ODU Libraries Digital Exhibitions

This timeline was created as part of the 50th Anniversary of Perry Library in 2026 and follows the history of library services at Old Dominion University from 1930 to the present.

Credits: Steven Bookman, University Archivist
References: Major, Jean A., "Old Dominion University Library: History" (2002)

Creativity has always been part of Old Dominion University's identity. While the university is widely recognized today for leadership in engineering, cybersecurity, maritime studies, healthcare, and the sciences, the arts have played an equally important role in shaping campus life and connecting the university with the broader Hampton Roads community.

Credits: Tuff Eaton, Special Collections and University Archives Student Assistant, 2026

The Special Collections and University Archives department of Old Dominion University Libraries has created an exhibit celebrating the history of inclusion on campus. The digital exhibition features a timeline of social change and notable firsts at ODU regarding all aspects of inclusuin including, but not limited to, African-American history, women's history, and the LGBTQIA+ and international communities.

Credits
Steven Bookman, University Archivist; Andrea Schumacher, Special Collections and University Archives Student Assistant; Greg Magier, Special Collections and University Archives Volunteer. Special thanks to Stephanie Sanders, Director of Diversity Initiatives, and Don Stansbury, Dean of Students, for providing additional information for the timeline.

This digital exhibition will break down Norfolk’s integration process and analyze its effectiveness on the representation of Black teachers within Norfolk’s school system. In the end, the evidence will open our eyes to the antithetical nature of Norfolk’s integration plan and how it destroyed Black representation in Norfolk’s faculties.

Credits: Roland Davis, Special Collections and University Archives Student Assistant, 2025

This timeline traces the history of public health initiatives in Hampton Roads, with particular interest to the evolution of the Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS), now the Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University (ODU).

Credits: Kathleen V. Smith, Special Collections Metadata Specialist

This digital exhibition explores the history and evolution of Homecoming at Old Dominion University (ODU), discovering how traditions, student experiences, and campus culture have shaped one of the university's most enduring celebrations.

Credits: Bailey Wimberly, Special Collections and University Archives Intern, 2026

This digital exhibition showcases an analysis of diaries and memoirs found in the Special Collections and University Archives at Old Dominion University. These diaries and memoirs were all written by women from Norfolk, Virginia and the surrounding Tidewater area, and are dated across many eras of United States history.

Credits: Peyton Bradshaw, Special Collections and University Archives Intern, 2026