1960-1969
Alpha Epsilon Pi Group Photo, October 1960. Source: ODU Photographic Collection, RG 32, Special Collections and University Archives.
1960: Dorothy Lippincott becomes the first female head of College Relations and Placement. Ruth F. Harrell becomes the first female head of the Psychology Department
October 1960: Alpha Epsilon Pi, the Jewish fraternity, is organized at Old Dominion
Hillel Club Group Photo, circa 1963-1969. Source: ODU Photographic Collection, RG 32, Special Collections and University Archives.
1962: Mary Frey becomes the first female faculty member to achieve the rank of Professor in Nursing. Ruth F. Harrell becomes the first female faculty member to achieve the rank of Professor in Psychology
July 1962: The Norfolk Division breaks away from William & Mary and becomes Old Dominion College
1963: Hillel, the Jewish student center, is established at Old Dominion
1963: Mary Frey becomes the first known female Chair of Nursing
June 1963: Nancy Hurst becomes the first student to graduate from the Honors Program
Students lining up to receive the first Masters degrees offered by Old Dominion in June 1966. Margaret Simmons is second from right. Source: ODU Photographic Collection, RG 32, Special Collections and University Archives.
1964: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is passed. As a result, Old Dominion welcomes Margaret Simmons in the fall of 1964, who would eventually become the first African American to receive a degree from Old Dominion, a Master of Education in 1966
1964: K.R. Krishna Sharma becomes the first known faculty member from South Asia in the School of Engineering
Arthur "Buttons" Speakes at the plate, circa 1969. Source: ODU Photographic Collection, RG 32, Special Collections and University Archives.
1965: Arthur "Buttons" Speakes becomes the first African American to be recruited by and receive a scholarship from a predominately white college in Virginia. While a student at Old Dominion from 1965-1969, Speakes excelled at both basketball and baseball
1965: Lo-Shiow Hou from Taiwan becomes the first known full-time international graduate student
1965: Margaret Casto Phillips serves as Acting Head of Mathematics, the first femlae faculty member to do so. Ernestine A. O'Connell serves as Acting Head of Secondary Education, the first female faculty member to do so
1965: Robert Yew-Keng Cheng becomes the first known faculty member of East Asian descent in the School of Engineering
Alexander Brooks “A.B.” Jackson, circa 1980-1989. Source: ODU Photographic Collection, RG 32, Special Collections and University Archives.
1966: Richard Chu is hired as the first specialist in Asian history at ODU
1967: Alexander Brooks "A.B." Jackson, a professor in the Art Department, becomes the first full-time African American faculty member
More about the hiring of A.B. Jackson can be found in the oral history of Charles O. Burgess, a professor in the English Department and later Vice President and Provost for Academic Affairs.
The Black Student Organizaiton in front of Webb Center, circa 1968-1969. Source: ODU Photographic Collection, RG 32, Special Collections and University Archives.
1968: The Black Student Organization forms during the 1968-1969 academic year, becoming the first known African American student organization on campus.
1968: Bill Forbes becomes the first African American to win a bid from a campus fraternity
1968: Nina Brown (Education) becomes the first known African American female faculty member
Jackie Bryant receiving honors from Who's Who in America, 1971. Source: ODU Photographic Collection, RG 32, Special Collections and University Archives.
Fall 1968: Jackie Bryant becomes the first African American to rush for an all-white sorority at ODU
Fall 1968: The student population during the 1968-1969 academic year is approximately 63% male and 37% female
Ronald Horne Speaking at 1969 Baccalaureate Services. Source: ODU Photographic Collection, RG 32, Special Collections and University Archives.
1969: During the 1969-1970 academic year, the first Military Science program is offered at Old Dominion
1969: Sheryl Young becomes the first known African American female graduate to earn a Bachelor's degree and first African American graduate of the School of Sciences
1969: Evelyn Gay Dreyer becomes Co-Chair of the Art Department, the first female faculty member to do so
1969: Jose Simon, Foreign Languages and Literatures, becomes the first known male Hispanic faculty member
June 1969: Ronald Horne becomes the first known African American to earn a Bachelor’s degree. Horne, who was a student at Old Dominion from 1965-1969, also served as the first African American Student Body President from 1968-1969
September 1969: Old Dominion College becomes Old Dominion University