Colleges can be the engine for economy, educator says

"Success in the new economy will belong to those regions that create and nurture the
human resources of intellectual capital – the people that create new knowledge and new
technologies and quickly translate research discoveries into marketable products and
services," Luis Proenza told an audience at the City Club of Cleveland yesterday.

Colleges and universities can provide the horsepower to rev up Ohio’s economy,
according to the president of the University of Akron.

By:
Barb Galbincea
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Akron, OH

Home

Higher education drives economic development in all those ways and also contributes as
a regional employer and consumer of local services, he said. But most of the public –
along with many legislators and business leaders – "seem so woefully in the dark" about
why it’s important to invest in higher education, he added.

UA’s president is eager to enlighten them.

First, Proenza said, colleges and universities educate people for jobs that increasingly
demand training beyond high school if America is to remain competitive in the global
market.

He also said an investment in education offers taxpayers an excellent return. Citing
census data, Proenza said people with bachelor’s degrees can expect to earn nearly $1
million more over the course of their careers than those with high school educations. The
gap widens even more between high school graduates and holders of graduate and
professional degrees.

That earning power carries with it a higher tax bill, meaning that for every dollar the state
invests in higher education, it can expect a return of $1.84 in inflation-adjusted dollars
through increased taxes, said Proenza.

Universities also fuel the economic engine by leveraging nearly $1 billion in research
support a year and by spawning innovation that can help existing industries or create new
ones, he said.

Academic research produces more than 3,000 patents a year and creates nearly 400
new companies, according to Proenza. He noted that Akron is again ranked second in
the world by the Association of University Technology Managers for patent productivity
per dollar of research spending and that Kent State University was ranked fourth
nationally for start-up companies created per dollar of research investment.

http://www.nasvf.org/web/allpress.nsf/pages/5014