NORFOLK, Va. - Old Dominion University is pleased to announce that it has hired award-winning journalist Harry Minium as senior executive writer.
The position will be a 50/50 split between the University’s Office of Strategic Communication and Marketing and Athletics. He will write features, news stories and profiles for the University’s official news site (www.odu.edu) and Monarch Magazine, and also speeches and columns.
“We are delighted to have Harry join our staff,” Giovanna Genard, assistant vice president for Strategic Communication and Marketing, said. “Harry brings a wealth of knowledge and experience as well as a love for Old Dominion. We look forward to welcoming him to our teams.”
Minium will also write a weekly column and frequent features for ODU’s Athletics Website (www.odusports.com). He will also be a part of the ODU football radio network pre-game show.
“Old Dominion University is very fortunate to be able to attract and retain the services of such a prolific and brilliant writer as Harry Minium. One of the more highly decorated writers of our time, Harry is a master story teller and understands the changing times within the print communication industry,” ODU Athletic Director Dr. Wood Selig said. “Harry will allow ODU to be leading edge in our communication with our various constituents and he will bring a huge following with him who are passionate about Harry’s in-depth features and stories. ODU fans worldwide will quickly benefit from the addition of Harry Minium to our ODU team.”
Minium is a Norfolk native and an Old Dominion graduate (BA, English, 1977) who wrestled for two seasons for the Monarchs. He graduated from Norview High School and Tidewater Community College before enrolling at ODU. He graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1984 with a Master’s degree in mass communications. His family has close ties to ODU – his mother graduated from ODU and was a long-time Norfolk school teacher. Both his daughters and two brothers also took classes there.
Minium worked nearly a year at The Richmond News Leader before joining The Virginian Pilot in 1979, where he retired last month after nearly 39 years. He was a sports writer and columnist for 23 years before moving to the newsroom to cover Norfolk City hall for nearly ten. He returned to sports in 2012 to cover ODU’s burgeoning football program.
In addition, Minium covered the General Assembly four years and spent several months writing for The Pilot’s editorial page.
Minium won numerous writing awards, and was twice nominated by The Pilot for The Pulitzer Prize.
He won a first place award in the Football Writers of America writing competition in 2013 for his behind the scenes story on how ODU made the decision to join Conference USA (click here for full story).
“I am humbled in the faith that Assistant Vice President Giovanna Genard and Athletic Director Wood Selig have shown in me,” Minium said. “In addition to Old Dominion being my alma mater and an institution I care dearly for, President John R. Broderick’s vision and innovative leadership make this an exciting place to work. I can’t wait to begin writing good stories about the good people here.”