Monday, December 29, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Polk County Commision Restates Support for USF's Polytechnic Campus
Tom Palmer reports here:
The County Commission isn't taking any chances on the future of the
USF Polytechnic campus in Lakeland, which they consider important to
the future of economic development in Polk County. Late last week
commissioners sent a letter to Gov. Charlie Crist's office reaffirming
their support for the project.
That's important because as my colleague Bill Rufty reports in his column today, there are efforts afoot to take potshots at the project.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
USF's Polytechnic Campus Announces Major Gift
Reprint from USF Lakeland Press Release...
(Lakeland, Fla., May 28, 2008) -- University of South Florida President Judy Genshaft
announced the university’s acceptance of a major gift from Lakeland Regional
Medical Center to support the development of the new USF Polytechnic campus on
I-4.
Lakeland Regional Medical Center CEO Jack Stephens confirmed his institution’s gift to
USF of $500,000 -- a gift that the university anticipates will be eligible for
state matching dollars and, in the words of USF Lakeland CEO Marshall Goodman,
“help to literally transform the landscape of our community.”
In making the presentation, Stephens emphasized LRMC’s interest in developing “a
world class community.” According to Stephens, “Our Board is very excited about
what this new campus will mean to Lakeland in the coming decades. This is a
huge opportunity for our community.”
Stephens, Genshaft and Goodman spoke of shared interests in developing degree programs in healthcare-related professions and observed that, as Goodman put it, “Our institutions share a passion for serving this community.”
The new USF Polytechnic campus is expected to open in 2010 or 2011 with over 4,000
students and an ultimate build-out target of 16,000 students. The state
legislature has already approved the first $15 million in funding for Phase 1
of the campus, and Governor Charlie Crist has personally assured Genshaft and
Goodman that he will add his approval to that funding.
Great Job LRMC. The new campus will be a largest economic development
generator ever for this county, and I am excited to see that more
companies are realizing this and stepping up.
(Lakeland, Fla., May 28, 2008) -- University of South Florida President Judy Genshaft
announced the university’s acceptance of a major gift from Lakeland Regional
Medical Center to support the development of the new USF Polytechnic campus on
I-4.
Lakeland Regional Medical Center CEO Jack Stephens confirmed his institution’s gift to
USF of $500,000 -- a gift that the university anticipates will be eligible for
state matching dollars and, in the words of USF Lakeland CEO Marshall Goodman,
“help to literally transform the landscape of our community.”
In making the presentation, Stephens emphasized LRMC’s interest in developing “a
world class community.” According to Stephens, “Our Board is very excited about
what this new campus will mean to Lakeland in the coming decades. This is a
huge opportunity for our community.”
Stephens, Genshaft and Goodman spoke of shared interests in developing degree programs in healthcare-related professions and observed that, as Goodman put it, “Our institutions share a passion for serving this community.”
The new USF Polytechnic campus is expected to open in 2010 or 2011 with over 4,000
students and an ultimate build-out target of 16,000 students. The state
legislature has already approved the first $15 million in funding for Phase 1
of the campus, and Governor Charlie Crist has personally assured Genshaft and
Goodman that he will add his approval to that funding.
Great Job LRMC. The new campus will be a largest economic development
generator ever for this county, and I am excited to see that more
companies are realizing this and stepping up.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
AN ARGUMENT FOR THE STATEWIDE SUPPORT FOR A GLOBALLY DISTINCT, FORWARD THINKING, RESEARCH INSTITUTION AT USF LAKELAND.
A White Paper for MAR 4145 – International Marketing Management
By: Aaron Bates, Jacquelyn Walker, and Kelly Kensy
September 2006
Introduction
Polk County is at a crossroads. Regional population growth is causing a serious education gap, leaving many people in Polk County unqualified for employment abroad. USF Lakeland can become a vital tool in the development of Lakeland and Polk County, into a prominent leader in the global economy. Kanter suggests, “Success will come … to those cities, states, and regions that do the best job of linking businesses that operate within them to the global economy. Sweeping changes in the competitive landscape, including the presence of foreign competitors in domestic markets, are driving business to rethink their strategies and structures to reach beyond traditional boundaries” (1995). Labor statistics for Polk County are lagging behind the state and country. The purpose of this paper is to argue for the local community and the state at large to support swift development of the new USF Lakeland campus. Polk County is in need of a new reputation, one that is influenced by a forward thinking research institution that can bring new concepts, competencies and connections to the community. By acting quickly local economic development would: (1) develop the assets of the community, (2) attract globally adaptive businesses, and (3) raise the educational and economic standards.
