Agenda
Monday September 26, 2011

9:00 – 10:00AM
REGISTRATION — Mezzanine Prefunction Area

10:00 – 11:30am
WELCOME AND OPENING PLENARY — Grand Ballroom

University-Driven Growth in the Knowledge Economy
This opening session will articulate the principal themes for the conference: the importance of higher education institutions as drivers in the economy, and the need for better metrics to benchmark and track improvement in HEI contributions to regional economic development. Presenters will discuss the underlying trends fueling the knowledge economy, globalization and the underpinnings of economic growth, and will draw from experiences in programs to create technology innovation partnerships among higher education and industry, recruit top scientists, seed research and commercialization endeavors at universities, and better educate students and faculty in inventiveness and entrepreneurialism.

WELCOME: NANCY ZIMPHER, CHANCELLOR, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS: CARL HAYDEN, CHAIR, SUNY BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Edward Rendell, former Governor, Pennsylvania.
Peter S. Goodman, Executive Business Editor, Huffington Post
Vivek Wadhwa, Harvard Law School; Duke University

11:45 – 12:45PM
CONCURRENT BREAKOUTS: NEW PERSPECTIVES ON CREATING A STRONG ECONOMY

Surveying the Economic Contributions of Higher Education —
Grand Ballroom E&F
The extent and nature of universities as economic actors has been the subject of increasing scrutiny. Panelists will explore efforts by the National Academy of Sciences and Association of Public and Land Grant Universities, among others, to develop new metrics to better measure the extent and impacts of entrepreneurial activity, human capital transfer, and external linkages. The discussion will include questions raised about the validity of “return on investment” claims by institutions of higher education, and how well data can be translated to help wider audiences to understand the economic consequence of higher education.

Stephen Merrill, Executive Director of Science, Technology & Economic Policy for the National Academy of Sciences
Dana Bostrom, Director, Electronic Portfolio, Association of American Medical Colleges
John Siegfried, Professor, Vanderbilt University
Ellis Rubinstein, President/CEO, The New York Academy of Sciences

Commercializing University Inventions through Incubators and other Tech Transfer—What Works? — Delaware Suites (2nd Fl)
A variety of mechanisms have been developed to bridge the distance between advances in knowledge taking place on campuses and businesses or entrepreneurs interested in such discoveries. The panel will provide an overview of what is known about the effectiveness of university commercialization of intellectual property via incubators and tech transfer. Presentations will describe strategies used to commercialize university technology or other inventions through start-up companies and licensing, university-industry research alliances, social networking and tech transfer, from the vantage of large universities and medical centers bringing leading-edge technologies to market, and from others working with small business owners close-to-the ground.

Donald Siegel, Dean University at Albany School of Business
Alan Paau, Executive Director & Vice Provost for Technology Transfer & Economic Development, Cornell University
Janet Bercovitz, Associate Professor of Business Administration, University of Illinois
Kristel Smith, Director of Entrepreneur Services, Eastern Kentucky University

Cluster Strategies—Transforming Regional Economies through Higher Education —
Regency Ballroom A&B

Higher education may have a unique economic development role in building and serving networks of firms through sectoral or regional strategies. The panel will explore how institutions of higher education can work with groupings of like firms clustered in their region, particularly where there is a fit between areas of university expertise and the structure of the area economy. Presenters will discuss work on defining and measuring knowledge spillovers and agglomeration, and the ways universities operate within a geography of innovation that draws on social networking as well as on formal tech transfer strategies. Limitations and cautions concerning the cluster model for regional economic growth will also be described.

Iryna Lendel, Assistant Director, Center for Economic Development, Cleveland State University
Maryann Feldman, Heninger Distinguished Chair in Public Policy at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Creso Sá, Associate Professor, University of Toronto
George Erickcek, Senior Regional Analyst, Upjohn Institute

The Global Reach of Higher Education– Opening Markets Abroad, Fueling Growth at Home — Grand Ballroom G
An increasingly international economy requires nations, businesses, nonprofit organizations and individuals to be globally competent. The panel will discuss how this new world requires institutions of higher education to provide opportunities for preparation in foreign languages, knowledge of other cultures, and experiences beyond ones country of origin. Presenters will address efforts to: attract international students to study in America; encourage domestic students to study or serve abroad during their college years; and involve higher education
institutions as regional economic actors linked in a global network of knowledge-sharing. The panel will also take up contributions made by international students to the internationalization of U.S. higher education, and to regional and national economic development through their activities after graduation.

Stephen Dunnett, Vice Provost International Education, University at Buffalo
April Burriss, Executive Committee, Association of International Education Administrators
Jaana Puukka, OECD Directorate Programme on Institutional Management in Higher Education
Rahul Choudaha, Director of Development & Innovation at World Education Services

1:00 – 3:00PM
LUNCH AND PLENARY SESSION:

A State University FOR New York — Grand Ballroom
This plenary session will report on SUNY’s current economic development activities and impact, and efforts to build New York’s economic future through the preparation of students, technology innovation, commercialization, direct business assistance and workforce development in traditional and newly emerging fields.

