Ten University Markets that Really Have Their Act Together

By Laura H. Corbin

The South's colleges and universities often drive economic development in the communities where they are located. These institutions create and disseminate knowledge and understanding. By doing so, they help address the challenges that communities face in the competitive environment of attracting new businesses and creating new jobs. Universities have the potential to be powerful economic drivers, technology centers, employers, developers, and investors.

Here are 10 shining examples of "University Markets" that really have their act together:

Rutherford County, Tennessee:

Rutherford County, Tennessee, located just southeast of Nashville, is home to Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). The second-largest and fastest growing university in the state serves as a cornerstone for the area's diverse industrial base including Nissan, Pillsbury, Bridgestone/Firestone, Square D, and Whirlpool.

Offering more than 140 programs, MTSU has nationally and internationally recognized programs in aerospace, business, mass communication, the recording industry, as well as the only four-year degree in Concrete Industry Management. The university has also developed a 15-year academic master plan that includes focuses on: applied science and technologies; commerce and agribusiness; education, entertainment; communication and the arts; health and human services; information and computer technologies; law and government; and tourism and leisure

For businesses in Rutherford County, MTSU offers the Training and Professional Development Center (TPDC), which provides human resources services as well as customized on-site training and needs assessments. Services through MTSU's Chair of Manufacturing Excellence also provide area companies with on-site faculty assistance, technical support, or engineering assistance.

The economic impact of MTSU on the region, with its more than 22,000 students, is estimated at more than $250 million annually.

Auburn-Opelika, Alabama:

Driving much of the growth in the Auburn-Opelika MSA in eastern Alabama, the state's fastest-growing MSA, are Auburn University and Southern Union State Community College.

With more than 23,000 students, Auburn is the largest university in the state. It offers more than 130 undergraduate degrees, 64 master's programs and doctorate degrees in 40 fields. It is ranked 44 th among the nation's top 50 public universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition, its College of Engineering consistently ranks in the nation's top 20 programs, and Auburn's MBA program is among the top 10 percent nationally.

Southern Union State's three campuses have more than 4,000 students. It offers a broad range of two-year programs in the liberal arts, technical and health-sciences divisions. The technical division programs prepare students for immediate employment, retrain existing workers, and promote local economic stability and competitiveness. Its Industry Training Center has a world-class facility designed to meet the needs of area businesses with such programs as electrical engineering, mechanics, hydraulics and pneumatics.

Starkville, Mississippi:

Starkville, Mississippi, is home to the Mississippi State University (MSU) and the adjacent Mississippi Research and Technology Park. The 220-acre park features sites for biotech research, manufacturing or processing companies.

The National Science Foundation ranks MSU among the leading universities in agricultural research expenditures. The university produces more than 300 graduates a year in life sciences and receives more than $9 million for externally supported industrial collaborations with such companies as Procter & Gamble, Monsanto, Dow Chemical, DuPont, Pfizer and Eli Lilly. MSU'S Life Sciences and Biotechnology Institute promotes research and education while attracting financial and intellectual capital to advance the commercialization of new biotechnology products.

Mississippi's community college system and Office of Vocational-Technical and Adult Education assist industry in developing valuable, customized worker training programs.

Richmond, Virginia:

Virginia Commonwealth University's (VCU) Center for Public Policy houses the Virginia Center for Urban Development, which provides basic and applied research in areas critical to the state's rural and urban regions. The Center is a permanent base through which the resources and expertise of Virginia's colleges and universities can be accessed.

VCU, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the city of Richmond collaborate in the Virginia Biotechnology Research Park, adjacent to the VCU Medical Center. The Park accommodates 3,000 researchers, scientists and engineers in nearly 2 million square feet. United Network of Organ Sharing, located at the Park, attracts private companies interested in collaborative research. It also houses Virginia's first technology incubator, which has helped more than 50 new technology start-up companies.

VCU also has opened a $28 million Life Science Building, featuring 17 instructional laboratories for biology, anatomy, genetics, molecular biology, bioinformatics, ecology, environmental science and microbiology.

Blacksburg-Roanoke, Virginia:

Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, the largest in the state, is one of the nation's top 50 research universities. Its Corporate Research Center has more than 100 businesses conducting research in agriculture, biotechnology, design automation, diagnostics, electronics, engineering, environmental engineering, information technology, library science, materials and chemistry, and transportation.

Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties Inc. (VTIP) facilitates technology transfer at the university, handling licenses and protecting technology developed there.

