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Research universities hold the key to Huntsville's future development

IntelCell recently introduced InQ, a precision instrument designed to increase the precision and consistency of cell growth in laboratory experimentation. This remarkable technology, which will change the way biological and medical research is conducted, was developed by Dr. Amy Bishop, an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. Then, the collective support of Biztech and the Huntsville Angel Network helped InQ get to market.

If Huntsville is to continue growing during these challenging economic times we must produce something the rest of the world wishes to purchase. While global manufacturing and robotics will remain an important part of the Alabama economy, we need to explore additional opportunities in high-tech, knowledge-based areas.

For instance, eight of the top 10 research universities in the world are in the United States. America's universities receive more foreign students than any other country. In many cases those students stay to live, work and contribute to our economic vitality.

Many immigrant scholars (such as myself) have taken advantage of our higher education system, made successful careers in this nation and accounted for many of the major innovations that continue to fuel our knowledge-based economy. The most obvious example of an immigrant scholar in Huntsville is Wernher von Braun. Others have led the way in such diverse realms as business, education and government. Madeleine Albright was born in Czechoslovakia, studied at Wellesley College, John Hopkins University and Columbia University, and went on to become the first female U.S. Secretary of State. The smartest and best educated people in the world will continue coming to America to start the next generation of innovative, productive and profitable companies such as Google and Yahoo. We must take steps to convince these students that Northern Alabama offers them the smartest place to live, work and learn.

Universities contribute to the knowledge economy in several ways: students whose education prepares them for productive employment; faculty whose intellectual property helps create start-up companies such as InQ and similar biotech companies in the HudsonAlpha Institute; and researchers whose innovations give companies a technological edge over their competitors.

Virtually every successful company in the Tennessee Valley, as well as NASA, the U.S. Army, and other DOD agencies on Redstone Arsenal, depends on employees with college degrees. As BRAC job growth evolves, research universities will be even more indispensable in producing the highly educated workforce needed to meet the opportunity.

Viewing a university as a vocational-training institute is liable to bring strenuous objections from many faculty members—including me. Our primary mission, after all, is the education of keen minds, teaching them to think critically, develop their own ideas, question existing theories and, in many cases, transition from late adolescence to early adulthood.

Nevertheless, today, many young men and women - along with their parents - view university as an investment in an education resulting in a knowledge-based profession. Such diverse professions include international relations, health care, graphic arts, federal acquisitions, biotechnology and aerospace engineering – all essential to the life of our Madison County community.

In order to fulfill this expectation, universities must be prepared to offer students the opportunity to learn about life after the degree. UAHuntsville works proactively with industry and government leaders to ensure Huntsville has a stable, trained and capable workforce. We partner with our K-12 systems through 17 outreach programs to serve the needs of our children. Our working relationships with companies in Cummings Research Park as well as NASA and Redstone Arsenal simultaneously meet the workforce needs of industry while adding immeasurably to the quality and breadth of our students' educational experience. We have more than 400 students serving in co-ops and internships in our business and research community. Our support for on-campus start-up companies and Biztech, along with strong support through the Chamber of Commerce, attests to our conviction that small businesses will also play a major role in future economic success.

Our role as a research university is to educate students to obtain bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees. In so doing, the university brings substantial wealth to the community through its alumni. More than 60 percent of UAHuntsville's 27,000 alumni live and work in the Tennessee Valley, leading productive lives, paying taxes, and supporting local businesses which contribute to our flourishing community.

At the heart of every great high-tech city there is a great university. Look around: Silicon Valley (Stanford University), Bangalore (IIT), Shanghai (Shanghai Jiao Tong), Cambridge (MIT) and Atlanta (Georgia Tech). While our scale may not equal that of these cities and universities, we know how well Huntsville stacks up in national surveys measuring quality of life, environmental health, industry appeal, and the productivity that derives from these characteristics.

Compared to all public universities of its size (~ 7,500 students) UAHuntsville has the largest research expenditures in the nation - more than $65 million, and much of it spent in partnership with industry, NASA, the U.S. Army and other Department of Defense agencies. Among the 31 universities in the Southern University Group, UAHuntsville ranks second to Georgia Tech in annual research expenditures as a percentage of total expenditures.

UAHuntsville is deeply committed to a vital leadership role in the growth of the Tennessee Valley. Our ability to do our part, however, depends on our partners and their investment in our educational, research, and public service programs. Only in this way will we reach our full potential, producing the knowledge workers needed to meet the opportunities and challenges of BRAC, conducting the cutting-edge research and starting the next generation of small companies vital to the nation's economy. As president of this university, I make this promise: if you support us, we will deliver.

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