2015 meda annual conference dr. michael cass

College of Business Delaware State University

The Prosperity of State & Regional Economies and the Health of their

colleges and universities are Inescapably Linked

Universities & Economic Development

Commitment & Passion of Economic Developers

The WHY?!

Economic Development Succession Plan?

Students of Problems Not Disciplines

Economic Development & Leadership Institute

!  Economic Development Training

!  UCEDIT Fellow !  Internship !  JUICE Chapter !  Experiential Learning !  Speaker Series !  Travel Abroad with

ASSESS & Virgin Asset Mapping Project

African American Inclusion Study

!  Analysis of racial disparities in employment in the City of Dover

!  Reviews the critical role that a diverse workforce plays in improving economic competitiveness

!  Developing policies for enabling the region to reach its full economic potential

Food Innovation District (FID)

!  Leverage Kent County Assets ! Existing food manufacturing cluster ! 167,000 acres of preserved farmland ≈ 35% ! DSU Food Science, Nutrition, Hospitality &

Tourism, Aquaculture, and Optics programs ! DSU’s experimental farm ! DSU’s commercial kitchens

!  FID Economic Impact Study

Academic-Industry Manufacturing Alliance (AIMA)

!  Support nation’s global initiative of increasing the STEM workforce.

!  Designed to provide small companies access to the extensive research capabilities of DSU ! Partnership between the company and a DSU faculty

member or DSU faculty/student teams ! Access to the university’s state-of-the-art facilities and

equipment.

ASSESS

Analytical Support Services and Evaluation for Sustainable Systems (ASSESS) ! DSU (UCEDIT and College of Agriculture), University of

Rhode Islands, Kwame Nkrumah University for Science and Technology (KNUST)

!  $30 million grant to Evaluate USAID projects in 21 West African Countries in the areas of Trade, Energy, Environment and Agriculture

Virgin Islands Asset Mapping

!  Inventory of key resources that can be utilized in a development effort

! Assess the impact of regional assets—human, financial, institutional, and natural among others—on the innovation and productivity  

Meeting with local EDA

EDLI 2020

!  Second Cohort

!  Summer Institute for High School Students

!  Minor & Major in Economic Development

THANK YOU ?