NORFOLK, Va. — With 25 percent of its student body military-affiliated -- as either active duty, veterans, or dependents -- and being just a few miles down Hampton Boulevard from the world's largest Naval base, it's a natural fit.
For the ninth year in a row, Old Dominion University has been named a "Military Friendly School" by G.I. Jobs magazine and the website militaryfriendly.com.
The designation means that ODU is considered to be a standard-bearer for military and veterans programs and initiatives.
The organizations gave ODU 100 percent scores for academic policies and compliance, admission and orientation, culture and commitment, financial aid and assistance, graduation and career, and military student support and retention.
"It just goes to show that we're making progress and we're doing a lot of great things to bring more military folks to the ODU campus," said Bob Clark, director, military activities liaison and special projects at the University.
The retired Navy captain and former commanding officer of Naval Station Norfolk credits university president John Broderick and the Board of Visitors for insisting that the college excels when it comes to serving active duty, veterans, retirees, spouses, children and ROTC students.
"And it's a good value for those students who are seeking an education," he said. "We're trying to do everything we can to deduce some of the costs that it takes to come to a school of this stature, and that's paying dividends. We're getting a little more competitive and we're able to offer a lot of great services."
ODU was ranked eighth among Tier 2 research institutions, with the College of William and Mary being the only other Tier 2 school in the State of Virginia to also earn a Top 10 ranking.
More than 1,000 schools nationwide participated in this year's survey, with 625 schools earning the designation
The 2020-2021 Military Friendly Schools list will be published in the May issue of G.I. Jobs magazine.