PUTTING THE 'U' IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Never the Twain
Shall Meet … Until Now
In the past, when one thought about
scrappy business upstarts and treasured
colleges and universities, there was not
much the two were felt to have in common. If anything, they were considered
opposites: one trying to survive; the other
continuing to thrive.
Increasing numbers of colleges and
universities, however, are adopting more of
a change-agent, upstart mentality. Schools
such as the University of Rochester, Duke
University, and Case Western Reserve Uni-
Delivering
Solutions to
Facility Supplies
versity are prime examples of institutions
that are finding ways to circumvent the goslow approach that long has characterized
American higher education. The processes
and technologies that these institutions develop find their ways into the marketplace
as business ventures. And the creation of
these technologies leads universities to beef
up their own hiring.
Why this "foot-on-the-gas" mentality?
It has to do with culture changes and the
conscious adoption of a philosophy that
knowledge-based innovation drives the
economy. It's the kind of work that has
been happening, to much acclaim, in the
research triangle area of North Carolina
for years. The movement, however, is
equally vibrant in older industrial cities
There is irony in the
fact that while newspaper headlines are
littered with questions of the value of
a college education,
it is inescapable that
knowledge-based innovation drives the
economy.
such as Rochester and Cleveland.
In 2009 alone, Rochester, Duke, and
Case Western Reserve together accounted
for more than $1B in federal research funding which has fueled local growth beyond
the campus gates. The success of these
schools in winning federal research grants
puts each into the top 30 schools for federal
research dollars in 2009, the last year for
which complete figures are available.
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COLLEGE PLANNING & MANAGEMENT / MARCH 2013
Adding to Positive Job Numbers
Duke and Rochester are employment
leaders in their communities. Duke, the
largest employer in Durham, employs 19,755
residents with salaries and benefits totaling $931M, according to a 2007 economic
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