The Current Condition
From the start, when Polk County was created by splitting Hillsborough County into eastern and western halves, this county has been an afterthought of the state. With a reputation for illiterate “hicks”, this county has been the crossroads of a state growing at an unprecedented pace. The population has sat here and watched how other counties received a higher value return to their tax dollars, due mostly to the county’s “backwoods” reputation. Dr. Marshall Goodman, CEO-USF Lakeland, researched this phenomenon and found that for every tax dollar that the county sends out to higher education we get a nickel back. We have been held back by our own reputation of rural illiterates; this cannot continue.
The population of Polk County consists mostly of low to middle class individuals and development is due to population growth, not because of educational innovation. The county has seen population growth of over 12% in the last five years and is facing a projected 25% increase by 2020 (U.S. Census Bureau: Quick Facts 2006), helping Florida become the third most populace state (Alternative 2005). These rates are some of the highest growth rates in the nation. Currently, Polk Community College is the largest public institution in Polk County with an enrollment of 9,500 (Central FL Quality of Life 2006). Although it is attracting students, it is not attracting development and innovation that a research institution would bring to the community.
Polk County is also struggling to provide an educated workforce, having only 13.9% of the population that has a bachelors degree or higher. That leaves about 59.5% of the population with only a high school degree. With the development of the new USF Lakeland campus, education can become one of the county’s top priorities. A group of 15 public, private, and community organizations have come together, in an initiative called myregion.org, to tell set an agenda for the region; they identified that, “Life-long learning is not only honorable, but essential for the 21st century. Constant, consistent and comprehensive opportunities must be provided if the Central Florida region is to successfully participate in the new knowledge-based economy” in their Demographic and Social Services Report. A focus of improvement for the new research institution at USF Lakeland will bring educational improvements to the entire county and the pre-K through 12 education system. Focusing on improving the pre-K through 12 system was highlighted in the “New Regional Agenda” report, “Dramatic improvements in the strength and quality of the pre-K through 12 educational system is necessary if the region is to be globally competitive in the 21st Century” (myregion.org 2006). The struggling K -12 System needs the support of a fully developed regional campus so that it can improve through research and practice. There must be change or our region will fall behind in this global economy and then would become a drain to the economic life of this great state.
Assets for Community Development
The current economic development of Polk County will not support its future needs in relation to global commerce. Change is needed. That change can be generated by the addition of a niche research institution in the area. As anyone can see, there has been a dramatic increase in the population size of the county in the last two or three years. However, most view Polk County citizens as not being well educated or equipped to handle major innovation, because of the large, but declining, agricultural industry. That view will change quickly with the addition of the new USF Lakeland campus research institution. The resources and diverse population that will be brought into the county, by the university, will foster much needed change in the Polk County area. The research institution brought to USF Lakeland will accelerate change in three distinct ways that were developed by Kanter in “Thriving Locally in a Global Economy:” the generation of concepts, developing competencies, and establishing connections.
First, the addition of a research institution means a growth of new ideas and concepts as a bedroom community of nearby major cities. This means not only will Lakeland be on the forefront of medical, educational, and corporate innovation, but it will also become a central resource for Orange and Hillsborough counties. Concurrently, the innovative technology that will be generated by the university through research and diverse ideas will bring value to the community along with the technology supplied by businesses that come to the area. The importation of new technology to local suppliers by new businesses will diffuse throughout the community and benefit both the company and consumers in the area, by bringing new jobs for the people and new business for the local vendors (Moran, Graham, & Blomstrom 73).
