Guest Column: Universities scout talent

It is generally acknowledged that major universities are key components to economic development and the progress and quality of social life.

Universities are responsible for educating the skilled work force that is required in almost all types of enterprise; they are expected to prepare students for thoughtful participation and contribution in their communities; and they are relied upon as the primary source of important intellectual discoveries from which new technologies, products and processes are derived.

In short, universities are in the talent business. They attract, nurture and cluster the talent upon which so much of the 21st-century economy is based. How successful universities prove to be in the competition for intellectual talent is a key ingredient in the economic success of cities, states, regions and nations.

Mega-regional economies

The geography of economic development is a topic that has interested scholars for years. Jane Jacobs, author of “The Death and Life of Great American Cities,” argued that the various social and environmental clustering forces of cities made them society’s crucial hub of creative and economic activity.

It appears that Jacobs is correct.

Economic growth is increasingly clumped in large metropolitan areas, but those hotbeds are much more spread across the world than ever before. While the United States and Western Europe have historically been home to the world’s power-house-economy cities, China, India and Japan have now joined the list of mega-regions.

What do these regions have in common that make them centers of the so-called creative economy? Why do some cities and regions grow in economic capacity and influence, while others languish? We are beginning to discover some answers to these questions, and they provide important lessons to Springfield, the Ozarks and Missouri State University.

According to economic author Richard Florida (“Who’s Your City” and “The Rise of the Creative Class”), new mega-economy regions share four qualities that spur their commercial impact:

1. They attract, cultivate and retain educated human capital through the presence of major, strong universities.

2. They span manufacturing, communications, finance and creativity.

3. They have access to local venture capital that helps launch and anchor new companies.

4. They focus on high-tech, scientific innovations as the basis for new commercial enterprise.

The cities in these mega-regions are essential to economic vitality because they serve to focus creative talent and capital resources.

The urban metabolism rate

As Jacobs argued, the density of the population in cities multiplies the ideas and skills that can emerge. The metabolism rate of urban areas – the pace at which new information is exchanged, novel ideas are hatched, and business startups are launched – is greater than in less densely populated areas. Cities capitalize “the strength of weak ties” by spreading new information across diverse groups of people who then diffuse its application across multiple commercial domains.

In the United States, the cities of our major regions are becoming more specialized. While they all share certain general qualities of place, they increasingly are taking on a unique specialized personality. Want to be a professional musician? Head to Nashville. Interested in public policy? The D.C. area is the indisputable hub. Yearn to be a fashion designer? New York City is the place to be. Semiconductors are your thing? Austin, Texas, is your place.

A university is vital in building a regional economy. MSU is resolved to do so in the Ozarks by educating students to take and make the jobs that are essential to a strong economic region. In addition, the university is committed to helping develop the clustering, creative forces of Springfield so that it can be a hub of the creative economy, known for significant, distinctive, innovative, commercial activity.

Missouri State University President Dr. Michael T. Nietzel can be reached at mikenietzel@missouristate.edu.