Business
PHOTO © J. ADAM FENSTER / UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
MANAGING HIGHER ED
Putting the 'U'
in EntrepreneUrship
The University of Rochester is developing knowledge-based
innovation for the beneft of itself and the surrounding community.
BY DUNCAN MOOR E
F
OR TWO DECADES THE
city of Rochester, NY, has been
preparing for an era where large
industrial manufacturing companies —
such as Kodak, Xerox, and B+L — no longer
dominate the region's economy. Twentyfive years ago, 60 percent of Rochester's
workforce drew paychecks from those three
firms. Today they employ just six percent,
according to a recent New York Times article.
But the loss of tens of thousands of
manufacturing jobs hasn't devastated the
region. In fact, despite relatively flat population growth, Rochester's workforce is larger
today — with Kodak employing fewer than
7,000 people — than it was when Kodak
employed more than 62,000 people. How did
this happen? Much of the reason is due to
public-private partnerships that work with
federal, state, and local governments and
academics to train entrepreneurs and create
new business ventures. Since 1996, Rochester has launched 38 start-ups based on
University of Rochester technologies alone.
The University also partners with industry
— both locally and beyond — to help them
meet their R&D; needs.
MARCH 2013 / COLLEGE PLANNING & MANAGEMENT
59