The seal for Old Dominion University was designed to incorporate the origin of Virginia, the first permanent English colony in America, with The College of William and Mary, the second oldest college in America and Old Dominion's parent institution.
The central portion of the seal, a large shield divided into quadrants by a St. George's cross, is a modified and simplified version of the royal arms of the Stuarts, rulers of England at the time Virginia became known as the Old Dominion. Repeated inside the large shield are four shields of the kingdoms of England, Scotland, Ireland and France, the last of which England still claimed at the time. Over the center of the cross has been placed the coat of arms of The College of William and Mary, granted by the College of Heralds in England in 1694, indicating Old Dominion University's origin. Within the concentric rings around the central shield are the name of the university and the date of its founding: "Old Dominion University" and "1930." Colors in the seal are light azure or sky blue, carmine red, mustard yellow, emerald green, and ultramarine.