HA editorial

Date: May 20, 2004

HA editorial

Date: May 20, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: MBAgal
"

Here's the url if someone is linking:

http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/news/stories/20040520/opinion/464977.html

Date: May 20, 2004

It's time to disabuse the Hat Am folks of the ridiculous notion that USM's Economic Development programs are unique.

And...

If anyone wants to proceed with a resolution of no confidence in Lisa Mader, her repetition of these lies about the Economic Development programs should be prominently featured.

Robert Campbell

Date: May 20, 2004

"It's time to disabuse the Hat Am folks of the ridiculous notion that USM's Economic Development programs are unique." - Robert Campbell

Robert,

While I agree with you in principal, it has been my observation that in Mississippi there is nothing that exists outside of or state borders. The myopic vision of the 'leaders' (I use that term loosely) in the state refuse to recognize any good idea that comes from anyone, anywhere at anytime who is not a native of the state. So any programs that have been successfully implemented elsewhere just do not exist.

If Mississippi really wanted to be thought of as a place where industry would come, we should be bringing in people who have already been successful at this endeavor. The cost to reinvent is a high multiple of the cost of hiring quality people who have already moved past the startup phase.

One other thing, I have always been a scientist. At the multi-national corporation that I worked for, one of the key ingredients in locating a new operation in a community was the 'quality of life' issues that surround bringing in employees from around the world. The key issues are not the interaction with the science faculty, but the availability of a symphony, theatres, art exhibits and other cultural events. Hattiesburg had a strong hand in these areas. I can not believe that the ADP is willing to give up these assets for some vague notion of commercialization of research.

Cities that have grown because of the arts and humanities programs available to the public are places like Palo Alto (Stanford); Calif., Austin (UT!), Texas and Boulder (CU), Colorado. At the other end of the spectrum are the 'pure science' universities (I call them trade schools). Socorro, New Mexico (NM Tech) is every bit the equivalent of Cal Tech and MIT, but what industries are located there? How about Montana Tech in Helena, Montana? Not a busy place for industry. Colorado School of Mines is locted just outside of Denver, but it has never brought in any associated industry to the region.

Humanities and the arts are the core of a great university. The University of Chicago was at a crossroads at the turn of the 20th century. They had a vision of greatness, but their emphasis on science was not getting them anywhere. They brought in a world renowned scientist to head the university, much to the trepidation of the humanities faculty. He spent the next 15 years focusing on the humanities and the arts, building them to a national prominence. Then he began building the science progams.

Why? Humanities and the arts are the 'soul' of an educated person. No one who claims to be educated can be ignorant of their teachings.

As an aside, I like to read the Annual Reports of major corporations. One of the things that I have found interesting is the number of people who lead successful corporations who are educated in the humanities. They go on to do graduate work in other fields and earn MBAs and law degrees, but the humanities form a core value system that obviously successfully framed their judgement in the corporate world.

Date: May 20, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Robert Campbell
"It's time to disabuse the Hat Am folks of the ridiculous notion that USM's Economic Development programs are unique. And... If anyone wants to proceed with a resolution of no confidence in Lisa Mader, her repetition of these lies about the Economic Development programs should be prominently featured. Robert Campbell"

I sent Braswell and Walters (co-authors of yesterday's article) an email last night, telling them that "The idea that USM is a groundbreaker in these areas is just one more myth that Thames and his cronies would have all of us believe," etc., and asking them to check it out themselves on Google or any search engine. I didn't hear back from either of them.

Jo Hailey

Former (and never-to-be Emeritus) Professor of Psychology

Date: May 20, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: retired prof
"
I sent Braswell and Walters (co-authors of yesterday's article) an email last night, telling them that "The idea that USM is a groundbreaker in these areas is just one more myth that Thames and his cronies would have all of us believe," etc., and asking them to check it out themselves on Google or any search engine. I didn't hear back from either of them.
"

Jo,

It's time for several people to make the same point in the form of letters to the editor.

Robert Campbell

Date: May 20, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Grey Knight
" I have always been a scientist. At the multi-national corporation that I worked for, one of the key ingredients in locating a new operation in a community was the 'quality of life' issues that surround bringing in employees from around the world. The key issues are not the interaction with the science faculty, but the availability of a symphony, theatres, art exhibits and other cultural events. Hattiesburg had a strong hand in these areas. I can not believe that the ADP is willing to give up these assets for some vague notion of commercialization of research. Cities that have grown because of the arts and humanities programs available to the public are places like Palo Alto (Stanford); Calif., Austin (UT!), Texas and Boulder (CU), Colorado. At the other end of the spectrum are the 'pure science' universities (I call them trade schools). . . .Humanities and the arts are the core of a great university. The University of Chicago was at a crossroads at the turn of the 20th century. They had a vision of greatness, but their emphasis on science was not getting them anywhere. They brought in a world renowned scientist to head the university, much to the trepidation of the humanities faculty. He spent the next 15 years focusing on the humanities and the arts, building them to a national prominence. Then he began building the science progams. Why? Humanities and the arts are the 'soul' of an educated person. No one who claims to be educated can be ignorant of their teachings. As an aside, I like to read the Annual Reports of major corporations. One of the things that I have found interesting is the number of people who lead successful corporations who are educated in the humanities. They go on to do graduate work in other fields and earn MBAs and law degrees, but the humanities form a core value system that obviously successfully framed their judgement in the corporate world. "

Hear, hear, Grey Knight. What a fine statement. Please post to the pulp presses.

