ODU's growing pains make for stiff test

It wasn't long ago that the leaders of Old Dominion University planned on a school of 28,000 students, an institutional giant astride the west side of Norfolk.

But now that the economy is tanking, money from Richmond is disappearing, students are spreading farther into surrounding neighborhoods and crime has become an issue, university leaders are trimming their ambitions.

We should all - students, neighbors, taxpayers, teachers - be grateful.

Before it considers any further expansion, ODU must find a way to cope with the growth of the past decade, which has resulted in a student body of about 23,500. The school must find places for all those students to stay, a way to better ensure their safety, and for it become a better neighbor to the residents of Larchmont and Edgewater and Lamberts Point.

Until the school accomplishes all of that, ODU's expansion - both of size and stature - is under threat. To the credit of interim President John Broderick, as well as the Board of Trustees, the college's leaders seem to have already adjusted their ambitions to better fit the times and ODU's place in them.

Gone is the relentless expansion that marked the tenure of his predecessor, Roseann Runte. In its place is a leadership trying to figure out how much better ODU can be, rather than how big it could be.

Even as it seeks to educate its largest freshman class, ODU does not have enough beds for students who want to live on campus, although some apartments now under construction could ease the strain. It faces a third significant cut in state funds. Perhaps most disconcerting for an urban campus, ODU faces a disturbing increase in crimes against students in the surrounding neighborhoods.

In a meeting with The Pilot's editorial board, Broderick committed to doing whatever he can to ensure the safety of students on and off campus.

Over the weekend, off-duty deputies began patrolling the neighborhoods. The school said it would expand a shuttle service for students living off campus and would like to work with the city to provide emergency call boxes and other safety measures. The school has even said it would help the city pay for more code enforcement.

"I want to fix it," Broderick said. "I get the phone calls."

The momentum of the past decade at ODU - leading to more students, to an increase in the amount of research money and to next fall's first football game - has been accompanied by significant challenges for the university.

The school's leadership has coped well with the salutary effects of its growth. That was the easy part. Dealing with the troubles will take considerably more effort, but without it, all the other gains remain in jeopardy.