The Iowa Board of Regents recently

reinstated the Economic Development Committee.

The newly appointed committee met

for the first time on Monday, Feb. 6 to discuss their goals for the

state of Iowa, specifically the economic impact and development of

universities in Iowa.

Committee members said that they

believe through partnership and research with Iowa’s three

universities, the state can stimulate economic growth and improve

the quality of life in Iowa.

“The committee is focused on

identifying strategies and programs that will increase the impact

of the States Regent Universities in terms of economic impact and

economic development for Iowa,” said Jordan Cohen in an email.

Cohen is the vice president for research and economic development

at the University of Iowa and a member of the Economic Development

Committee.

“The legislature and others really

feel that the university has the capability of transferring

research from the university to the state and that will enhance the

economy of the state of Iowa,” said Sharron Quisenberry, vice

president of research and economic development at Iowa State and a

member of the Economic Development Committee.

Cohen said, “Discussion [during the

meeting] was focused more on how universities can leverage external

research funding from both the federal government and industry and

work to increase and speed up technology transfer in terms of both

licensing and new company formation by leveraging state and private

sector funding.”

In order to create this transfer,

Quisenberry said, a partnership between the state, other

universities, community colleges, and industries needs to be

created and refined.

“We can’t do everything by ourselves

and the state can’t either,” she said. As the committee continues

to meet, strategies to further develop this partnership in the

areas of education, entrepreneurism, research, and business

development across the state will continue to emerge.

“At Iowa State University, we have a

tremendous advantage with the quality of faculty and staff we have,

and we have the opportunity to make a difference to the state of

Iowa,” Quinsenberry said.

Quisenberry said Iowa State has

three main missions: to educate students and the public, to conduct

research that will have an impact of the state and to transfer

knowledge to the public.

The committee’s goal will not come

about easily though.

Cohen stated that “useful and

commercializable technology for the public benefit is a long term

process” that requires significant investment and risk in order to

move from simple ideas to research projects and finally out into

the public, but “the long term payoff in terms of treating and even

curing human disease is significant, and the University of Iowa has

had major successes.”

Cohen explained that the Iowa Board

of Regents disbanded the Economic Development Committee in

2007.

“At that time there were no

university or community members — only Regents,” Cohen

said.