Marc Jacobson (center right)
Steve Yetiv
Jane Hager
Stuart Cake
Old à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã recently lost several beloved members of the campus community who dedicated years of service to the University. Judge Marc Jacobson, Steve Yetiv, Stuart Cake and Jane Hager will be missed.
Read on to learn more about their contributions.
Marc Jacobson, former ODU rector, and retired judge
Marc Jacobson, a retired Circuit Court judge and former Old à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã University rector, died April 5.
Jacobson was Old à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã's 19th rector, leading the Board of Visitors from 2006 to 2008. He served as a member of the board from 2004 to 2014.
Jacobson and his wife, Connie, were significant supporters of Old à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã. They created several academic and athletic scholarships. In addition, they partly or totally funded the President's House (known as Jacobson House), the study centers in the Jim Jarrett Athletic Administration Building and the L.R. Hill Sports Complex; the Visitor Center in the Ted Constant Convocation Center, and the Strength and Conditioning Center in the new Mitchum Basketball Performance Center.
The Jacobsons also established the annual Marc and Connie Jacobson Raoul Wallenberg Humanitarian Lecture as part of the Old à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã President's Lecture Series. ()
Steve Yetiv, an Internationally-recognized expert in the geo-politics of oil
Steve Yetiv, Old à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã University's Louis I. Jaffe Professor of International Relations, died March 21 at the age of 53. Yetiv's widely respected expertise on the global oil industry made him a popular interview subject for major media outlets around the world.
In addition to teaching courses at Old à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã, Yetiv was a prolific author. He wrote, or co-wrote, a number of books, including "Myths of the Oil Boom: American National Security in the Global Energy Market." That earned him a guest spot on a 2015 British Broadcasting Corporation newscast, where he discussed Britain's bombing of eastern Syria oil fields controlled by the terror group ISIS. ()
Jane Hager, Professor Emerita
Jane Warren Meeks Hager, a Professor Emerita at Old à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã University, died March 16.
Hager joined the reading program at the University in 1977 and spent 33 years as a faculty member, department chair and graduate program director as well as associate dean and acting dean of the Darden College of Education.
Hager also was a leader in advocating for equality of women and encouraging diversity in Old à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã's faculty, staff and students. Her efforts were instrumental in working with others at the University to establish the University Women's Caucus. Following her retirement, Hager served as vice president and president of the Old à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã University Faculty Emeriti Association. ()
Stuart Cake, former president of ODU Town-N-Gown
Stuart Cake, an Old à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã alumnus, and former president and board member of ODU Town-N-Gown, died April 6.
Cake, a native of Hampton Roads, was an active participant in community functions and dedicated much of his life to helping others.
He was a tireless volunteer with many organizations in the community over the years, including the Virginia Arts Festival; Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore; Back Bay Restoration Foundation; Pungo Strawberry Festival; Toys for Tots; the Virginia Zoo; and as a docent with the Virginia Air & Space Center, Nauticus, and the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center. ()