Old Dominion University (ODU) is a university located in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia and became an independent institution in 1962.
Old Dominion is a tier 4 public university and primarily serves as a community and commuter college. While they have been endeavoring to change this reputation the Norfolk area's high crime statistics and a general failure to attract top quality faculty and students have hindered their efforts.
In 2004 ODU opened the brand new Engineering & Computational Sciences building, which is the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified higher education building in Virginia. This building has met rigorous environmental standards with regards to energy and resource efficiency in its design, as set by the U.S. Green Building Council.
See also: List of colleges and universities
Maglev Project
In 1999 ODU agreed to work with American Maglev on a project to build its a Maglev system[1] on its campus. The project was conceived as a test of the technology and spans less than a mile in length. Originally offered to several other institutes of higher learning, including Virginia Tech, all of these institutes rejected it due to concerns regarding the projected cost and safety of such a system. At least one of these concerns has proven true, as the $14 million originally slated towards this project has proven inadaquate, and the project has therefore frequently missed deadlines. Scheduled to open in 2002 for riders, as of 2005 it is still no where near completion.
ODU Real Estate Foundation
University Village, a $55 million private, mixed-use development of the nonprofit ODU Real Estate Foundation provides modern apartment living for 500 students on the eastern border of the campus. Two restaurants opened in University Village in early 2005 and more retail, office and apartment development is planned. In addition, negotiations were underway in the spring of 2005 for private development of a hotel and grocery store.
Correspondence School
ODU operates a large adult education program by mail as a correspondence school otherwise known as a Distance education program. The largest such program run by Old Dominion University is through their College of Engineering.
Monarchs Athletics
Old Dominion's athletic teams are known as the Monarchs and compete in the Colonial Athletic Association. The school's best-known sports team is its women's basketball team, which is often nationally ranked.
In 2001 ODU opened the Ted Constant Convocation Center for the 2001-2002 basketball season. "The Ted" has 7,319 fully cushioned seats, 16 luxury suites, and a state-of-the-art scoreboard. In addition to being used for home basketball games, the Constant Center hosts family-oriented events as well as concerts and lectures.
ODU has not had a football program since it was still a division of William and Mary.
Colleges within ODU
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