THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 1, 1996 TAG: 9605010554
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MYLENE MANGALINDAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
Virginians need a wake-up call. Educators hope to deliver it.
More than 100 participants representing military services, cities, colleges, universities and businesses met Tuesday at the Norfolk Airport Hilton to discuss the role of higher education in the state's economic development.
``Our ability to rapidly innovate and apply technology is going to be essential to our success in the future,'' said Robert Templin, president of the Center for Innovative Technology, a state agency that helps develop new technology and integrate it into products and services.
Although Cameron Blandford, assistant to the president of Newport News Shipbuilding; Thomas Waller, Suffolk economic development director; and others representing the business community attended the conference, it was targeted mainly at the local education community, said Lawrence G. Dotolo, president of the Virginia Tidewater Consortium, which sponsored the all-day conference.
``The role of education in economic development is relatively new to us,'' Dotolo said. ``We thought it'd be important to educate the people in our own communities.
Tuesday's conference provided an opportunity for the region's top administrators and teachers to step out of the classroom and discover where they and their institutions fit into the Virginia economy.
Many local institutions are involved already in some sort of partnership or program with the business community. For example, Old Dominion University's entrepreneurial center helps people apply their technology or ideas to a product. Discussion reinforced participants' knowledge of other local efforts that pair companies with colleges on projects.
Speakers also emphasized the importance of greater coordination between universities and the business community. Virginia will benefit from the application of knowledge or research at its schools, they said.
Speakers pointed out that:
More than half of the historical growth in the United States can be attributed to advances in technology.
Technology-based jobs are growing faster than other sectors and replacing traditional manufacturing companies as a source of wealth.
Virginia is poised to become a ``technology state,'' but it must prevent its technology and research from leaving the state.
The contribution of Virginia's universities to economic development formed a key argument that John T. Hazel, a Fairfax lawyer who chairs the Virginia Business Higher Education Council, made before the General Assembly for more state funding for colleges.
It was persuasive. For the 1996-98 operating budget, the General Assembly awarded public colleges and universities an increase of $200 million from the previous biennium budget.
In the past, Virginia suffered from its inability to retain technology, said CIT's Templin. It exported its research and new technology, allowing outside companies and states to develop it into products that eventually generated revenue, jobs and wealth.
``Virginia is about America's past,'' Templin said, referring to the state's rich heritage and identity as a historical repository. ``What people don't realize is Virginia can be where America's future is, too.'' by CNB