WELCOME: HONORABLE BYRON BROWN, MAYOR OF BUFFALO

NANCY ZIMPHER, CHANCELLOR, STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK

Joyce Brown, Fashion Institute of Technology
Dennis Hefner, SUNY Fredonia
Janet Nepkie, College at Oneonta
David Smith/Neil Murphy, Upstate Medical University and College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Louis Kiang, SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Donald Katt, Ulster County Community College/CETT
George Philip, University at Albany

3:15 – 4:15PM
CONCURRENT BREAKOUTS: MEASURING THE IMPACT OF UNIVERSITY-DRIVEN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Gauging Higher Education’s Role in the Regional Economy — Delaware Suites (2nd Fl)
How well do we understand and measure the consequences of higher education in regional economic development? The panel will describe some of the different pathways by which universities are conceived of as influencing their host economies, and the methods by which scholars and other researchers have attempted to measure these impacts. Presenters will address the spatial extent of spillovers from university activities on economic growth and the relationship of universities to agglomeration economies in supporting economic growth and development at the regional scale. Case examples of university-fueled regional revitalization will draw from experiences in New York, Spain, Italy and Mexico.

Sam Stanley, President, Stony Brook University
Richard Deitz, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Susan Christopherson, Professor, Department of City and Regional Planning, Cornell University
Joshua Drucker, Assistant Professor of Regional Planning; regional innovation, University of Illinois-Chicago

Assessing the Impact of University Research, Transferred Technology and Assistance on Private Firms — Grand Ballroom G
The panel will address what is known about the difference university programs make to private firms with which they relate in the tech-transfer setting, as well as through technical-assistance programming meant to advance the performance of assisted firms through industrial extension, access to advanced equipment, start-up assistance and other means. The session will discuss management by American universities of intellectual property and technology transfer, as well as questions of effectiveness; emphasizing what university managers have as measures of impact of their assistance or tech transfer investments, and what seems realistic in the way of expectations about universities and regional development.

Lisa Marsh Ryerson, President, Wells College
David Mowery, William A. & Betty H. Hasler Chair in New Enterprise Development, Haas School of Business, UC-Berkeley
Laura Schultz, Assistant Professor, University at Albany
Richard DeMartino, Associate Professor of Management and director of the Albert J. Simone Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Rochester Institute of Technology

Assessing Engagement and External Linkages — Grand Ballroom E&F
Institutions of higher education contribute to the economic health of their regions by providing: intellectual resources and muscle for community problem-solving; cultural and recreational facilities that enrich the community; and social bonds that lead to new products and ideas, safer neighborhoods, and stronger regional identities. This panel presentation and discussion will focus on questions of connection and metrics involving university engagement strategies and the setting for economic growth and innovation.

Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts, Old Westbury
Patricia Sobrero, Office of Extension, Engagement and Economic Development, North Carolina State University
Kimberly de los Santos, Office of University Initiatives at Arizona State University
Tim Franklin, Office of Public Partnerships & Engagement at the Pennsylvania State University

Comparing the Workforce We Have With the One We Need — Regency Ballroom A&B
Preparing the workforce is one of the most vital ways that institutions of higher education can affect economic innovation and growth. How well are programs aligned with future needs? The panel will discuss the crucial role universities and colleges play in identifying skills and abilities needed and tailoring training and education  programs to prepare students and current workers for the occupations and fields that lie ahead. Presenters will address how colleges are able to draw on workforce training funds in some states to aid in employer-specific
training programs to foster economic growth, and to what known effects. The discussion will take up efforts to improve the effectiveness of continuing technical education programs, and will address Open Learning initiatives and their connection to economic development in New York.

Shaun McKay, President, Suffolk County Community College
James Jacobs, President Macomb Community College, Community College Research Center, Columbia University
Pradeep Kotamraju, Deputy Director, National Research Center for Career and Technical Education, University of Louisville
Meg Benke, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Empire State College

4:30 – 5:00PM
MEASURING COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL WELL-BEING — Regency Ballroom ABC

There are three universal truths when it comes to quality of place: We all live in a region’s communities; we all have a stake in a region’s environment; and we all benefit when a region’s economy thrives. However, the ways we measure community and regional vitality and performance relative to regional goals remains challenging. Researchers at SUNY New Paltz’s Center for Research, Regional Education and Outreach (CRREO) have developed a citizen-vetted, data-driven index that uses eight statistically valid and reliable indicators to measure the well-being of a region and communities within it. Based on their 2010 Mid-Hudson report that focused on Sullivan, Ulster, Orange and Dutchess counties, CRREO has developed a state-wide version of the study, which will be used to analyze county and regional well-being across the state, and how SUNY influences a
region’s well-being. This presentation will detail how the study was developed, executed and its application.

