NORFOLK, Va. — An institution stronger than ever, with more prospects on the horizon; that's how the top executive leader of Old Dominion University (ODU) described the state of the school in an address Friday morning.
ODU President Dr. Brian Hemphill touched on a wide variety of topics during his State of the University address, including an exclusive, invitation-only readiness program in collaboration with Tidewater Community College. It's called TCC-ODU Monarch Ready.
Hemphill also announced a brand-new effort by Jefferson Lab (JLab), the Joint Institute on Advanced Computing for Environmental Studies (ACES). He touted it as a first-of-its-kind "interdisclipinary power" for Virginia.
"We have scientists that come from JLab and come from ODU. So, we have scientists on both sides. They work together as a team, and then our goal is also to include graduate students, undergraduate students, internships," said Dr Heather Richter, co-director for the Joint Institute on ACES.
Furthermore, within the next year, ODU is expected to merge with Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS).
Dr. Hemphill said planning has been underway for more than two years. Part of planning involved securing funds from the Commonwealth of Virginia and Sentara.
"The next step is we are going back to Richmond. There is a little more funding we are going to have to receive from Richmond, but we feel good," Hemphill said.
As both learning institutions navigate challenges like coordinating IT and finances, leaders are pushing their goal of integrating from January 1, 2024 to July 1, 2024.
"We're excited, because we know what this will mean for Hampton Roads, when we think about health care, when we think about growth in research and when we think about opportunities that we will have to really drive workforce," Hemphill told reporters.
"The health sciences center we're creating, we will be giving close to 50+ certificates and degrees. Between what EVMS does today and what ODU does today, there's only overlap in two or three. So, you can see the symbiotic relationship and the culture," said EMVS President Dr. Alfred Abuhamad.
Dr. Abuhamad said he believes components of a successful merger by July are in play.
"We have almost 12 committees that have more than 200 members from EVMS and ODU that are meeting on a regular basis, sometimes two, three times a week working toward getting all this accomplished."