Regents Target Ohio University to Support New Economy Partnership, Bring 'Knowledge Infrastructure' to Appalachia
Contact: Leesa Brown, (740) 593-1043
CINCINNATI, Ohio (September 21, 2000) -- A generation ago, Roger McCauley was a foot soldier in the War On Poverty in Appalachian Ohio, fighting to bring to the 29-county region what much of the rest of the nation considered the basics: highways and roads, jobs, education and decent housing. Today, McCauley, executive director of the Corporation for Ohio Appalachian Development (COAD) in Athens and a co-founder of The Foundation for Appalachian Ohio, along with dozens of other policy veterans from Southeast Ohio received a new call to arms from the Ohio Board of Regents: build a knowledge infrastructure in the region.
The Appalachian New Economy proposal offered today by the state Board of Regents would provide $2.5 million in fiscal year 2002 and $6 million in fiscal year 2003 to assist entrepreneurs, educators, and public and non-profit agencies in bridging the digital divide. The Regents will submit their proposal to the state budget office, where Governor Robert Taft's Executive Budget is being developed. Taft will submit his budget to the Ohio Legislature for action next year. Ohio University will broaden its existing regional partnership programs in management, entrepreneurship and education -- key skills for participation in the 'new economy,' said Ohio University Provost Sharon Stephens Brehm.
"At the same time, we will prototype technologies and service strategies needed to provide the essential communications infrastructure for the region," Brehm added. "We have an opportunity to demonstrate the value of higher education as a catalyst to encourage collaborative efforts that will improve quality of life in the region."
Public and nonprofit sector management programs, such as the Appalachian Leadership Academy formed last year by COAD and the university's Institute for Local Government Administration and Rural Development (ILGARD), are examples of how partnerships in the region have flourished, McCauley observed. Over the past 19 years, ILGARD has provided training and research in areas such as human resource management, education, human services, watershed restoration and computer mapping, said political science faculty member Mark Weinberg, director of ILGARD and the Voinovich Center for Leadership and Public Affairs http//www.ilgard.ohiou.edu
A similar approach to providing high-quality technical assistance for the private sector was introduced this year through the Ohio University College of Business. The Regional Entrepreneurship Initiative, headed by business faculty member and associate director of the Voinovich Center, Hugh Sherman, helps prepare local businesses for investment by venture funds such as the Appalachian Ohio Development Fund.
A combination of strong existing partnerships, experience and public support equals unprecedented opportunity for strategic collaboration in the region, Brehm said.
"The dedication and commitment of leaders in this region is inspiring," Brehm said. "Many more opportunities exist today for families in Appalachian Ohio thanks to their vision. Our challenge now is to work together to make sure the region is not left behind."
