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President's Blog

Capable Hands at the Helm: ODU Board of Visitors

I wish to applaud Gov. McDonnell's recently announced appointments to the Old Dominion University Board of Visitors and welcome our newest members: J. William "Bill" Cofer, Andrea M. Kilmer and Frank Reidy.

I was also pleased to see that the governor has reappointed one of the most dedicated members of our board, Barry Kornblau. Together, the experience these four will bring from their professional lives, complemented by their relationships to Old Dominion, bode well for university governance.

Like Kornblau, Cofer and Kilmer are ODU graduates, and Reidy is a well-known benefactor for whom our Research Center for Bioelectrics is named.

By way of introduction, here is some brief background information about the governor's latest appointees:

Mr. Cofer, of Virginia Beach, is president of the Virginia Pilot Association. He graduated from ODU in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in business administration. He is currently active in numerous business and community organizations and serves the ODU College of Business and Public Administration as a member of the Maritime Institute Advisory Committee. He is a former member of the ODU Athletic Foundation board.

Ms. Kilmer, of Virginia Beach, is vice president/CFO of The ESG Companies in Virginia Beach. She was certified as a public accountant in Virginia in 1980, after graduating cum laude from ODU in 1978 with a bachelor's degree in business administration. She has served as a senior executive with extensive experience in all areas of accounting, tax, finance, administration and operations of numerous diverse businesses in Virginia for over 25 years for The ESG Companies, including oversight and management of more than 1,000 employees.

Mr. Reidy, also from Virginia Beach, is the director of Pennsylvania General Energy. His financial contributions and commercial connections helped to establish the ODU bioelectrics research center in 2002. He continued his support of the facility with an additional major gift a few years later, and the center was named the Frank Reidy Research Center for Bioelectrics in 2005.

Mr. Kornblau, of Glen Allen, Va., is the president of Summit Realty Group. A 1971 graduate of ODU, he was appointed to the Board of Visitors July 1, 2007. He currently serves as chair of the Audit Committee and as a member of both the Executive Committee and the Administration and Finance Committee. He served a previous term on the board from March 31, 1997, through June 30, 1999. He is a past member of the Alumni Association board of directors and the ODU Educational and Intercollegiate Foundation boards. In 2004, the Barry M. Kornblau Alumni Center was named in recognition of his generous gift to the university.

All of the new appointments and reappointment are for four-year terms from July 1, 2011, to June 30, 2015. The new board members replace Conrad Hall, David Faeder and Robert Treherne, whose terms expired June 30. On behalf of the university, I thank each of them for their dedicated service as members of the ODU Board of Visitors.

Our 17-member board has the power to control and expend the funds of the university and any appropriation made to it, as well as the power to make all rules and regulations concerning the university. Based on the governor's latest appointments, and knowing the other members of the board as I do, I am pleased to report that the university is in good hands.

This article was posted on: July 8, 2011