In 1930, the College of William and Mary developed a two-year campus in Norfolk, located in the former Larchmont grade school on Hampton Boulevard. Initially known as the Norfolk Division of the College William and Mary, the college’s name changed as its course offerings expanded and contracted. In 1931, “Virginia Polytechnic Institute” was added to the school’s title as it began offering engineering classes. In an effort to increase enrollment during World War II, the school began teaching industrial and academic war training courses for the Navy. After the war, these courses were expanded into the Technical Institute, a new division of the college. The Technical Institute, at times part of the Evening College, was created to provide non-credit trade and industrial education for white men and a few courses for white women. In 1958, as the college became increasingly focused on academic instruction, “Virginia Polytechnic Institute” was dropped from the school’s name. Moving towards independence, the school became the “Norfolk College of William and Mary” in 1961. Finally, in 1962 it broke formal ties with the College of William and Mary and became accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) as a separate college with a new name, Old Dominion College. Two years later the college admitted its first African-American student. In 1969, the college expanded its graduate offerings and became Old Dominion University.

Note written by Mel Frizzell