Youngkin’s board of visitors appointees for Hampton Roads colleges include advocates, state senator

Gov. Glenn Youngkin made more than a dozen appointments to the boards of visitors for area colleges this week, including parental rights advocate William Estrada, longtime state Sen. Thomas Norment and a former first lady of Virginia.

Norfolk State University, Christopher Newport University, William & Mary and Old Dominion University are welcoming new board members.

“These leaders will help the Commonwealth’s higher education institutions build on our history of excellence,” Youngkin said in a press release.

State Sen. and Senate Minority Leader Norment, who has been in the legislature since 1992, is not seeking re-election this year.

Norment said this appointment is coming full circle for him. The Williamsburg-area native said his first job was when he was about 10, when he helped guard the flags at the college’s football stadium so “enthusiastic alumni” would not steal them. He got his law degree at William & Mary and taught government and law over a decade.

“I think I have a fairly broad perspective of William & Mary and hope I can bring those experiences and knowledge to make contributions to the Board of Visitors,” Norment said.

Likewise, Estrada said is looking to bring his own experience to the CNU Board. A parental rights advocate and senior counsel for the Homeschooling Legal Defense Association, he said he has extensive experience working in education with families and with the federal government.

“It’s one piece of the puzzle that I think I can bring to continue to help CNU excel and thrive and meet the needs of tomorrow’s diverse applicants to colleges and universities,” Estrada said.

He is also president of the Parental Rights Foundation and parentalrights.org.

Both noted affordability being one of the top issues facing public universities at this time. Estrada said one of his top priorities is to keep higher education affordable.

“I know that is one of the priorities of Gov. Youngkin, and that’s one of the priorities I’ll be bringing to the board,” Estrada said.

Norment said tuition and fees is often a “constraint” for incoming students, and he hopes to address it.

“That’s a lot easier to say than implement because of increasing costs of education, salaries to capital improvements to goods and services,” Norment said. “That’s clearly a very significant issue.”

ODU’s board now includes Susan Allen, the wife of former governor and U.S. senator George Allen, as well as Andrew Hodge, the regional president and head of corporate banking for Atlantic Union Bank, retired surgeon Juan Montero of Chesapeake and Rick Wyatt, the corporate vice president and treasurer of Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc.

Norfolk State appointees are Heidi Abbott, who was reappointed, T. Michael Andrews of Springfield and Kim Brown, of Chesapeake.

CNU appointees are Estrada and Brentley Archer of Midlothian and Christy Morton, of Gloucester.

Charles Poston and AnnaMaria DeSalva were reappointed to the board for William & Mary. New to the board are Norment and Courtney Malveaux, of Richmond.

“Both are alumni and longtime supporters of their alma mater,” William & Mary President Katherine A. Rowe said of Norment and Malveaux. “They will bring invaluable insight to our work ahead.”

The four-year terms for all the appointees will begin next month.

Kelsey Kendall, kelsey.kendall@virginiamedia.com