Strome College of Business

Business Administration Faculty, circa 1959

The Strome College of Business is one of the colleges at Old Dominion University (ODU). Most of the schools and offices for the college, including the dean’s office, are located in Constant Hall. The Strome College of Business is the oldest college on campus and consists of the School of Accountancy, Department of Economics, Department of Finance, Department of Information Technology and Decision Sciences, Department of International Business, Department of Management, Department of Marketing, School of Public Services, Harvey Lindsay School of Real Estate, Thurmond School of Professional Sales and Negotiations, and the Master of Business Administration program. While not under the direction of the college, professors and students in the college are strong partners with the Strome Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

History

Basic economic and business courses, as well as marketing and management courses, were offered at the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary from 1930 through the 1950s. In 1953, the State Council of Higher Education granted the division the ability to offer bachelor degrees to students for the first time, including business administration. In June 1956, the first bachelor degrees were handed out during Commencement, and most of the graduates received either a bachelor of arts or a bachelor of science in business administration. The School of Business Administration was established in 1961, while the institution was known as the Norfolk College of the College of William & Mary, and was the first school established on campus. John Tabb was the first dean of the School of Business Administration. Dedicated in 1963, J.A.C. Chandler Memorial Hall, now Constant Hall, originally housed the School of Business Administration. In the fall of 1964, the first master of business administration degrees were offered and the first graduates received their degrees in 1966. The 1970s and 1980s saw a growth in programs including public administration and urban studies, as well as graduate degrees in accounting, which was first offered in 1978, and the first doctoral business degree in urban services, which was first offered in 1984 with the first two degrees awarded in 1992.

In 1986, with the expansion of programs and services on campus, the university reorganized the school into the College of Business and Public Administration. A Center for Global Business at ODU was established in July 1993 with James Bullington as its first director. In 1995, J.A.C. Chandler Memorial Hall was renamed Constant Hall in honor of a $2.6 million donation made by Theodore “Ted” Constant. During the fall of 2000, ODU becomes one of the first universities in the country to offer e-commerce degrees. In 2013, the Strome Family Foundation, headed by Mark Strome, class of 1978, pledged approximately $11 million to establish the Strome Entrepreneurial Center, now the Strome Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation on campus to reinforce ODU’s commitment to entrepreneurship. In 2014, the Board of Visitors renamed the college the Strome College of Business in Strome’s honor. In 2019, the Harvey Lindsey School of Real Estate was established after a generous donation from Lindsey, Chairman of Harvey Lindsey Commercial Real Estate and his family.

Deans

Student Company Expo at the Strome Entrepreneurial Center, 2017

From around 1948 to 1957, Vance Edwin Grover served as assistant professor of business and the head of the business administration department at the Norfolk Divison. Dr. Everette Hong became the head of the business administration department in 1957 and served as the head until 1958.

1958-1966: John R. Tabb (was department head until the school was established in 1961)

1966-1969: Jack T. Turner

1969-June 30, 1973: Ole S. Johnson

July 1, 1973-December 31, 1978: Benjamin M. Perles

January 1, 1979-June 30, 1979: William W. Patterson, Interim Dean

July 1, 1979-January 1982: Betty Diener

1982-July 31, 1983: Ernest B. Uhr, Interim Dean

August 1, 1983-June 1990: Gail Edward Mullin

June 1990-June 30, 1991: William W. Patterson, Jr., Interim Dean

July 1, 1991-June 30, 1994: William H. Wallace

July 1, 1994-June 30, 2000: J. Taylor Sims

July 1, 2000-June 30, 2003: Bruce Rubin, Interim Dean

July 1, 2003-August 2010: Nancy A. Bagranoff

August 2010-June 30, 2014: Gilbert R. Yochum

July 1, 2014-May 24, 2015: Vinod Agarwal, Interim Dean

May 25, 2015-August 31, 2022: John (Jeff) F. Tanner, Jr.

September 1, 2022-June 9, 2024: Kenneth B. Kahn

June 10, 2024-: Erika Marsillac, Interim Dean

Resources

  1. Old Dominion University Photographic and Multimedia Collection, Special Collections and University Archives, Perry Library, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, 23529.
  2. ODU Photographic Collection, Old Dominion University Libraries Digital Collections, Old Dominion University Libraries.
  3. Dean of the School of Business Administration Records, pecial Collections and University Archives, Perry Library, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, 23529.

References

  1. Bookman, Steven and Jessica Ritchie. Old Dominion University: A Campus History Series.  Arcadia Publishing. Charleston, South Carolina, 2017.
  2. Old Dominion University Catalogs, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
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