Along with new concepts, come new competencies. Developing new competencies in the areas of medicine, business, and education will allow Polk County to deliver the best quality products and services to the community and consumers elsewhere around the world. Building competencies and stopping the outward migration of educated talent will be the critical factor that USF Lakeland will be challenged with. Specializing in delivering new concepts generated at USF Lakeland to the community will make businesses flock to Polk County and encourage those individuals who move here to be part of the growing economy to stay here and educate their children.
Finally, Polk County will benefit from fostering this research institution by establishing connections. USF Lakeland already has a connection with its main campus in Tampa, but it will be able to expand upon those current connections and also establish connections in the Orlando area that the Tampa campus cannot because of its central location. Lakeland is the perfect area for this research institution due to its equal proximity to Tampa and Orlando, two major metropolitan hubs in Central Florida. Both cities will generate the type of revenue and global commerce Polk County will need to tap into for future economic survival.
Attracting Globally Distinct Business
The main objective of the new research campus at USF Lakeland will be to help turn the blue collar manufacturing based workforce into a professionally educated labor pool. It is necessary for the forces of the local population and global economy to connect in order to bring new businesses to the community. According to Kanter (1995) three roles are necessary to connect these two forces together; thinkers, makers and traders.
The thinker’s aspect of the three roles involves knowledge and knowledge based products. This role’s purpose is to create new ideas and technologies to be used in the community that could, later, be used in communities and businesses across the world. The new USF Lakeland campus can develop these thinkers out of their emphasis on research. USF’s campus can create new educational initiatives for the elementary, middle and high schools through collaboration with the local school district. They can also bring new ideas to the medical and business fields. With their research abilities they can bring many new ideas to the community, its businesses and business prospects.
The next role is the makers. This would be USF Lakeland’s leading role. The makers’ role is to help bring high-value, cost effective production to the manufacturers in the community. Makers put the “competent in execution” as Kanter stated (1995). With USF Lakeland focusing on applied technology, health, manufacturing technology, business and education the research institution will be able to educate the “makers” of tomorrow (Goodman 2006). With this newly educated workforce, companies will come to the community because of the high quality workforce Polk County will be able to supply. We first need to train these people to compete in a high tech global market. New and existing companies would be able to develop firm specific classes at USFL in relation to the area with the intent of targeting individual company needs. USF Lakeland will help to provide growth and stability to these companies instead of wages or incentives. A company would be able to grow with USF Lakeland. USF Lakeland will be able to provide the college educated labor force that high-tech global manufacturers need in their work environment.
The last role is traders. This role builds connections and brings countries, states, and regions together. Traders specialize in the area of global connections. For example, Miami is targeted as a trader because they have a Latin American connection. Transporting goods, services, and ideas across borders is a key component to this role. Our region can facilitate the building of global connections once metanational companies begin to come to our area. Economic development is an important goal and USF Lakeland can facilitate the research to improve our economic outlook. This new facility can help create jobs for college graduates and bring benefits to the local work force and business sector. If there are more options in the community, there will be more people working smarter, not harder, to reach those options instead of settling for something less than average. Kanter described Spartanburg and Greenville, South Carolina as an “unlikely success story,” and maybe one day Lakeland, Polk County, and all of Central Florida can be the next unlikely success story. We believe if we build it, they will come.
Vision of USF Lakeland
The vision that is foreseen by the development of a new research institution at the USF Lakeland campus will change the perspective of others toward Polk County. That new perspective will convey the image of an educated Polk County citizen that is influential in their community and worldwide. Educating our workforce is important in the race to become global. According to “The New Regional Agenda”:
Education, at every level and in every discipline, is the key to future success. Quality education touches every aspect of our lives in training a skilled workforce, teaching the value of democracy, developing and appreciating the arts, establishing a platform for varied viewpoints, and creating opportunities for life-long learning. If we are to be competitive in the 21st century, we must set our sights higher that state and national averages and must strive to attain international levels of educational accomplishment (myregion.org 2005).
It is more than a regional yearning for economic development; USF Lakeland’s new campus is a symbol of hope for the entire region.
The rapture of globalization is upon us and that is why Dr. Goodman is taking USF Lakeland’s mission of Excellence, Innovation, and Collaboration and focusing it to develop a vision of a globally distinct applied technology university. He is advocating for a narrow, but deep program selection that would focus on five areas:
• Information technology oriented to the region with a focus on warehousing, distribution, e-suppliers, and just-in-time inventory management.
