AAUP at ODU

At the end of the Fall 2025 semester, President Hemphill distributed an email to the ODU community citing multiple reports suggesting a dire outlook for higher education. Similar claims have been made in the past by the administration to justify the Forward-Focused Digital Transformation Initiative (FFDTI).

Members of our advocacy group question whether these reports are applicable to our campus and whether they accurately reflect the university’s financial position and enrollment prospects.

They conclude that the sky is not falling.

See our response to President Hemphill’s letter to the ODU community here.

In the Fall of 2023, AAUP was presented with a problem. Adjuncts must wait about five weeks before they get their first pay disbursement at the beginning of the Fall Semester. Given the notoriously low pay of adjuncts at Old Dominion University and across the country, this delay can cause enormous economic stress on adjuncts.

ODU AAUP worked alongside Tim Norton, the representative for the adjuncts in the English Department, and Dan Zimmerman, the Office of Academic Affairs to come up with an equitable solution.

In the Spring of 2024 and the Fall of 2024, the Office of Academic Affairs was able to move up the adjunct pay schedule! Thank you Tim Norton and Dan Zimmerman!

One of the issues ODU AAUP has taken up in the Fall of 2023 is the timing of the first pay disbursement for our adjuncts.

Adjuncts must wait about five weeks before they get their first pay disbursement. Given the notoriously low pay of adjuncts at Old Dominion University and across the country, this delay can cause enormous economic stress on adjuncts.

The timing of adjunct pay falls within AAUP’s mission of promoting the economic security of faculty.

ODU AAUP is currently working alongside Tim Norton, the representative for the adjuncts in the English Department, and the Office of Academic Affairs to come up with an equitable solution. We believe that a solution is possible that would expedite the first pay disbursement for adjuncts without placing strain on the payroll department.

ODU AAUP drafted a report in response to the inadequate communication of a safety incident on campus…

“The release of the report once again raised questions about the compelled resignation of Dr. Walker, the use of safety to defend what happened, and the failure to both document and acknowledge the hate expressed in threats made to Dr. Walker and other members of the campus community.”

See full letter here.