill is Old Dominion's first African American president. Dr. Hemphill led Radford from 2016 to 2021 and was hailed as an innovative and forward-focused leader there.
ODU Alum Winsome E. Sears Makes History with Her Election as Virginia's Lieutenant Governor
Nov. 3: Republican Winsome E. Sears, a 1992 graduate of Old Dominion University, was elected lieutenant governor of Virginia. She will become the first woman and first woman of color to serve in that position - but not the first Monarch. Two graduates of the Norfolk College of William & Mary, Republican Mills Godwin and Democrat Henry Howell, also were elected lieutenant governor, and Godwin later became governor.
Old Dominion University Freezes Tuition and Mandatory Fees for 2021-22 School Year
April 23: Old Dominion University's Board of Visitors voted unanimously to accept President John R. Broderick's recommendation to freeze tuition and mandatory fees for all students for the 2021-22 school year. It is the third consecutive year that ODU has not increased tuition for in-state undergraduates and the second year in a row that it has frozen tuition for all students, including those from out of state.
April 29: U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner delivered the commencement address during Old Dominion University's virtual graduation ceremony on May 5. Warner was elected to the Senate in 2008 and reelected to a third term in 2020. He serves on the Senate Finance, Banking, Budget, and Rules Committees as well as the Select Committee on Intelligence, where he is the chairman.
ODU Ranked Among Top Universities by U.S. News & World Report
Sept. 13: Old Dominion University has again been recognized as a top-tier institution in the prestigious U.S. News & World Report's 2022 Best Colleges rankings. ODU was ranked in the top tier of nearly 1,500 higher education institutions evaluated, and ranked No. 132 among public universities.
'Museum of the Moon' Will Illuminate ODU
Oct. 1: Since the dawn of humanity, the moon has captured the imagination of the stargazers. The silvery orb has inspired poets, composers, astronomers, painters, presidents, Pink Floyd and Frank Sinatra. And now, the moon was painstakingly recreated by British artist Luke Jerram, whose traveling installation "Museum of the Moon" was on display in October on the campus of Old Dominion University.
Former Defense Secretary James Mattis Warns Against America Abandoning Its Role as a Global Leader
May 26: The United States' response as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded provided an "abiding lesson" why America cannot shirk its role as a leader in addressing global challenges, former U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis told an audience at Chartway Arena at the Ted Constant Convocation Center.
ODU Names 2021 Distinguished Alumni Honorees
Oct. 8: The Old Dominion University Alumni Association (ODUAA) announced the 2021 Distinguished Alumni Honorees. These awards are given annually to graduates who have brought extraordinary honor to Old Dominion University through distinction in their fields.
Feb. 8: Five Old Dominion University professors - Hongyi Wu, Chunsheng Xin, Sachin Shetty, Rafael Diaz and Kevin Moberly - are principal investigators for several cybersecurity research projects that were awarded nearly $1 million through the Coastal Virginia Center for Cyber Innovation (COVA CCI).
