deaBy Joy Vann
“Accolades” features the achievements of Old Dominion 91Ƶ’s faculty and staff, highlighting the honors and awards they have received and displaying their dedication, expertise and contributions in their respective fields. You can find the on the 91Ƶ Communications web page.
Dr. Alfred Abuhamad, executive vice president of Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion 91Ƶ and dean of Eastern Virginia Medical School at ODU, was honored by the Urban League of Hampton Roads at the organization’s 41st annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration on Jan. 16. He received an MLK Award for his work advancing women’s health, prenatal care and equitable healthcare access. He is a maternal-fetal medicine physician, researcher and leader who is known internationally for his work in medical ultrasound, prenatal diagnosis, fetal echocardiography, global outreach and patient safety. After joining the staff of EVMS, he became chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, vice dean for Clinical Affairs and medical director of the EVMS Medical Group while earning the title of Mason C. Andrews Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He was president and provost of EVMS for three years prior to the school’s integration in July 2024 with ODU. Dr. Abuhamad is a past president of organizations including the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Society of Ultrasound in Medical Education, Perinatal Quality Forum and the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine. He is also founder of the Council for Patient Safety in Women’s Health Care and has published more than 200 peer-reviewed manuscripts and authored eight textbooks in fetal echocardiography, ultrasound in obstetrics and gynecology, first trimester ultrasound and office procedures.
Michelle C. Carpenter, a master lecturer of marketing in the Strome College of Business, was presented the 2024 O'Hara Leadership Award from the Direct Marketing Association of Washington Educational Foundation in Washington, D.C. in December at the Best of Direct Awards Ceremony. This award is named in honor of Michael O'Hara, a pioneer in the field of direct marketing. Carpenter’s core classes are in marketing, social media and public relations, and she enjoys mentoring students through special projects and experiential learning. In 2022, she was selected as 91Ƶ Distinguished Teacher and the EV Williams Fellowship for Teaching and Service. Carpenter was awarded the Faculty Teaching Award for non-tenure track professors by the Strome College of Business twice and in 2020 was recognized as Educator of the Year for her teaching innovations by the Rotary Club of Hampton Roads.
Dr. Dennis Gregory, associate professor in the higher education graduate program, was named to the inaugural cohort of the Goldstone Legacy of Excellence awardees by the Association for Student Conduct Administration (ASCA) Foundation. Dr. Gregory’s impactful scholarship, research and exceptional leadership within ASCA have made a lasting contribution to the fields of student conduct and student affairs. His dedication to advancing the profession reflects the high standards of excellence at ODU. Dr. Gregory and the other six members of the 2025 Cohort will be celebrated during the ASCA Annual Conference in Portland, Oregon in February.
Dr. Janice Hawkins, assistant professor at the Ellmer School of Nursing at ODU and chair of Advanced Practice Nursing and the Graduate Program Director for the Nurse Executive Doctorate of Nursing Practice concentration, was recognized by the United Nations Foundation as an influential changemaker toward making Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) progress in communities across the USA. She is a retired Army nurse and focuses on community health and maternal child nursing. Her travels have led to a greater awareness of the social determinants of health including the need for access to life-saving vaccinations for all. The American Leadership on the SDGs initiative, a partnership between the United Nations Foundation and The Brookings Institution, is shining a light on the people who are making progress.
Dr. Richard W. Maass, an associate professor of political science in the Department of Political Science and Geography, was named to Inside Business’s Top 40 Under 40 in its October issue. He is the coordinator of the U.S. Foreign Policy and International Relations concentration within the Graduate Program in International Studies. His research and teaching interests span U.S. foreign policy, international security, international law, race and security and diplomatic history. He is the author of “The Picky Eagle: How Democracy and Xenophobia Limited U.S. Territorial Expansion,” co-editor of “The United 91Ƶs and International Law: Paradoxes of Support across Contemporary Issues” and has published research in academic journals including International Security, Texas National Security Review, Diplomatic History, International Studies Perspectives and Terrorism and Political Violence.
Dr. Hamid Okhravi, a geriatric medicine specialist in the Goldrich Institute for Integrated NeuroHealth in Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion 91Ƶ, was elected to the Alzheimer’s Association’s board of directors for a two-year term. He joins the 24-member volunteer board in steering the strategic direction of the association as it carries out its mission to lead the way to end Alzheimer’s and all other dementia by accelerating research, driving risk reduction and early detection and maximizing quality care and support. Okhravi holds the distinguished Alfred E. Abiouness Professorship in Geriatrics and serves as medical director at the institution’s Comprehensive Memory Center. His research is focused on exploring innovative clinical therapeutics for Alzheimer’s disease and investigating novel treatments for neuropsychiatric symptoms in individuals with dementia. He serves as the principal investigator for 22 ongoing research studies, spanning national and international clinical trials.
Dr. Marc A. Ouellette, an associate professor of English in the College of Arts and Letters, released three peer-reviewed chapters in the past three months. Appearing in Liz Faber’s “Under the Misteltoe: Essays on the Holiday Romance in Popular Culture,” is his chapter "Let's Go Get the Sh-t Kicked Out of us by Love: Neoliberal Masculinities in ‘Love Actually.’” With Dr. Christina Fawcett of the 91Ƶ of Winnipeg, he cowrote "Transgression on the Frontier: The Ludicity of Incest in Bioshock Infinite” for “Hellbent for Leather: Sex & Sexuality in the Weird Western.” “The Daily Smile: Phatic Contact and Meta-cognition in Asynchronous Instruction” appears in the Winter edition of the Journal of Literacy & Technology and details the adaptation of face-to-face teaching practices to online and asynchronous classes. He won the National Communication Association's Mentorship & Leadership Council's 2024 award for best practices in mentorship.
Dr. Leryn Reynolds, an associate professor and director of Old Dominion 91Ƶ’s Wellness Institute and Research Center and the Integrative Cardiometabolic Lab, was awarded the American Heart Association's LIVE FIERCE Award which honors those who help their communities live longer and healthier lives. She holds a B.S. in Kinesiology from the 91Ƶ of Illinois, a M.S. in Clinical Exercise Physiology from Ball 91Ƶ 91Ƶ and a Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology from the 91Ƶ of Missouri. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the 91Ƶ of Kentucky in the Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, examining how behaviors like smoking and exercise during pregnancy impact offspring obesity and diabetes risk. Dr. Reynolds’s current research emphasizes the importance of physical activity in improving cardiometabolic health. At the Wellness Institute and Research Center, she directs ODU’s TEMPO and ForeverFit programs which provide exercise interventions for elderly people and people with chronic conditions like cardiovascular disease.