Local Leaders Chosen to Present at National Summit

Organized by the University Economic Development Association

Evansville, Ind. (October 8, 2014) – Local academia and economic leaders from the University of Southern Indiana, The Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville and Grow Southwest Indiana Workforce presented last week at the UEDA’s (University Economic Development Association) Annual Summit in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The team presented on the topic of Leading Regional Transformation through Innovation.

The UEDA’s Annual Summit is organized each year for Universities to convene and share best practices, success stories and lessons learned with economic development professionals from centers, organizations, colleges and universities nationwide.

Local leaders were chosen to present at the Annual Summit because of their ongoing efforts to link innovation, entrepreneurship, workforce development and civic collaboration along the I69 regional corridor.

“The collaboration between academia, government, economic development organizations, and business and industry that is the foundation of the I69 Innovation Corridor initiative is helping to focus our resources on efforts that have the greatest potential for long-term, transformational economic impact,” stated Deborah Dewey, President of the Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville.

The University of Southern Indiana (USI), is the lead convener in a regional initiative to drive transformational change in Southwest Indiana. This initiative is centered on the recent construction of a segment of Interstate 69 and aims to foster the establishment of an Innovation Corridor from Evansville to Crane in Southwest Indiana. The vision is to develop a culture and environment that uses innovation to transform and sustain the dynamism of the regional economy. A consortium of over 200 stakeholders has been engaged in developing strategies to increase the region’s innovation index by 20% by 2025.

“The presentation by the University of Southern Indiana, Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville and Indiana WorkOne Southwest was emblematic of the theme of this year’s UEDA Summit – Higher Education as a Catalyst for Economic Development: Innovation+Inspiration+Impact,” reported UEDA President Mike Dozier, Fresno State. “The collaboration between the university and the community was an inspiration to the UEDA members and serves as a best practice for others to emulate.”

Attendees from peer institutions nationwide heard highlights of the innovative programs and events such as the creation of Co-Working Space, the Technology Commercialization Academy, Tech on Tap Meet-ups, Start-Up Weekend Evansville and the upcoming Tour of Opportunity (October 18), where companies within the region will showcase their operations to the public.

“It was an honor to present our ongoing innovation work in regional economic development to a national audience. Our collaborative efforts in innovating our region along the I-69 Corridor will have a positive impact on developing, recruiting and retaining top talent in our region,” said Mark Bernhard, USI’s associate provost for Outreach and Engagement, and chair of the I-69 Innovation Corridor Executive Committee.

Local leaders Represented at the Annual Summit

• ï‚·  Dr. Mark Bernhard, Associate Provost for Outreach & Engagement, University of Southern Indiana
• ï‚·  Debbie Dewey, President, Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville
• ï‚·  Jim Heck, Executive Director, Grow Southwest Indiana Workforce
• ï‚·  Dr. Mohammed Khayum, Dean, Romain College of Business, University of Southern

  Indiana

• ï‚·  Dr. Scott Gordon, Dean, Pott College of Science, Engineering & Education, University of

  Southern Indiana

• ï‚·  Daniela Vidal, Director, Center for Applied Research & Economic Development,

  University of Southern Indiana

• ï‚·  Michael Thissen, University of Southern Indiana (moderator)