• Health programs developed by the new USF Health collaboration with a 21st century vision that could bring a College of Pharmacy to USF Lakeland.
• Manufacturing technology with a focus on agricultural products, food safety and security, and precision agriculture.
• A business school that would specialize in small business development, marketing, management information systems, accounting, and entrepreneurship.
• An Education department that would develop a relationship with the local school district to develop region specific programs that would enhance the current pre-k through 12 system.
A small sixth area exists as a part of the program selection, a college of arts and sciences that would anchor the five key programs.
With this focus, Dr. Goodman tells us that, USF Lakeland can become a “world class center for fragrances, flavors, and essences”. College is not just a get in, get out, and be done environment; a distributed classroom method developed at USF Lakeland would translate to the youth, and society as a whole, as a commitment to life-long learning and the acknowledgement that in today’s global world that learning does not stop at the classroom door, and that we must embrace that to survive.
Conclusions, Challenges, and Recommendations
Polk County and the Heartland as a whole, has been effectively ignored by state government for too many years. With a projected 25% population increase by 2020, Polk County must have a means to develop and retain an educated and efficient workforce to compete in the global economy.
• The potential for development of globally distinct assets to the region will become viable with the addition of a fully integrated research institution. Among these assets is the ability to develop concepts, establish competencies, and build connections.
• By enhancing growth and stability of the local economy, USF Lakeland will establish itself as a center for the education of the “makers” in this state. By accomplishing this, USF Lakeland will be the heart of innovation, by thinking of new technology, making more productive manufacturers, and increasing benefits that support trading in the global economy.
• USF Lakeland has the confidence to change the course of this regions future through excellence, innovation, and collaboration. With the new vision of Dr. Marshall Goodman, this regional campus will be able to supply the region with an educated workforce that will draw companies to the area to establish a global presence, in an environment dedicated to research of applied technologies.
Our state government needs to take a stake in how this region will emerge. We must raise the standards of what is viewed as typical Polk County, and turn it into a globally innovative cluster of knowledge. When asked, how have we defined ourselves? We must be able to answer with resounding enthusiasm that we are the new global face of Central Florida, a well educated, diverse, forward thinking community. We will be able to accomplish this with the fully funded implementation of the new USF Lakeland Campus, so that, both USF Lakeland and USF as a whole, will spear head the development of the Heartland of Florida.
References:
“Alternative Futures for the Seven County Orlando Region 2005-2050.” University of Pennsylvania 2005. Penn Design. 17 September 2006.
"Central Florida's Quality of Life: Demographic and Social Services Report, 2006." MyRegion.org. 8 August 2006. 25 September 2006 <http://www.myregion.org/Portals/0/Publications/mrdss%20White%20Paper.pdf&gt;.
"Demographic Profile: Polk County." 29 August 2006. Central Florida Development Council. 17 Sep 2006 <http://www.cfdc.org/content/archives/atlas/829200630854.doc&gt;.
Goodman, Marshall. A Vision for a Polytechnic, Applied Technology University interview. 22 September 2006.
Kanter, Roabeth Moss. "Thriving Locally in the Global Economy." Harvard Business Review A Changed World 2003(1995) 119-127. 31 August 2006.
Moran, Theodore H., Edward Graham, and Magnus Blomstron. Does Foreign Direct Investment Promote Development?. Washington D.C.: Center for Global Development, 2005.
"The New Regional Agenda: Central Florida." MyRegion.org. July 2003. 25 Sep 2006 <http://www.myregion.org/Portals/0/Publications/NewRegionalAgenda.pdf >.
"Polk County Quick Facts." State and County Quick Facts. 8 June 2006. U.S. Census Bureau. 17 Sep 2006 <http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/12/12105.html&gt;.
