Dominique Halaby
Director, Business Innovation Group | Georgia Southern University
Statesboro, GA, UNITED STATES
Dr. Halaby oversees development of Georgia Southern University’s City Center.
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Biography
Dominique Halaby, D.P.A. is the Director of the Business Innovation Group (BIG) at Georgia Southern University. This includes the Center for Business Analytics and Economic Research, Center for Entrepreneurial Learning and Leadership, Small Business Development Center, EDA University Center, Innovation Incubator and Fab Lab. In 2015, BIG was recognized as a Gold Award Winner in Entrepreneurship by the International Economic Development Council.
Dr. Halaby is also overseeing the development of Georgia Southern’s City Center. The City Center is a joint initiative between Georgia Southern University, the City of Statesboro, and the Downtown Statesboro Development Authority to foster innovation and entrepreneurship. In addition, he is working with the Hinesville Development Authority to construct a second City Center in Hinesville.
Prior to joining Georgia Southern, he served as the Director of the Center for Community and Business Research at UTSA’s Institute for Economic Development. He spent most of his career building a non-profit organization dealing with workforce and economic development. Under his leadership, the organization was recognized in 2003 by the Society for Human Resource Management as The Best to Place to Work in Hidalgo County for companies with less than 100 employees. He was successful in achieving broad collaboration among industry leaders and educators to strengthen home-grown approaches to meet local skilled workforce needs, and in leading several community planning and antipoverty initiatives. These projects were recognized as national finalists for the Economic Development Administration (EDA) Best Practices in 2003 and 2006, as well as being honored by the Texas Workforce Commission as the Transitional Workforce Award recipient in 2004. In addition, Dr. Halaby served as Interim Director of the Rio Grande Regional Center for Innovation and Commercialization and assisted public universities in South Texas and new business ventures in accessing the $200 million Emerging Technology Fund. To date, he has secured over $35 million in funding.
Dr. Halaby serves on the APLU’s Commission on Economic and Community Engagement Executive Committee, as well as a board member of several other entities including the University Economic Development Association, Spaceport Camden and Statesboro Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Areas of Expertise (6)
Community Development
Workforce and Economic Development
Non-Profit Organizations
Workplace Innovation
Rural Entrepreneurship
Community Engagement
Accomplishments (8)
Executive Committee
Class of 2021 - Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities Commission on Economic and Community Engagement
Board of Directors
2018 - Present - University Economic Development Association
Downtown Visionary Award Recipient
2017 - Downtown Statesboro Development Authority
International Economic Development Council
2015 Gold Winner – Entrepreneurship
International Economic Development Council
2015 Bronze Winner – Redevelopment
Georgia Academy for Economic Development
Class of 2013
Leadership UTSA
Class of 2011
San Antonio Business Journal, 40 under 40 Recognition
2009
Education (3)
Warrington College of Business, University of Florida: AACSB Post-Doctoral Bridge Program-Certified Scholarly Academic in Entrepreneurship & International Business 2014
H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business & Entrepreneurship Nova Southeastern University: D.P.A. 2006
The University of Texas at Austin: B.A., Sociology 1995
Links (1)
Media Appearances (4)
Georgia Southern opens Innovation Incubator and FabLab in Statesboro
Atlanta Business Chronicle
2016-09-13
Business Innovation Group Director Dominique Halaby said the idea that this is now in place demonstrates for rural America, anything is possible. “The services you’d normally find in larger urban areas or at institutions like Georgia Tech are now right here in Statesboro and at Georgia Southern,” Halaby said in a statement. “Just in the FabLab component, we have 3-D printing of various types so anyone can come in and manufacture anything that they can imagine, but we also have laser cutters, woodworking equipment and lots of other tools that you might not have in your house but you can have access to right here in this space.”...
Creating Opportunities
Georgia Trend online
2015-04-02
“The concept [for the FabLab] came about in a strategic planning retreat that the Statesboro Chamber of Commerce put together back in 2011,” says Dominique Halaby, director of the Bureau for Business Research and Economic Development and the go-to guy for all things FabLab related. “We have a growing creative class, this momentum to have this creative and innovative environment here in Statesboro. When you couple that with the emphasis on manufacturing through our College of Engineering, the FabLab proves a fantastic concept to be able to bring and engage our students, faculty, businesses and even the K-12 system with robotics competitions, anybody in our region will be able to be innovative and create just about anything that they can imagine.”
