Innovation Campus celebrates 20th anniversary
Utah State University’s research park, Innovation Campus, celebrated its 20th anniversary with a ribbon-cutting ceremony opening the $2.5 million Grand Avenue to traffic.
Stan Albrecht, USU president, and Chris Roybal, senior adviser for economic development for the state of Utah, cut the ribbon held by members of the Cache Chamber of Commerce. The road is located between 1800 North and 1400 North in North Logan, beginning on Innovation Campus and ending at 700 East.
Roybal was the keynote speaker for the celebration. He spoke about the research park’s economic impact on Utah and the benefits of having a research university located nearby for new companies.
“As you look at all the strong economic areas in the country, you will find research universities driving each of them,” he said. “Economic development really begins at research universities. They are the nerve center.”
Teresa McKnight, interim director of Innovation Campus, said the research park “is an example of how university research can stimulate the economy and give back to the community.”
“Innovation Campus is committed to research and development helping economic growth and providing jobs,” she said.
Grand Avenue was built to connect Innovation Campus to acreage set aside for its expansion. The park currently occupies 38 acres north of campus. Over the next 30 years, it will expand to 150, McKnight said. The road was designed with Utah’s environment in mind, with drought-resistant plants and a drainage canal in the center.
Rain water in the road will be channeled to the canal instead of to gutters on the side of the road. The water will dump into a fountain at the center of Innovation Campus, and will be used in experiments by the various labs located there. Mark Vlasic, one of the designers of the project from Landmark Design in Salt Lake City, said the road had an innovative design to go along with an innovative campus, with places to sit and work right alongside the street, making it “more a place for people than cars.”
Other universities have similar parks, including Stanford, North Carolina State University and the University of Utah. Innovation Campus received the Economic Development Administration’s National Award for Excellence in Rural Economic Development in May 2004, which McKnight said was quite an honor considering the size and reputations of other parks that were passed over in favor of Innovation Campus. The research park currently has more than 40 companies and 2,103 employees.
Roybal said Gov. Huntsman is working with USU and Innovation Campus to encourage the growth of the park.
“We want to do all we can to help this university grow,” he said.
The effort is part the Utah Smart Site initiative, which encourages development of computer, data processing and telecommunications industries in rural areas to stimulate economic growth. Roybal said the expansion of Innovation Campus fits right into the Smart Sites initiative.
Roybal said the goal is to stimulate economic growth in Utah by “creating the right environment for new companies.”
Roybal said there is a “strong entrepreneurial spirit” in Utah but there is also a high failure rate for start-up companies. He said he hopes to provide a better environment for these companies with better advice available and more access to capital. By providing a place for companies to work close to one another, there will be “more opportunities for entrepreneurs to fill gaps where companies need support,” he said.
“A lot of companies start here, grow and gain a little capital, but need a bit more management resources, so they flee to Silicon Valley or wherever they have the infrastructure more in place,” he said. “We want to shore that up more in Utah.”
Roybal said determining the most important “industry clusters” and recruiting research teams in those clusters is the key to the whole economic development in Utah. He said a research park at a university is the right environment for new companies.
McKnight said the park creates research and development complementary to that on campus. She said its goals are to increases networks and awareness of new technologies.
“Innovation Campus is a stimulating, energetic environment where the university, businesses and industries can come together,” McKnight said. “It’s the best minds coming up with the best thoughts about new technologies and new jobs.”
Vlasic said the campus, as well as Grand Avenue itself, is a place where “different people can come together, break down their disciplines and work together.”
The next step is to get phase-two funding, McKnight said, so Grand Avenue can be expanded to 800 East. Looking at the future, McKnight said Innovation Campus expects to see more growth, with more high-tech, high-paying jobs. She said she considers the campus both a place where students can get hands-on experience to decide their life goals and a draw to keep university students in the area after graduation. Students with degrees in technology and engineering will not have to leave Cache Valley to find work.
-ella@cc.usu.edu