Established in 1930 as the two-year Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary, it began by educating people with fewer financial assets in the Norfolk-Virginia Beach area of the Hampton Roads region.

[4] Its main campus covers 250 acres (1.0 km2) straddling the city neighborhoods of Larchmont, Highland Park, and Lambert's Point, approximately five miles (8.0 km) north of Downtown Norfolk along the Elizabeth River.

[8][9] In 1924 after becoming the director of the William and Mary extension in Norfolk, Joseph Healy began organizing classes and finding locations for faculty and staff.

Created as it was in the first year of the Great Depression, the college benefited from federal funding as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal.

After serving ten years as an instructor at the Norfolk Division of the College of William and Mary, Webb was appointed assistant director in 1942.

On February 16, 1962, the William and Mary system was dissolved under General Assembly legislation that was signed by Governor Albertis S. Harrison.

Frank Batten, who was the publisher of The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star and a member of the Norfolk Division's advisory board, was chosen as the first rector of Old Dominion College on May 27, 1962, holding the position until 1970.

Growth in enrollment, expansion of research facilities, and preparation for graduate programs led the board to seek university status.

[12][13] In the 1970s, under President Alfred B. Rollins Jr., Old Dominion established partnerships between regional organizations such as , Eastern Virginia Medical School and Norfolk State University.

[26] Due to its location in a large metropolitan area, Old Dominion University places particular emphasis on urban issues, including education and health care, and the arts.

This merger completed on July 1, 2024, forming the Macon and Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences Center at Old Dominion University.

Faculty and staff are drawn from across all colleges and reporting units at the university, including information technology services, VMASC, and military affairs.

IIE is a one-stop shop for the community, students, faculty/staff, and alumni seeking resources and services for innovation, entrepreneurship, and new enterprises and programs.

Traditional classes are combined with Honors courses, experiential learning, undergraduate research, campus events, and a capstone experience.

Honors courses are offered in a small class setting with some of the best faculty members on campus, providing an environment for holding lively discussions and building personal relationships.

[48] Old Dominion University research teams generate $88 million in annual funding through more than 400 ongoing projects supported by grants from NSF, NIH, the Department of Energy, and the DOD.

The goal of the center is to meet the nation's need for scientists and engineers who will advance the next generation of accelerators and light sources - tools that enable an ever-widening range of basic and applied research, numerous medical applications, as well as industrial and Homeland Security functions.

[52] Old Dominion University's International Maritime, Ports, & Logistics Institute, in the Strome College of Business, was created through a university/business community partnership in Hampton Roads.

Its function is to provide maritime, ports, and logistics management education, training, and research to meet regional, national, and international needs.

[53] At the October 2011 Annual Meeting of the International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME) in Santiago (Chile), university rankings worldwide in port research for the period 1980-2009 were announced.

In addition, the Department of Energy's Jefferson Lab, NASA-Langley Research Center, and numerous regional industries are important users of MS&V technology.

[66] Among the new/renovated academic facilities are Constant Hall (Home of the Strome College of Business), Batten Arts and Letters Building, the Perry Library Student Success Center and Learning Commons, the E.V.

The ODU Virginia Beach Center offers an array of amenities including a Learning Commons for students, a study lounge, and space for special events.

ODU Tri-Cities Center is a full-service facility offering upper-level undergraduate 300- and 400-level degree completion classes, graduate and certificate programs, admissions, registration, advising, and other student services for residents of Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Suffolk, and surrounding areas.

ODU Peninsula Center is a full-service facility offering upper-level undergraduate 300- and 400-level degree completion classes, graduate and certificate programs, admissions, registration, advising, and other student services for residents of Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg, and surrounding areas.

[76] A private, student-only apartment complex (Proximity at ODU) houses approximately 1,000 additional students on campus, in University Village.

[77] The Student Recreation & Well-Being Center (SRWC) is located in the middle of the ODU campus adjacent to the Rosane Runte Quad.

The ODU Outdoor Adventure program allows students to take organized trips and participate in activities such as hiking, mountain biking, camping, surfing, yoga, rock climbing, snowboarding, and skiing.

WODU serves the campus as a 100% student run multimedia studio hosting radio broadcasts, podcasts, gaming, and sports reporting.

[85] The women's lacrosse team spent the 2014 season (played in the 2013–14 school year) as an independent before joining the Atlantic Sun Conference.