Dr. Ryan Klinger was named Old Dominion University’s Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR) in 2026. In this role, he serves as a liaison among university administration, faculty, and athletics, with a focus on supporting academic integrity, monitoring student-athlete academic progress, and helping ensure that student-athletes have a positive, holistic experience at ODU. He strives to maintain an open-door approach and to be accessible to student-athletes, coaches, and staff. His work with ODU Athletics began in August 2019, when he joined the University Athletics Advisory Council as the representative from ODU’s Strome College of Business. He also serves in an advisory role with ODU student-athlete leadership initiatives.
Dr. Klinger is an Associate Professor of Management in Old Dominion University’s Strome College of Business. He is the Director of the Hampton Roads Workforce Trends and Challenges Council and leads the Human Capital Management Academy at ODU. He teaches doctoral-level courses in research methodology, MBA courses in leadership and emotional intelligence, and undergraduate courses in human resource analytics and organizational behavior. Dr. Klinger’s research focuses on interpersonal dynamics, how individuals interact in teams, and how leaders shape the climates that emerge in team settings. His work has been published in outlets such as The Leadership Quarterly, Personnel Psychology and the Journal of Applied Psychology, and has been cited more than 6,000 times. He currently serves as an associate editor for Frontiers in Organizational Psychology.
Dr. Klinger also has extensive consulting and executive development experience. He is an annual contributor to the Cox Small Business Leadership Academy and serves on the advisory council for the Virginia Health Sciences Leadership Compass Academy. He has facilitated leadership, change management, and team-building workshops for several Fortune 100 organizations including Google, Microsoft, Citigroup, Dell, Target, Delta, and Pfizer.
Dr. Klinger’s honors include the Academy of Management HR Division’s Scholarly Achievement Award for the “most significant article in human resource management,” EV Williams Fellowships for research, teaching, and service, the Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award, the Old Dominion University MBA Professor of the Year Award, the Strome College of Business Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award and recognition as an Old Dominion University Game Day Professor for football.
Before joining ODU, Ryan earned his Ph.D. in business administration, with concentrations in Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management, from the University of Florida. More importantly, he met his wife, Jennifer, during his studies at UF. Today, both are part of the ODU community. Jennifer serves as Assistant Dean for Student Engagement and Success and is a Teaching Associate Professor in the Strome College of Business. The Klingers are raising three Monarch-Gator boys: Jackson, Thomas, and Owen. Outside of work, Ryan spends most weekends either at his kids’ swim meets or on the longest, most remote running trails he can find. He is an avid, albeit incredibly slow, long-distance runner who has completed more than 80 marathons and typically runs one to two 100+ mile races each year.