By: Aaron Bates, Jacquelyn Walker, and Kelly Kensy
September 2006
Introduction
Polk County is at a crossroads. Regional population growth is causing a serious education gap, leaving many people in Polk County unqualified for employment abroad. USF Lakeland can become a vital tool in the development of Lakeland and Polk County, into a prominent leader in the global economy. Kanter suggests, “Success will come … to those cities, states, and regions that do the best job of linking businesses that operate within them to the global economy. Sweeping changes in the competitive landscape, including the presence of foreign competitors in domestic markets, are driving business to rethink their strategies and structures to reach beyond traditional boundaries” (1995). Labor statistics for Polk County are lagging behind the state and country. The purpose of this paper is to argue for the local community and the state at large to support swift development of the new USF Lakeland campus. Polk County is in need of a new reputation, one that is influenced by a forward thinking research institution that can bring new concepts, competencies and connections to the community. By acting quickly local economic development would: (1) develop the assets of the community, (2) attract globally adaptive businesses, and (3) raise the educational and economic standards.
The Current Condition
From the start, when Polk County was created by splitting Hillsborough County into eastern and western halves, this county has been an afterthought of the state. With a reputation for illiterate “hicks”, this county has been the crossroads of a state growing at an unprecedented pace. The population has sat here and watched how other counties received a higher value return to their tax dollars, due mostly to the county’s “backwoods” reputation. Dr. Marshall Goodman, CEO-USF Lakeland, researched this phenomenon and found that for every tax dollar that the county sends out to higher education we get a nickel back. We have been held back by our own reputation of rural illiterates; this cannot continue.
The population of Polk County consists mostly of low to middle class individuals and development is due to population growth, not because of educational innovation. The county has seen population growth of over 12% in the last five years and is facing a projected 25% increase by 2020 (U.S. Census Bureau: Quick Facts 2006), helping Florida become the third most populace state (Alternative 2005). These rates are some of the highest growth rates in the nation. Currently, Polk Community College is the largest public institution in Polk County with an enrollment of 9,500 (Central FL Quality of Life 2006). Although it is attracting students, it is not attracting development and innovation that a research institution would bring to the community.
Polk County is also struggling to provide an educated workforce, having only 13.9% of the population that has a bachelors degree or higher. That leaves about 59.5% of the population with only a high school degree. With the development of the new USF Lakeland campus, education can become one of the county’s top priorities. A group of 15 public, private, and community organizations have come together, in an initiative called myregion.org, to tell set an agenda for the region; they identified that, “Life-long learning is not only honorable, but essential for the 21st century. Constant, consistent and comprehensive opportunities must be provided if the Central Florida region is to successfully participate in the new knowledge-based economy” in their Demographic and Social Services Report. A focus of improvement for the new research institution at USF Lakeland will bring educational improvements to the entire county and the pre-K through 12 education system. Focusing on improving the pre-K through 12 system was highlighted in the “New Regional Agenda” report, “Dramatic improvements in the strength and quality of the pre-K through 12 educational system is necessary if the region is to be globally competitive in the 21st Century” (myregion.org 2006). The struggling K -12 System needs the support of a fully developed regional campus so that it can improve through research and practice. There must be change or our region will fall behind in this global economy and then would become a drain to the economic life of this great state.
Assets for Community Development
The current economic development of Polk County will not support its future needs in relation to global commerce. Change is needed. That change can be generated by the addition of a niche research institution in the area. As anyone can see, there has been a dramatic increase in the population size of the county in the last two or three years. However, most view Polk County citizens as not being well educated or equipped to handle major innovation, because of the large, but declining, agricultural industry. That view will change quickly with the addition of the new USF Lakeland campus research institution. The resources and diverse population that will be brought into the county, by the university, will foster much needed change in the Polk County area. The research institution brought to USF Lakeland will accelerate change in three distinct ways that were developed by Kanter in “Thriving Locally in a Global Economy:” the generation of concepts, developing competencies, and establishing connections.
First, the addition of a research institution means a growth of new ideas and concepts as a bedroom community of nearby major cities. This means not only will Lakeland be on the forefront of medical, educational, and corporate innovation, but it will also become a central resource for Orange and Hillsborough counties. Concurrently, the innovative technology that will be generated by the university through research and diverse ideas will bring value to the community along with the technology supplied by businesses that come to the area. The importation of new technology to local suppliers by new businesses will diffuse throughout the community and benefit both the company and consumers in the area, by bringing new jobs for the people and new business for the local vendors (Moran, Graham, & Blomstrom 73).
