Rep. Haddad speaks at a news conference announcing
plans to build a multi-million dollar technology park
on the University of Connecticut campus.
April 29, 2011
REP. HADDAD & SENATE PRESIDENT WILLIAMS
ANNOUNCE PLAN TO BUILD TECH PARK AT UCONN
Like Research Triangle in North Carolina, creates jobs with university-industry partnerships
STORRS—State Representative Gregory Haddad (D-Mansfield, Chaplin) and Senate President Donald E. Williams, Jr. (D-Brooklyn) were joined by university and business officials as they announced plans to build a multi-million dollar technology park on the University of Connecticut campus.
The landmark proposal includes $18 million in funding for the design, site development and infrastructure improvements necessary to create the tech park. Also included, is $2.5 million to create an ‘Innovation Partners Eminent Faculty Program’ which seeks to attract some the nation’s top scholars and scientists and to leverage millions of dollars in federal and private investment.
“People who live in Eastern Connecticut have long understood the importance of UConn to our local economy,” said Rep. Haddad, vice-chair of the legislature’s Commerce Committee and a member of the Higher Education Committee. “I thank Sen. Williams for his vision and critical support of this initiative that has the potential to fuel an economic renaissance across the region. Seen to its completion, a technology park, anchored by an Innovation Partnership building has the potential to add hundreds of jobs for eastern Connecticut residents and to attract research divisions from some of the largest and most innovative companies in the world.”
The UConn tech-park will eventually include multiple buildings—many of which could be privately funded—that will house large, flexible-use laboratories containing specialized equipment for collaborative research. The complex, to be located in the North Campus, will provide space for business incubators and individual companies.
“The potential for Connecticut is outstanding. The state’s location between Boston and New York is a significant asset,” Sen. Williams said. “A research and technology center in Storrs will provide companies with easy access to world-class metropolitan areas, specialized R&D equipment, and a highly skilled workforce. The net outcome will be more private sector jobs for Connecticut, increased research and development, and greater opportunities for students and faculty.”
Rep. Haddad and Sen. Williams were joined by UConn President Philip Austin, UTC Vice President of Government Affairs Mike Brown, KTI President Howard Orr, and UConn Dean Of Engineering Mun Y. Choi.
“Connecticut is a state whose economic progress, indeed whose economic survival, depends on knowledge and innovation and very advanced technology,” President Austin said. “When the state succeeds in those realms it yields benefits almost beyond measure and keeps us at or near the top of the nation in terms of economic well-being. When we lag behind, we face problems that virtually defy solution.”
Research and technology parks are facilities or clusters of facilities that drive technology-led economic development by creating partnerships between research universities and industry. The parks are typically located adjacent to research universities and support the growth of existing companies by offering proximity and access to advanced technology, faculty expertise and engaged students.
“The natural affinity between universities and industry is perhaps most profound for engineering programs, the training ground of the nation’s producers and knowledge workers,” said Mike Brown. “UTC has enjoyed a long and rewarding relationship with the UConn School of Engineering. For decades, we have hired engineering graduates to work within our business units. It’s safe to say they have been instrumental in helping our company design and build some of the world’s most innovative products.”
The collaborations that result from these partnerships often lead to innovations and discoveries with commercial applications, create new jobs, and generate federal and industry research grants. A 2007 study of technology parks in the United States and Canada by the Battelle Memorial Institute estimated that the typical tech park generates 750 jobs. Many states, such as North Carolina, Illinois, and Indiana have built tech-parks that attracted hundreds of companies and thousands of jobs.