John Nunnery

I am an educational researcher and leader who primarily focuses on improving education programs and systems for historically under-served students, including children living in poverty and children who are military-connected. More recently, I have worked to advance the prospects of women, veterans, and economically-marginalized people; contributed to regional economic development initiatives; and provided leadership to the university research enterprise.I have published over 200 articles, papers, and technical reports, and won over $35 million on 65 grants and contracts as principal investigator at Johns Hopkins and Old Dominion. I served as Associate Editor of The Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk for 15 years. I have received several awards, including a 1991 National Teaching Leadership Award from Pew Charitable Trusts, the 1995 Fred Bellot Award for Sponsored Research, the 2007 Charles Clear Award for Sustained and Substantial Contributions to Educational Research, the 2009 Tonelson Award, 2014 Finalist for the SCHEV Outstanding Faculty Award, "Best Practices in Accountability Systems" award from the American Productivity and Quality Center, and the 2014 General Pete Taylor Partnerships of Excellence Award.In 2010, I became Founding Executive Director of The Center for Educational Partnerships at Old Dominion University. By 2015, the center grew from $30,000 per year to over $5 million per year in research expenditures, with programs in math education, science education, and education of military connected children that collectively served over 200,000 students in 18 states between 2012 and 2017. Beginning August 2017, I served as Associate Vice President for Research at Old Dominion University, and subsequently was promoted to Senior Associate Vice President in 2023. During that time, I served as the general administrator of the Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, more than doubling both annual research expenditures and realized IDC recovery rates in that unit. I simultaneously served as the Interim Executive Director of the ODU Research Foundation, providing oversight and strategic direction for an R1 sponsored programs enterprise. Currently, I serve to advance the university's research strategy and to enhance efficiency, shared accountability, and productivity across the research enterprise. I also am fortunate to be working with the ODU Mathematics & Statistics department to ensure the success of first-generation college students in introductory college-level mathematics courses.