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2001 SESSION


SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 491
Commending Dr. James V. Koch.

Agreed to by the Senate, February 15, 2001
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 21, 2001

WHEREAS, Dr. James V. Koch, president of Old Dominion University since 1990, has announced his plans to retire in June of 2001; and

WHEREAS, a native of Springfield, Illinois, James Koch holds an undergraduate degree from Illinois State University and a doctorate in economics from Northwestern University; and

WHEREAS, a widely published and nationally respected economist, Dr. Koch has served as consultant for a wide variety of organizations and continues to teach and publish scholarly articles in the field of economics; and

WHEREAS, after holding faculty positions at Illinois State University, California State University at Los Angeles, the University of Grenoble, Brown University, and the University of Hawaii, Dr. Koch served as dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Rhode Island College and provost and vice president for academic affairs at Ball State University; and

WHEREAS, before arriving at Old Dominion University, Dr. Koch served as president of the University of Montana from 1986 to 1990; and

WHEREAS, during his tenure at Old Dominion University, Dr. Koch has spearheaded the University's use of technology to bring higher education to individuals across the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, Old Dominion University's TELETECHNET is the largest interactive, televised distance learning system in the United States, involving a partnership with the Virginia Community College System that brings university courses to 6,000 students annually at more than 50 sites across Virginia; and

WHEREAS, under Dr. Koch's leadership, Old Dominion University has received the largest percentage increases in its state-supported budget of any of Virginia's six doctoral universities; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Koch has also led the effort to increase the quality and the diversity of Old Dominion's student body, which now has entering freshmen with higher SAT scores, more National Merit or National Achievement Scholarship finalists, and more diversity than ever before; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Koch has advocated strong partnerships between Old Dominion University and the City of Norfolk, the City of Virginia Beach, and a range of economic development organizations and Hampton Roads federal facilities, to the long-term benefit of both the university and its partners; and

WHEREAS, Dr. James Koch indisputably leaves Old Dominion University in a much stronger position than he found it, and his contributions to higher education in the Commonwealth will prove profound and lasting; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly commend Dr. James V. Koch on the completion of an outstanding career in higher education; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Dr. James V. Koch as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration and gratitude for his manifold contributions to the growth and success of Old Dominion University.