Among Virginia Tech's facilities are the Center for Self-Assembled Nanostructures and Devices, which conducts research in a range of industry applications; the Fralin Biotechnology Center, a focal point of biotechnology research, education and outreach; and the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute, which combines biological and computer science research to advance cutting-edge bioinformatics technologies.

The presence of Virginia Tech has led to the creation of small software, engineering, and other technology companies located in Blacksburg.

Tampa-Orlando, Florida:

In the 1960s, two important institutions made their home near Orlando, Fla. - the Glen L. Martin Company (now Lockheed Martin) and NASA's Kennedy Space Center. These establishments created an instant need for more engineers, and the State of Florida met that challenge by establishing the Florida Technological University (FTU).

Today, FTU is known by a different name, the University of Central Florida (UCF), but its focus on meeting industry's needs hasn't wavered. The most recent example is the university's establishment of the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy, which received $4.2 million in state seed money and is going to help create a workforce for Metro Orlando's emerging digital media industry.

Of equal importance is UCF's partnership with Tampa Bay's University of South Florida in the creation of the Florida High Tech Corridor Council. This economic development initiative has brought the two universities together with high-tech companies, economic development organizations and community colleges and is focused on attracting, retaining and growing high-tech industry and workforce in the region.

Earlier this year, the Council made national headlines when it added the University of Florida to the partnership. Together, these three universities are having a big impact on the markets they serve and the development of the region's high-tech sector.

Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina:

The three major research institutions of the Research Triangle area of North Carolina (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) are in large part responsible for landing the Triangle on many top ten lists for business location and growth. North Carolina State University (NCSU), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) and Duke University have a combined enrollment of more than 66,000 in undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate programs.

NCSU is a national center for research, teaching and outreach in the sciences and technologies, the humanities and social sciences, and dozens of professional programs. Its $413 million budget for research-sponsored programs covers a broad range of public service, scientific and technological endeavors.

UNC-CH offers instruction in more than 100 fields in its 13 colleges, including dentistry, medicine, pharmacy, public health and law. Its faculty is ranked foremost in the Southeast and among the top 20 research universities in a study by the National Academy of Sciences.

Duke is known for the quality of its faculty as well as its academic and research program.

Austin-Round Rock, Texas:

The University of Texas at Austin (UT-A), with 48,000 students, has more than 90 research units including the Center for Nano- and Molecular Science and Technology, the Institute of Computational Engineering and Sciences, the Department of Biomedical Engineering, and the Wireless Networking and Communications Group. Annual research funding exceeds $380 million, and more than 400 patents have been awarded to UT-A.

Investment in the university's research grows into $1.4 billion in Texas business activity each year and creates more than 20,000 new jobs throughout the state. The university ranks seventh in the nation and first in Texas in the number of science and engineering doctoral degrees awarded.

Nearby Texas State University, Austin Community College and Temple College at Taylor have collaborated to form the Round Rock Higher Education Center, offering workforce training, certificate programs and post-graduate studies.

Lexington, Kentucky:

The University of Kentucky (UK), with nearly 27,000 students, offers 88 certified degree programs that lead to bachelor's degrees, and master's degrees in 93 fields, plus Ph.D. and other doctoral degrees in 50 programs. UK has a strong multidisciplinary research enterprise that emphasizes technologies. That focus is reflected in the university's patent portfolio in the areas of pharmaceuticals and therapeutics, plant biotechnology, and environmental, energy and manufacturing technologies. UK's Coldstream Research Campus provides a location for the development of knowledge-based businesses, and its Advanced Science and Technology Commercialization Center is the nexus for multidisciplinary research that leads to technology transfer and new business start-ups.

Kentucky State University, the state's only historically African American university, offers more than 50 academic fields of study, including a master's degree in public administration. Other regional colleges include Asbury College, Georgetown College, Midway College and Central Kentucky Technical College.

Winston-Salem-Greensboro-High Point, North Carolina:

The four universities in the Triad region of North Carolina - the University of North Carolina-Greensboro (UNCG), North Carolina A&T State University, Wake Forest University and Winston-Salem State University - pump millions of dollars in research-related funds into the area's economy each year.

With an enrollment of more than 14,000, UNCG offers more than 100 areas of study for undergraduates, 50 master's programs and 22 doctoral programs. Its Office of Research assists faculty in coordinating activities relating to research, technology transfer, compliance and economic development.

Wake Forest, which offers 34 majors and has an enrollment of 6,500, is highly ranked in the nation for technology resources. Last year, the university took in $34 million in licensing revenue and has spun out a half-dozen new companies in recent years.

At A&T, the Center for Advanced Materials and Smart Structures partners with businesses like NanoTechLabs Inc. to create commercial products, helping to drive the economy.