look at how we continue to grow our understanding and our appreciation, [and] prepare our students to be able to leave this institution [to] go out and do great things as strong citizen leaders.” The president spoke passionately when discussing engagement with the community and addressing the public, a skill in which his masters degree has helped a lot. He graduated from Iowa State University with a masters in journalism and mass communication. “The skills that I developed and hold as a part of my academic study are of significant benefit, from sitting down and engaging with the media directly to thinking about the public speaking and writing aspects of my work,” President Hemphill explained. While it’s important for him to engage and interact with students, the president highly encourages students, especially minorities, to lead on-campus organizations, “I say this for minority students and majority students, I think that it’s important for them to engage in leadership opportunities on campus.” “We have 300+ student organizations to collaboratively engage and work with people from diverse backgrounds and be leaders in these organizations. Be the treasurer, be the president, be the VP — whatever it may be, but engage, that really he+lps you prepare for the work you do beyond the institution. And so, I think that leadership roles are rounding out — if you will — your educational experience, and I highly encourage students to engage.” On his advice to students who aspire to be in leadership roles, “you’ve got to make sure that you go and be a part of our organization fair or you have an opportunity to meet the diverse number of organizations that we have. And, just simply figure out what works for you, what will make your college experience even better beyond the classroom.” “I typically say to students, ‘If you don’t see the organization and we don’t have it, you can develop it.” While the president has privileges, like any other public servant, the job is far from being facile. Hemphill’s presidential privileges come with a residential home, the Jacobson House, which stands shrouded across from Powhatan Avenue facing the Elizabeth River. He can also carry out executive orders for the university, has a team of staff working in his sector, and meets with other important public servants throughout Virginia.
time and being able to get to key places and meet members of the community,” Hemphill explained. “I have external and internal groups that I need to make sure I am engaging. And so, it’s just navigating that, that’s the biggest challenge. If we can figure out a way to add more hours in a 24 hour day, that’d be wonderful.” Despite the challenges and big initiatives, Hemphill always looks forward to the students’ journey during their time at ODU. “I love the beginning of the year when we have new students that are coming on campus, moving in, meeting the parents, having the conversations with the students, and the excitement and energy at the beginning of the journey,” He said. “But, I equally love the experience of commencement, when you have an opportunity to see so many bright eyes that are excited about the next step in their lives and moving on to great things beyond the institution.” “Those are two cornerstone experiences that I definitely look forward to because I know the meaning of those experiences and that journey, especially being a firstgeneration college student myself,” he said. “I know the meaning of what that degree means for families and generations within that same family and so those are things that I always get excited about.”
“You’ve got to make sure that you go and be a part of our organization fair or you have an opportunity to meet the diverse number of organizations that we have. And, just simply figure out what works for you, what will make your college experience even better beyond the classroom.
However, he emphasized that the challenging part of the job is how quickly the hours go by in a day. “There are so many different people to meet and engage with, but of course, there’s also the challenge of competing events. So, it’s really just managing the Fall 2021