City Campus reveals plans for 'Fab Lab'
Connect Statesboro
2014-11-04
The university challenged the architects to help create emotional ties between City Campus and Georgia Southern's main campus, said Dominique Halaby, the director of the university's Bureau of Business Research and Economic Development. Having students maintain the green wall is one strategy. Changing the glow from light-emitting diodes is another. The alley should look pretty in soft, white light most nights, Halaby said. "Except, when Georgia Southern wins, or at commencement or on key events, we want that thing lit blue so you have this blue alley that ties back into the core of what it means to be home to the greatest university in the country," he said. "We want to have that emotional connection extended back into the campus for our students."...
City and GSU plan business incubator
Liberty County Development Authority online
The Hinesville Development Authority is providing an additional $750,000 grant, bringing the total to $1.5 million in support for the business incubator,which will support overall growth to the area. “I applaud the Hinesville Development Authority and City Manager Kenneth Howard on their steadfast vision and determination for helping Hinesville residents in starting and growing their business,” said BIG Director Dominique Halaby. “As such, I am excited to begin working with them to successfully execute that vision and to make this incubator a reality.”
Articles (3)
Developing a Conceptual Framework for Understanding the Use of a Commitment Device in a Philanthropic Business Model
American Journal of EntrepreneurshipDominique Halaby
2017 In the past 100 years, the manner in which for-profit entities support social causes has evolved considerably. In the early 1900’s, many stockholders viewed efforts to operate in a socially responsible manner as contrary to the firm’s profit motives. Now, several states authorize a new legal structure for companies that place support for social causes at the core of their business strategy. The purpose of this paper is to review recent literature relating to social responsibility and outline the distinction between various forms of corporate engagement with social causes. The author presents a historical review of methods by which corporate support for a social cause has shifted and examines how businesses that choose to function in a socially responsible manner operate. This article makes a contribution to the area of social responsibility by providing an alternate framework that accounts for social consciousness of for-profit businesses and their use of a commitment device. The framework can be utilized by academics and practitioners seeking to delineate between for-profit enterprises that operate with a degree of social consciousness and those that do not. Finally, the author highlights recommendations for further research in the field of social responsibility.
Determining the viability of a college or university-based business incubator: A comparative assessment of feasibility studies
Economic Development in Higher EducationDominique Halaby
2016 This article explores the various elements of assessing the feasibility of developing a college or university-based business incubator. It is a narrative review of seven incubator feasibility studies, one of which is directed by the author. The purpose of the article is to outline the common elements of these studies, assess the goals of these studies and provide a framework by which institutions of higher education in other communities can utilize in assessing the viability of an incubator in their area. Given the sparse academic research conducted prior to an incubator’s formation, this article is meant to complement prior research that explores the operational aspects of established incubator programs and assist higher education administrators in the exploratory stages of establishing a business incubator. This article looks at seven community efforts prior to their launch of a business incubator and seeks to identify thematic areas and common processes that were used to determine whether or not sufficient conditions existed to warrant the establishment of a new business incubator.
Rural entrepreneurship as an economic development strategy: The case of NAFTA impacted counties in Georgia
Economic Development JournalDominique Halaby
2015 Promoting economic development in rural America can be very challenging. In order to effectively assist entrepreneurs and small business owners in economically challenged counties in rural Georgia with establishing and growing their business, Georgia Southern University developed Georgia’s Enterprise Network for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (GENIE). Founded in 2012, GENIE provides a conduit for community and business leaders to engage and access the university services through three methods: mentoring, connecting and training. In three years, the program has assisted over 40 businesses and contributed to the creation or retention of more than 50 jobs. This article discusses and outlines the lessons learned launching the program in five rural counties that were deemed to have been negatively impacted by the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). GENIE received IEDC’s Gold Award in Entrepreneurship.
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