ODU Gateway to forge friendlier reputation

The Virginia Applied Technology & Professional Development Center has once again been reinvented, this time as the Old Dominion University Business Gateway. ODU announced the change in name and scope of the center earlier this month. The Gateway, whose mission is to provide the business community a central point of access to the school's resources, has taken many names and forms through the years.

First there was the Engineering Clinic. In 1986 it became the Technology Applications Center. It then merged with the Center for Continuing Engineer Education in 2005 and became known as the Virginia Applied Technology & Professional Development Center. The idea for the program has always been to utilize the knowledge and expertise of university faculty and researchers to help businesses solve problems. It has in the past focused mostly on engineering-related efforts such as helping business improve their processes. Over the last few years VATPDC has made a larger push to help business clients apply lean principles to eliminate waste in their operations.

But no matter the name, a problem has lingered that hindered the center's efforts. "Universities just generally are not perceived to be or are actually not fun or easy to do business with," said Jerry Robertson, the longtime leader of the program.