Thanks to Ed Morrison for highlighting a very intriguing report by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government at the University of Albany. The study delves into how higher education institutions (namely community colleges and universities) are becoming “key drivers of economic development and community revitalization.”
A good summary of the report, “A New Paradigm for Economic Development,” can be found in this Rockefeller Institute news release:
“Across the country,” the report says, “there is promising evidence of new investment, new companies, new jobs being created through higher education efforts.”
“Many institutions are going through a learning experience, as they test out what seems to work best,” it says. “The characteristics shared by the most active institutions in the field can be identified now, however. They have the leadership to make economic revitalization a priority, the culture to mesh that objective with their academic mission, the legal flexibility to mix and match assets and brainpower with the private sector, and the resources to make it all work.”