Utah Valley University will create a technology commercialization office, administer a small business accelerator and continue a running dialogue with the business community about how to align the efforts of UVU and the private sector to spur economic development in the region. Those efforts fall under a seven-part business engagement strategy announced by UVU President Matthew S. Holland as the University hosted the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce First Friday Forum.
Fresh off his recent election victory, Gov. Gary Herbert attended the morning meeting, as did management theory guru Stephen R. Covey. Herbert spoke of the state's relative economic strength amid the ongoing economic slowdown, and the governor reiterated his philosophy that education is key to the state's economic vitality. Covey likened UVU to the trim tab of a boat, noting that both provide a steadying influence and make large impact through even seemingly small actions.
Holland unveiled UVU's business engagement strategy, which was crafted by a 50-member panel of business, education and civic leaders. The initiative will help bridge the economic development efforts of UVU and private enterprise and will identify practical, concrete strategies to fuel the growth of local businesses.
"I did not want to have all this good thought and work go into a report and stay there. I wanted to make sure that we did something useful, something with impact," Holland said. "We also didn't want to go to businesses and say, 'Here's what we'll do for you.' We went in intent on listening first, then coming up with plans that we could execute that would produce meaningful results."
The business engagement committee was co-chaired by Fraser Bullock, co-founder and managing director of Sorenson Capital and the president and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, and by Greg Butterfield, former president of Altiris and current managing partner of SageCreek Partners. Craig Bott, president and CEO of Grow Utah Ventures, facilitated the committee. The group's recommendations included: creating a technology commercialization office at UVU; implementing new entrepreneurship initiatives, including a small business resource center; emphasizing educational rigor; continuing the dialogue between UVU and the business community; establishing UVU as a leader in economic cluster initiatives; early development of career pathways for students; and an institutional focus on China as an emerging world economic power.
"We've already refined and begun to implement most of these recommendations, and we'll continue to pour our energy and best thought into this process because we know it will have a very positive effect on the local economy and the University itself," Holland said. "I'm thrilled with the collaborative way in which this is happening, and even more pleased that we aren't just talking, but we're putting these good ideas into action."
In addition to outlining the University's business engagement strategy, Holland noted many of the reasons UVU is "economically indispensable" to the region and state. UVU is Utah County's fifth-largest employer and returns $6.22 for every state dollar invested, totaling more than $370 million annually in economic impact. UVU hosts Utah's only manufacturing extension partnership and is the administrative site for the state's economic development cluster for digital media. In addition, UVU's Woodbury School of Business, which just launched its MBA program this semester, is the largest business school in the state in terms of enrollment.
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UVU: Utah Valley University Synopsisby UtahValleyUniversity2,545 views
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