Strome College Researchers Ready to Bolster New Hampton Roads Maritime Collaborative

The brand-new Hampton Roads Maritime Collaborative for Growth & Innovation (HRMC) - an initiative created to expand the role that maritime initiatives play in the region's economic development - has a fleet of experts in Old Dominion University's Strome College of Business ready to embark on a journey to create new meaningful research partnerships.

The HRMC brings together more than 40 leaders and specialist with backgrounds ranging from business, maritime associations, the Navy, economic development and academia in order to tackle complex issues and capitalize on unique opportunities connected to the saltwater that surrounds the 757 region. And Strome College researchers are eager to contribute their expertise to fields as diverse as economics, supply chain management, and port security.

"Our established leadership in maritime and supply chain education and research will be a strong foundation to the University's support of economic development in our region's maritime sector," noted Jeff Tanner, Dean of the Strome College of Business. He pointed to the work already done by faculty such as Erika Marsillac and Ricardo Ungo, collaborating with the regional economic development authorities.

Nancy Grden, most recently the associate vice president of ODU's Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, has been named the HRMC's first executive director. She said Strome College faculty, who she worked hand-in-hand with as founding director of the Strome Entrepreneurial Center, will play a vital leadership role for the HRMC, and ODU's initiative to be a globally recognized maritime-focused university.

"They bring their expertise and reputations in maritime, supply chain and logistics, international business, management and other disciplines to inform both groups," Grden said. "The Strome College is also fortunate to have an active and engaged external Advisory Council for its Maritime Institute, which is also directly involved in the HRMC."

Wayne Talley, Eminent Scholar and Frederick W. Beazley Chair Professor of Economics is a tangible example of the world-leading maritime research that already exists in the Strome College.

The former executive director of the Strome College's International Maritime, Ports and Logistics Management Institute, Talley is among the world's leading scholars of maritime transportation and port business. "I am excited for the research that my colleagues and I can contribute to the HRMC," Talley said. This could include academic research published in a new journal, Maritime Transport Research, for which Talley and ManWo Ng, a fellow ODU maritime business professor, will serve as founding co-editors.

Marsillac and Ungo, researchers in the Strome College's Department of Information Technology & Decision Sciences, served as ODU representatives on 757Recovery, the region's COVID-19 business recovery forum. While the global pandemic has been an undeniable challenge for the region, it also represents an opportunity to reimagine the maritime industry's role in the local economy.

"A silver lining of COVID-19 was that people gained an understanding of the repercussions of supply chain interruptions," said Marsillac, an associate professor and supply chain expert. "That same thinking can help the Maritime Collaborative. How does this region recover from COVID, but also in that recovery effort, position itself to strategically advance our shared maritime interests?"

In his former work with the Panama Canal, Ungo saw first-hand the need for collaboration to tackle complex issues like the widening and expansion of the strategically vital trade link. He sees Old Dominion University researchers as a key resource in helping Hampton Roads solve its own maritime issues. "In terms of this region, maybe it's better to talk about what are the assets," Ungo said. "There is a natural deep-water port, the world's largest naval base, plus all of the port and shipping logistics infrastructure. How can we, as the entire Hampton Roads region, take advantage of these assets? And how can ODU collaborate in solving issues and achieving goals?"

The Hampton Roads Maritime Collaborative is focused on long-term economic development and innovation around the Hampton Roads maritime sector and will also work on initiatives involving offshore wind, coastal resilience, talent pipelines and supply base.