Radford’s Brian Hemphill named new ODU president

Radford University President Brian Hemphill has been hired as Old Dominion University’s ninth president, ODU announced Friday. He will succeed John Broderick, the Norfolk university’s president of 13 years, who is retiring this year.

Hemphill, who has led Radford since 2016, will join ODU this summer, according to a news release Friday from the university. He will be ODU’s first Black president since the university’s founding in 1930 as part of William & Mary. It became an independent public institution in 1962.

“It is both an honor and privilege to be selected as the ninth president of Old Dominion University, a dynamic public research institution that has proudly served the Hampton Roads region and positively impacted the commonwealth of Virginia,” Hemphill said in a statement.   

Before joining Radford, Hemphill served as president of West Virginia State University for four years. Before that, he was vice president for student affairs and enrollment management at Northern Illinois University for eight years. At Radford, he oversaw the university’s 2019 merger with the Jefferson College of Health Sciences, now known as Radford University Carilion, with 1,200 students enrolled.

Hemphill received degrees from Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh, North Carolina, Iowa State and the University of Iowa, where he received his doctorate in higher education administration and policy studies. He is married to Marisela Rosas Hemphill, who worked in student affairs at Colgate University in New York and also has a doctorate from the University of Iowa. They have 8-year-old twins, Catalina and Cruz, and Hemphill has two adult children as well.

Kay A. Kemper, rector of ODU’s board of visitors, said in a statement that the board was “highly impressed with [Hemphill’s] substantial accomplishments in less than five years as president of Radford, as well as his commitment to a student-centered approach.” According to the news release, Radford saw record enrollment in the fall of 2019 and 2020, and Hemphill started a student retention plan and academic center to assist first-year students with their studies. Under his leadership, Radford received its largest federal grant in its history, $13.8 million from the U.S. Department of Education, and launched its largest capital project, the Center for Adaptive Innovation and Creativity.

Broderick, who joined ODU 28 years ago, is its longest-serving president. His achievements include raising more than $1 billion in public and private funding for the university since 2008, growing its endowment to $272 million as of June 30, 2020, as well as accelerating its research opportunities. In 2010, ODU established the Center for the Study of Sea Level Rise, and in 2013, it received an $11 million donation from alumnus Mark Strome to start the Strome Entrepreneurial Center. ODU also opened the Barry Art Museum in 2018, funded by a $37 million donation by Richard and Carolyn Barry, the institution’s largest gift.

“I congratulate Dr. Hemphill on his appointment,” Broderick said in a statement. “I believe his strengths and values will align well with Old Dominion’s culture and aspirations. In the remaining months of my presidency, we will work closely to ensure a smooth transition as we position Old Dominion for continued greatness.”  

Among the university’s current projects is a partnership with Norfolk State University to develop a regional School of Public Health. Sentara Healthcare announced in January it has awarded a $4 million grant to the universities to pursue the collaborative school, as well as a $3 million grant to strengthen public health in the region, shared with NSU and Eastern Virginia Medical School.

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