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2023 Va. hotel revenues up 12.9% over pre-pandemic
Hotel revenues in the commonwealth this year were 12.9% higher from January through May, compared with pre-pandemic business during the same period in 2019, according to data released Tuesday by STR Inc., a division of CoStar Group Inc. that provides market data on the U.S. hospitality industry. Hotel rooms sold were about the same compared […]
The ol’ college try
Snacks and energy drinks are often the fuel for young entrepreneurs burning the midnight oil while perfecting their pitches and products. But for some University of Richmond students, snacks and energy drinks are their products. Grace Mittl, a 2022 UR graduate, is co-founder and CEO of Absurd Snacks, a food allergy-friendly trail mix devised during […]
Port of entry
By all accounts, the Port of Virginia and the overseas shipping industry as a whole are major economic drivers in the commonwealth, with an upward trajectory expected to continue. For fiscal year 2022, the port’s TEU (20-foot equivalent unit) container volume hit a record 3.7 million units, a 14.7% increase from 2021, which marked its […]
Pack your bags
Although hospitality in Northern Virginia is taking its time toward a full comeback, there are a few signs that the industry is bouncing back — chiefly midweek hotel bookings. Business travelers, the bread and butter of Washington, D.C.’s hospitality industry, are more likely to purchase last-minute plane tickets that cost more, spend more on meals […]
Surgical precision
Like many other businesses, health care systems are constantly consolidating and forging partnerships to create synergy. In 2022, one of Virginia’s longest awaited agreements finally crystallized: a merger between Eastern Virginia Medical School and Old Dominion University. The creation of Eastern Virginia Health Sciences Center at ODU — folding the medical school into the university […[...]
ODU hires associate VP for innovation, commercialization
Kevin Leslie will be Old Dominion University’s first associate vice president for innovation and commercialization, the Norfolk-based university announced Friday. Leslie will improve ODU’s technology transfer operation to better identify, develop and market faculty, staff and student intellectual property and startups. He also will lead federal and other grant applications related to innovatio[...]
ODU hires associate VP for corporate partnerships
Civic Leadership Institute President and CEO Sarah Jane Kirkland will become Old Dominion University’s associate vice president for corporate partnerships on March 1, 2023, the Norfolk university announced Thursday. “Sarah Jane is well-known and highly respected in Hampton Roads, especially among business and industry leaders. For many years, she has been fully dedicated to creating […]
ONE School of Public Health names inaugural dean
The proposed ONE School of Public Health has named its inaugural dean: Li-Wu Chen, a health sciences professor from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a background in rural health. Chen was selected following a national search and will start his new job March 10, 2023, Old Dominion University said in a news release Monday. Chen […]
ODU announces $500M capital campaign
Old Dominion University on Thursday announced the formal launch of a five-year, $500 million campaign to raise money for scholarships, research, campus improvements and faculty recruitment, with the university saying it’s already more than halfway to meeting its fundraising goal. ODU President Brian O. Hemphill announced the campaign, Forward Focused: For Dreams and Beyond, Oct. […]
Return on investment
Christina Fleming embarked upon a career in marketing with the goal of getting an executive MBA degree, but other commitments kept getting in the way. She got married, had two children and moved up the corporate ladder for 26 years, rising to chief marketing officer at Blackboard Inc., a global education technology company that was […]
Upward mobility
Last year, when Old Dominion University was searching for its new president, the executive search firm contracted by the university also provided a bit of business intelligence about how the university of 24,000 students in Norfolk was viewed nationally. “Old Dominion University was seen as a university on the rise,” says ODU’s rector, Bruce Bradley, […]
A stitch in time
At the end of 2020, Eastern Virginia Medical School firmly rejected a study recommending that the medical school merge to become part of Old Dominion University. But time passes, minds change, and sometimes there’s turnover at the top. In August 2021, Dr. Richard Homan, who’d led EVMS for nearly a decade, retired. By December, Dr. […]
