|
DENNIS ACKERMAN
Director and Founder
Mr. Ackerman founded the Entrepreneurial
Center in 1987. In 1999 the Center’s name was changed
to include the Bank of America and became The Bank of America
Entrepreneurial Center at Old Dominion University. It is attached
to the ODU College of Business and Public Administration and
receives support from the University’s Administration
and from Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology.
His projects have covered a wide range of industries and
businesses and included an equally wide range of types of
assistance to businesses to help them plan their future, establish
themselves profitably, and solve key issues and problems.
Some noteworthy examples include –
- Assistance to the initial “local access to the internet”,
which now provides
services through 450 newspapers throughout the United States.
- Help for regional Economic Development Offices to attract
companies from
other states and countries to locate their businesses in Hampton
Roads.
- Assistance to a new company that is currently brokering
$20 million annually
in projects between the United States and Russia.
- Help to form Waterside Capital, the first pure venture capital
fund in the area.
- Development of the NASA incubator proposal with CIT in 1998
to establish the Hampton Roads Technology Incubator.
- Assistance with the formation of the regional Small Business
Development Center.
Prior to 1987, Mr. Ackerman was the founder and President
of an energy company. Prior to that, he was co-founder and
Director of a private secondary school in Cleveland, Ohio.
Currently, he also teaches graduate level courses in Business
Planning and Entrepreneurial Methods at ODU.
Mr. Ackerman has a Bachelor of Science degree in Comprehensive
Science from the College of Education at Ohio State University
in Columbus, Ohio. He also conducted Master’s work in
Natural Resource Allocation performed at Cleveland State University.
Contact Information:
Dennis Ackerman - Founder & Director
telephone - (757) 549-4916
e-mail - dackerman@odu.edu
|