Date: May 20, 2004

Emma posted this in the "Is this true?" thread.

http://www.unt.edu/cedr/

The Center for Economic Development and Research at the University of North Texas was established in 1989 to conduct economic analysis and public policy research. The Center also provides forecasting and strategic planning services to businesses, governments and non-profit agencies with an interest in economic development. Dr. Bernard L. Weinstein is director of the Center and Dr. Terry L. Clower is associate director.

The Center works closely with UNT's Institute of Applied Economics, which offers master's degree programs in public policy and economic development.

Using the links to the left, you can learn more about the Center, the Institute of Applied Economics, UNT, and much more. Brief biosketches of Dr. Weinstein and Dr. Clower are also available.

If you have other questions or need more information, please can contact us by mail at P. O. Box 310469, Denton, Texas 76203, by telephone at 940/565-4049, or by e-mail

Date: May 20, 2004

I also think Grey Knight is making some great points. (Though I assume that Mississippians don't really reject tractors, CD players, or air conditioning because they were invented outside the state...)

What makes Athens, Georgia and Asheville, North Carolina more interesting cities than Clemson and its neighbors is spillover from the Humanities programs at UGA, even from UNC-Asheville. Because of our A and M heritage, the humanities are still despised by our administration, and Clemson University has far less to offer.

Robert Campbell

Date: May 20, 2004

Coincidentally, here's something I sent off to the IHL this morning; I had posted a much longer version of this on an earlier thread a couple of weeks ago:

DIVERSE SNIPPETS CONCERNING THE IDEAS OF RICHARD FLORIDA, WHOSE THEORY ABOUT ECONOMIC GROWTH HAS JUST BEEN NAMED TO THE _HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW_'S LIST OF BREAKTHROUGH IDEAS FOR 2004:

Human creativity is the ultimate source of economic growth. Every single person is creative in some way. And to fully and tap and harness that creativity we must be tolerant, diverse and inclusive.

=================================

Public policy and regional development books are often considered best as a cure for insomnia, but Florida's work is challenging many of the verities of the field. He claims that the world has moved away from the old "organizational" era of corporations and homogeneity and into the "creative" era, which is spearheaded by 38 million workers -- from scientists to IT workers to artists and writers -- with a variety of lifestyles and needs. ...

FROM AN INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD FLORIDA:

My argument is that in order to harness creativity for economic ends, you need to harness creativity in all its forms. You can't just generate a tech economy or information economy or knowledge economy; you have to harness the multidimensional aspects of creativity. So the book says that there are three types of creativity: technological creativity, which is innovation, new products and ideas and technologies; economic creativity, which includes entrepreneurship, turning those things into new businesses and new industries; and cultural and artistic creativity, the ability to invent new ways of thinking about things, new art forms, new designs, new photos, new concepts. Those three things have to come together to spur economic growth.

===========================

What that means for cities is that instead of "underwriting big-box retailers, subsidizing downtown malls, recruiting call centers, and squandering precious taxpayer dollars on extravagant stadium complexes," the leadership should instead develop an environment attractive to the creative class by cultivating the arts, music, night life and quaint historic districts -- in short, develop places that are fun and interesting rather than corporate and mall-like. It's advice that city and regional leaders can take or leave, but Florida contends that his focus groups and indices -- reporting the important factors needed for economic growth in the creative age, from concentrations of bohemians to patents to a lively gay community -- are more accurately predicting the success and failure of metropolitan areas.

=================================

... In short, as Paul Romer, a professor of economics at Stanford University put it, there is growing recognition that when it comes to economic growth, "the relatively well educated and relatively creative are disproportionately important."

Where Mr. Florida adds a new twist, however, is to argue that while the creative class is unquestionably a blessing to the economy as a whole, at the regional level the picture is hardly so rosy. Heralding a "pattern of geographic and class segmentation far worse than any we've ever had," he says, the creative class may mean boom times for one city and obsolescence for another. The reason, he contends, is that this tattooed and espresso-sipping set is unusually finicky. According to conventional economic theory, workers settle in those cities that offer them the highest-paying jobs in their fields. But creative-class workers, Mr. Florida says, are more particular: they choose cities for their tolerant environments and diverse populations as well as good jobs. ...

This, in essence, is Mr. Florida's "creative capital theory." As he put it during a recent interview in Manhattan, "You cannot get a technologically innovative place unless it's open to weirdness, eccentricity and difference." ...

Most economists would agree, but that doesn't mean they buy Mr. Florida's creative capital theory as the explanation. "My view is that the best thing in terms of economic development is to invest in your centers of higher education," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Economy.com, a company in West Chester, Pa., that tracks regional growth. "It's no surprise that Austin came up in the last 10 to 15 years. The University of Texas got all that oil money and invested it in technology." ...

Mr. Cushing went on to test the human-capital theory. But though he found an impressive correlation between a city's percentage of college-educated people and growth, he was not completely satisfied. "There are more than 100 university communities, and only 20 cities stand out as places in which it would appear that high-tech development is quite outstanding," Mr. Cushing said. "How do we explain Austin?" Finally, and with a good deal of doubt, he turned to Mr. Florida's theory. "When you hear about these cities that have gays or bohos, it doesn't sound scientific," he said. "It sounds gimmicky." To his surprise, the creative-capital theory turned out — at least after preliminary testing — to provide the best explanation for Austin's high-tech transformation. "I started the exercise very skeptical of the creative-class notion," said Mr. Cushing, whose findings are discussed in a continuing series of articles in the American-Statesman. "And was astonished by the results."

EVERYTHING REPRODUCED ABOVE CAN BE FOUND AT THE WEB SITE BELOW (WHERE'S THERE'S MUCH, MUCH MORE):

http://www.creativeclass .org/index.shtml