Along with new concepts, come new competencies. Developing new competencies in the areas of medicine, business, and education will allow Polk County to deliver the best quality products and services to the community and consumers elsewhere around the world. Building competencies and stopping the outward migration of educated talent will be the critical factor that USF Lakeland will be challenged with. Specializing in delivering new concepts generated at USF Lakeland to the community will make businesses flock to Polk County and encourage those individuals who move here to be part of the growing economy to stay here and educate their children.
Finally, Polk County will benefit from fostering this research institution by establishing connections. USF Lakeland already has a connection with its main campus in Tampa, but it will be able to expand upon those current connections and also establish connections in the Orlando area that the Tampa campus cannot because of its central location. Lakeland is the perfect area for this research institution due to its equal proximity to Tampa and Orlando, two major metropolitan hubs in Central Florida. Both cities will generate the type of revenue and global commerce Polk County will need to tap into for future economic survival.
Attracting Globally Distinct Business
The main objective of the new research campus at USF Lakeland will be to help turn the blue collar manufacturing based workforce into a professionally educated labor pool. It is necessary for the forces of the local population and global economy to connect in order to bring new businesses to the community. According to Kanter (1995) three roles are necessary to connect these two forces together; thinkers, makers and traders.
The thinker’s aspect of the three roles involves knowledge and knowledge based products. This role’s purpose is to create new ideas and technologies to be used in the community that could, later, be used in communities and businesses across the world. The new USF Lakeland campus can develop these thinkers out of their emphasis on research. USF’s campus can create new educational initiatives for the elementary, middle and high schools through collaboration with the local school district. They can also bring new ideas to the medical and business fields. With their research abilities they can bring many new ideas to the community, its businesses and business prospects.
The next role is the makers. This would be USF Lakeland’s leading role. The makers’ role is to help bring high-value, cost effective production to the manufacturers in the community. Makers put the “competent in execution” as Kanter stated (1995). With USF Lakeland focusing on applied technology, health, manufacturing technology, business and education the research institution will be able to educate the “makers” of tomorrow (Goodman 2006). With this newly educated workforce, companies will come to the community because of the high quality workforce Polk County will be able to supply. We first need to train these people to compete in a high tech global market. New and existing companies would be able to develop firm specific classes at USFL in relation to the area with the intent of targeting individual company needs. USF Lakeland will help to provide growth and stability to these companies instead of wages or incentives. A company would be able to grow with USF Lakeland. USF Lakeland will be able to provide the college educated labor force that high-tech global manufacturers need in their work environment.
The last role is traders. This role builds connections and brings countries, states, and regions together. Traders specialize in the area of global connections. For example, Miami is targeted as a trader because they have a Latin American connection. Transporting goods, services, and ideas across borders is a key component to this role. Our region can facilitate the building of global connections once metanational companies begin to come to our area. Economic development is an important goal and USF Lakeland can facilitate the research to improve our economic outlook. This new facility can help create jobs for college graduates and bring benefits to the local work force and business sector. If there are more options in the community, there will be more people working smarter, not harder, to reach those options instead of settling for something less than average. Kanter described Spartanburg and Greenville, South Carolina as an “unlikely success story,” and maybe one day Lakeland, Polk County, and all of Central Florida can be the next unlikely success story. We believe if we build it, they will come.
Vision of USF Lakeland
The vision that is foreseen by the development of a new research institution at the USF Lakeland campus will change the perspective of others toward Polk County. That new perspective will convey the image of an educated Polk County citizen that is influential in their community and worldwide. Educating our workforce is important in the race to become global. According to “The New Regional Agenda”:
Education, at every level and in every discipline, is the key to future success. Quality education touches every aspect of our lives in training a skilled workforce, teaching the value of democracy, developing and appreciating the arts, establishing a platform for varied viewpoints, and creating opportunities for life-long learning. If we are to be competitive in the 21st century, we must set our sights higher that state and national averages and must strive to attain international levels of educational accomplishment (myregion.org 2005).
It is more than a regional yearning for economic development; USF Lakeland’s new campus is a symbol of hope for the entire region.