Gerald Benjamin, Associate Vice President for Regional Engagement and Director of the Center for Research, regional Education and Outreach at SUNY New Paltz
Kathleen (KT) Tobin Flusser, Assistant Director of CRREO

5:00 – 7:30PM
RECEPTION — Shea’s Buffalo Theater

Nancy Zimpher, Chancellor, The State University of New York
Honorable Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, Assembly District 141

Poster session presentations will be made by:
Janet Nepkie, College at Oneonta: Using Internships and Co-ops to Measure and Build Success as an Economic Driver
Edward Warzala, Tina Wagle, Alan Davis, SUNY Empire State College: The Next Open Decade and Higher Education — Toward Equity of Access for Unemployed Workers
Paul Miesing, Sandra Austin, University at Albany: Universities as Economic Drivers for Microenterprises: Advancing Character-Based Microlending for Low-Income Populations
Alexander Thomas, Brian Lowe, Gregory Fulkerson, College at Oneonta and Polly Smith, Utica College: Colleges and Small Town Retail — An Analysis

Tuesday September 27, 2011

8:00--10:00AM
BREAKFAST PLENARY. UNIVERSITIES AND THE PROMISE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH — Grand Ballroom

This plenary will explore the influence of universities and university systems in economic innovation, with a view toward the work ahead. Speakers will address the roles, mission-balance, understanding of effectiveness/accountability, and matters of measurement concerning the economic consequence of universities and university systems. A collaboration among Federal agencies and research institutions to document the scientific, economic, security, social and workforce results of science investments will be discussed. Presenters will also discuss the broad efforts at some of America’s leading universities to update and reapply the principles of the Morrill Act for a global society, particularly in areas of economic development, engagement, clean energy and sustainability.

Roger L. Geiger, Distinguished Professor of Higher Education, Pennsylvania State University
Julia Lane, Program Director, Science of Science and Innovation Policy, National Science Foundation
Paul J. Corson, Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, US Department of Commerce
James Malatras, Deputy Secretary for Policy and Programs, Office of New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo
Lou Anna Simon, President, Michigan State University
Dr. L. Nelson Hopkins (on behalf of Jeremy Jacobs), Professor and Chair of Neurosurgery, Professor of Radiology University at Buffalo and CEO, Jacobs Institute/Global Vascular Center

10:15 – 11:15AM
CONCURRENT BREAKOUTS: UNWINDING THE ROAD AHEAD

Understanding the Effects of Economic Development Initiatives on the Academic Mission — Grand Ballroom E&F
There is some debate about whether economic development is a departure from or a continuation of the traditional role of higher education institutions in the United States. Does partnership in research and an emphasis on economic development efforts effectively “corporatize” the university, or is such an approach in keeping with the historic purposes and strategies of higher education institutions seeking to balance the pursuit of knowledge and service? The panel will take up the compatibility of economic growth/innovation and the traditional mission of higher education institutions.

Craig Carnaroli, Executive Vice President, University of Pennsylvania
Lisa Freeman, Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies, Northern Illinois University
Gary Rhoades, Professor of Higher Education, Center for the Study of Higher Education, University of Arizona
Pamela Cash, Assistant Dean and Lecturer, Bryan School of Business and Economics – University of North Carolina - Greensboro

Encouraging an Entrepreneurial Faculty — Grand Ballroom G
What techniques and approaches work best in encouraging faculty and administrators from across the university to think entrepreneurially and become engaged in economic innovation? The panelists will discuss various efforts at leading academic institutions to persuade and support faculty and administrators to become involved in commercialization, to engage externally, and explore entrepreneurship in new ways across the curriculum.

Margaret Dahl, Associate Provost for Economic Development, University of Georgia
John A. Schneider, Assistant Vice President for Industry Research, Office of the Vice President for Research, Purdue University
George Harker, Senior Associate Vice Chancellor, Office of Intellectual Property Management & Commercialization, University of New Orleans
Eugene Krentsel, Assistant Vice President, University at Binghamton

Building University Partnerships with Economic Development Organizations — Regency Ballroom A&B
How can institutions of higher education build stronger, more lasting relationships with economic development organizations that further areas of shared interest? The panel will outline considerations for stronger partnerships with universities from the perspective of economic development agencies at the national level, and will highlight
best practices from experiences in Georgia, Michigan, and at the national association of technology transfer managers.

Jeff Finkle, President/CEO, International Economic Development Council
Jilda Diehl Garton, Associate Vice Provost for Research and General Manager, Georgia Tech Research Corporation and Georgia Tech Applied Research Corporation of Georgia Tech University
Robin Rasor, President of Association of University Technology Managers and Director of Licensing at University of Michigan

Grasping the Context of State Politics and Policy — Delaware Suites (2nd Fl)
A number of long-term trends confronted systems of public higher education in the US, even before the effects of the Great Recession. The panel will discuss the context for university-based economic development and engagement activities during a period of significant challenge for public institutions, drawing from lived experience and research on national and state-level trends concerning university economic development efforts.

Cecilia Cervantes, President, Hennepin Technical College
Brian Prescott, director of policy research, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education
Monnica Chan, Director of Policy and Research, New England Board of Higher Education

11:30 – 12:30PM
CONFERENCE WRAP-UP AND LUNCH