A New Vice President Comes to ODU – Meet Dr. Brandi Hephner LaBanc
Dr. Hephner LaBanc, the new Vice President for Student Engagement and Enrollment Services, on campus. She will begin her tenure this summer. (Credit to Old Dominion Photo Department)
April 3, 2023
The administration announced on March 28 that Dr. Brandi Hephner LaBanc would “officially join the Monarch family” as Vice President for Student Engagement and Enrollment Services, a position previously held by Dr. Don Stansberry.
“With her selection, we have concluded a successful search that will provide profound and lasting benefits to our campus community, including current and future generations of Monarch students,” said Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Austin Agho.
Dr. Hephner LaBanc has had a storied career, previously serving as the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs & Campus Life at the highly-ranked UMass Amherst and the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs at the University of Mississippi. She has served in other positions since 1999 at Northern Illinois University, Baldwin-Wallace College, the University of Akron, and UNC at Wilmington.
She’s penned three books, including one in cooperation with ODU’s President Brian O. Hemphill, has published dissertations and research in the double digits, and acted as a consultant for the Lebron James Family Foundation.
The office Dr. Hephner LaBanc fills is of great importance to the university, its administration, and its students. The Vice President of Student Engagement and Enrollment oversees around three hundred employees in offices including, but not limited to, financial aid, student enrollment, the registrar, the Dean of Students, social mobility, and Student Conduct and Academic Integrity.
Dr. Corrin Gillis, a search committee member, ranked Dr. Hephner LaBanc’s capabilities highly.
“We needed someone who would be dedicated to our students as individuals and could also look at the institutional level data to understand the barriers and facilitators to their success as a group,” she said, “Based on Dr. Hephner LaBanc’s extensive background, as well as our overwhelmingly positive interactions with her, there is no question that she is the Monarch we were looking for.”
Dr. Hephner LaBanc will see her first day at Old Dominion on June 10, 2023.
