Colleges and universities have long been a major asset in economic development. Dennis Donovan, director of global site selection for Edison, NJ,-based Wadley Group, a Grubb & Ellis Co., cited three main reasons:

* Institutions of higher education play a critical role in the development of high technology

"Technical universities also help commercialize high technology," Donovan said. "And high tech firms can tap into professorial talent for research, and utilize the university or college for continuing education for their employees."

* Colleges and universities offer excellent labor sources

"This is especially true for companies involved in shared services to high technology," Donovan said.

* Institutions of higher education offer an environment that is key to quality of life issues

"Quality of life is increasingly important to corporations," Donovan pointed out."Plus, there is always the advantage of technology transfer."

A recent report by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) under the auspices of CEOs for Cities took an extensive look at this topic. It concluded that education/knowledge centers is the second fastest growing industry in the nation, with colleges and universities adding 300,000 jobs between 1990 and 1999. Urban academic institutions are equally positioned to spur economic revitalization in inner cities, in part because sizable businesses are anchored in their current locations."

Joint Venture Spurs Development

By way of example, a joint venture between Virginia Commonwealth University and the city of Richmond resulted in the creation of the Virginia Bio-Technology Research Park. While the commonwealth seeded the incubator by issuing a $5 million bond for construction, VCU's business school contributed by providing business planning advice. The research park has resulted in some 26 new companies being born, 75 percent of which utilized VCU faculty research.

The report suggested that colleges and universities have much to gain by partnering with local leaders to improve the economic well being of their communities because the destinies of the city and university are intertwined.

Through its Great Cities Institute, the University of Illinois at Chicago has assisted work force development programs in a local neighborhood.

By partnering with a group of Chicago institutions, UIC has created the Manufacturing Technology Bridge Program, which prepares Chicago's inner-city workers for higher-wage manufacturing jobs.The program helped immensely when Chicago manufacturers faced serious labor shortages .

The Florida Community College at Jacksonville has positioned itself as a premier work force development resource for employers in that city and region.

"The velocity of change is too great [in business]," said Steve Wallace, president of FCCJ. "There are more and more proprietary systems, and they [businesses] adapt and evolve much faster than we can if we stick to traditional approaches. We have to devise solutions that keep our curriculum and services relevant to business."

Consequently, FCCJ works together with state and regional work force boards, as well as the local chambers of commerce, economic development commissions, and business and industry associations.

Karen E. Thuermer is a freelance business writer based in Alexandria, Va.