During her years as the University of Cincinnati’s associate vice president for entrepreneurial affairs and technology commercialization, Dorothy H. Air, PhD is credited with having proposed and developed an Office of Entrepreneurial Affairs for the University at a time when visibility for the Innovation Agenda was in its infancy. Ultimately, this Office grew into the Technology Accelerator for Commercialization, for which she has brought in more than $6.5 million in grant funding to support faculty commercialization initiatives. She was also instrumental as a senior and/or co-investigator in bringing in more than $37 million in additional grant funding related to the development and commercialization of technologies and to support regional initiatives.

Her track record includes initiating the formation of the Ohio Valley Affiliates for Life Sciences, which has grown over the last 15 years into a three-state, six university affiliation dedicated to creating visibility for the technology opportunities of our region. She launched and served as the Fund Manager for the Southern Ohio Creates Companies Pre-Seed investment fund, led by the University of Cincinnati. She served on the Steering Committee for I-Corps@Ohio which created and launched a new I-Corps model for the State of Ohio. She currently serves on the Board for
Confluence, which is a major regional water cluster partnership. Her regional leadership is also reflected in her past Board appointments, including Hamilton County Development Center (and Executive Committee); Edison Material Technology Center; Greater Cincinnati Venture Association; BioStart: Kentucky Science and Engineering Foundation; and Commercialization Advisory Board for the Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center of Cleveland Clinic. She has been a champion of CincyTech where, as a long-term loaned executive from UC, she helped in establishing the early groundwork for the regional Entrepreneurial Signature Program and winning more than $37 million in grant funding.

Dorothy is a recognized thought-leader in developing new models for technology commercialization and
has served in many capacities for APLU’s Commission of Innovation, Competitiveness and Economic
Prosperity, including the Working Group tasked with “Defining the New Engagement for Universities,”
Secretary of the Executive Committee and member of the working groups for developing university strategic communications, assessment tools and metrics.

She is an experienced consultant in the area of strategic planning and is known for her ability to bring disparate groups together to achieve common goals. She has worked with local, regional, and national organizations/initiatives.

Her work has resulted in several recognitions, including 2007 Leading Woman of Greater Cincinnati in Entrepreneurship, 2006 One of Cincinnati’s Top 10 Women in Technology by Cincinnati Women’s Business, and Top 20 people in Technology in Cincinnati and Featured in BizWoman Annual Regional Program, 2015. She is also known for her skills in facilitating strategic planning processes.