The rapture of globalization is upon us and that is why Dr. Goodman is taking USF Lakeland’s mission of Excellence, Innovation, and Collaboration and focusing it to develop a vision of a globally distinct applied technology university. He is advocating for a narrow, but deep program selection that would focus on five areas:
• Information technology oriented to the region with a focus on warehousing, distribution, e-suppliers, and just-in-time inventory management.
• Health programs developed by the new USF Health collaboration with a 21st century vision that could bring a College of Pharmacy to USF Lakeland.
• Manufacturing technology with a focus on agricultural products, food safety and security, and precision agriculture.
• A business school that would specialize in small business development, marketing, management information systems, accounting, and entrepreneurship.
• An Education department that would develop a relationship with the local school district to develop region specific programs that would enhance the current pre-k through 12 system.
A small sixth area exists as a part of the program selection, a college of arts and sciences that would anchor the five key programs.
With this focus, Dr. Goodman tells us that, USF Lakeland can become a “world class center for fragrances, flavors, and essences”. College is not just a get in, get out, and be done environment; a distributed classroom method developed at USF Lakeland would translate to the youth, and society as a whole, as a commitment to life-long learning and the acknowledgement that in today’s global world that learning does not stop at the classroom door, and that we must embrace that to survive.
Conclusions, Challenges, and Recommendations
Polk County and the Heartland as a whole, has been effectively ignored by state government for too many years. With a projected 25% population increase by 2020, Polk County must have a means to develop and retain an educated and efficient workforce to compete in the global economy.
• The potential for development of globally distinct assets to the region will become viable with the addition of a fully integrated research institution. Among these assets is the ability to develop concepts, establish competencies, and build connections.
• By enhancing growth and stability of the local economy, USF Lakeland will establish itself as a center for the education of the “makers” in this state. By accomplishing this, USF Lakeland will be the heart of innovation, by thinking of new technology, making more productive manufacturers, and increasing benefits that support trading in the global economy.
• USF Lakeland has the confidence to change the course of this regions future through excellence, innovation, and collaboration. With the new vision of Dr. Marshall Goodman, this regional campus will be able to supply the region with an educated workforce that will draw companies to the area to establish a global presence, in an environment dedicated to research of applied technologies.
Our state government needs to take a stake in how this region will emerge. We must raise the standards of what is viewed as typical Polk County, and turn it into a globally innovative cluster of knowledge. When asked, how have we defined ourselves? We must be able to answer with resounding enthusiasm that we are the new global face of Central Florida, a well educated, diverse, forward thinking community. We will be able to accomplish this with the fully funded implementation of the new USF Lakeland Campus, so that, both USF Lakeland and USF as a whole, will spear head the development of the Heartland of Florida.
References:
“Alternative Futures for the Seven County Orlando Region 2005-2050.” University of Pennsylvania 2005. Penn Design. 17 September 2006.
"Central Florida's Quality of Life: Demographic and Social Services Report, 2006." MyRegion.org. 8 August 2006. 25 September 2006 <http://www.myregion.org/Portals/0/Publications/mrdss%20White%20Paper.pdf&gt;.
"Demographic Profile: Polk County." 29 August 2006. Central Florida Development Council. 17 Sep 2006 <http://www.cfdc.org/content/archives/atlas/829200630854.doc&gt;.
Goodman, Marshall. A Vision for a Polytechnic, Applied Technology University interview. 22 September 2006.
Kanter, Roabeth Moss. "Thriving Locally in the Global Economy." Harvard Business Review A Changed World 2003(1995) 119-127. 31 August 2006.
Moran, Theodore H., Edward Graham, and Magnus Blomstron. Does Foreign Direct Investment Promote Development?. Washington D.C.: Center for Global Development, 2005.
"The New Regional Agenda: Central Florida." MyRegion.org. July 2003. 25 Sep 2006 <http://www.myregion.org/Portals/0/Publications/NewRegionalAgenda.pdf >.
"Polk County Quick Facts." State and County Quick Facts. 8 June 2006. U.S. Census Bureau. 17 Sep 2006 <http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/12/12105.html&gt;.
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