Heart of Florida Economic Summit - March 2, 2009
Good morning! Great to have you in Gainesville on campus.
I am honored to be with you here in the Heart of Florida. It is truly a place to love. I tour this region on my Harley almost every weekend and have covered every county road and small village from Cross Creek to Salt Springs to LaCrosse to Lebanon Station to Lulu.
There are more first-magnitude springs than anywhere else in the world. We are one of the major thoroughbred centers of the world. And yes, we have the best college football team in the world.
It's become a cliché to utter the words "world-class" when talking about economic development.
The Panhandle can claim its beaches; the Space Coast has Kennedy Space Center; and Miami …well…they are Miami. But there aren't many inland regions that can claim "world-class" as convincingly as the Heart of Florida.
No doubt, times are tough for our beautiful region. Marion County's unemployment rate has crept past 10%. Next fiscal year, the University of Florida may face budget cuts that equal the same, painful percentage.
But, our university and our region, just like the state of Florida and the nation, have been through tough times before—only to emerge stronger.
Those dismayed by the empty lots and exposed concrete around town should understand, we've been through this before.
One of Gainesville's most prominent landmarks, the Seagle Building, sat unfinished and abandoned for years after the Florida land bust of 1926. But with faith, persistence…and a generous donor, it was finally completed in the 1930s.
Take heart: Buildings will rise on those lots, walls will enclose that concrete.
On campus, we're plowing ahead. We just broke ground on Hough Hall last weekend, and the Harn Museum's Asian Art wing is not far behind. We know we'll fill these buildings as the economy comes back.
One way we as a state and as a nation climbed out of past downturns was by focusing on our strengths—what we did that was world-class.
In Florida, that was our world-class beaches. Nationally, it was our world-class manufacturing sector.
But, Florida's housing bust has taught us that it's not economically sustainable to base our state economy only on sun and sand.
At the national level, the auto-manufacturing crisis shows that it's not possible to triumph in a global economy—if we're not willing to innovate to meet new consumer demand for products that are smaller, more efficient, and cleaner.
Economic development efforts in both Marion and Alachua counties are focusing on smaller and broader-based industries, including high-tech and green companies.
This will help ensure that jobs are diversified and not over-reliant on one industry next time we see an economic slump. Which we surely will!
Focusing in on what it is that we do best, and what about us is world-class, is smart not only in a downturn, but also in the best of times.
At the University of Florida, that is departments such as anthropology, materials science and engineering, veterinary medicine, and zoology. That is our professional schools and our graduate programs. And that is technology incubators such as the Center of Excellence for Regenerative Health Biotechnology and the Florida Institute for Sustainable Energy.
That is spin-off companies such as WiPower, from our electrical and computer engineering department, which may give consumers "wireless power" in the future—the same way they have wireless internet today.
What do we do best as a region? What are we best positioned for in the future? These are the questions Heart of Florida is asking, and they are the right questions.
I don't have all the answers, but here are some possibilities for ways in which Heart of Florida and the University of Florida can work together on world-class ideas.
We hear a lot about green-collar jobs these days, and while I suspect the name itself will be a passing fad, the essence of green-collar is here to stay.
The Florida Public Service Commission has agreed with Governor Crist that the state's utilities must generate 20% of power by renewable resources by 2020.
A RAND Corporation report says that if 25% of all American energy were produced from renewable energy sources by 2025, it would equal at least 5 million new, green jobs.
President Barack Obama's stimulus package commits tens of billions to clean power and energy efficiency.
You do the math. There is considerable economic potential for new jobs. And, the University of Florida will help create the technology.
Just last fall we cranked up our Cellulosic Ethanol Pilot Plant in Frazier Rogers Hall. The plant is pioneering technology to turn farm waste into energy.
In the future, that will allow Floridians to fill up with ethanol—not made from food crops like corn, but from previously useless material like citrus pulp or yard waste.
UF is also home to cutting-edge solar energy research. Our engineers are finding ways to eke more electricity out of thinner, cheaper solar cells—cells that could one day cover roofs and roads.
Perhaps we will soon see Heart of Florida residents tap into this technology as they take advantage of Gainesville Regional Utilities' innovative—make that "world-class"—new program to buy solar electricity at market value. This is really putting us on the map.
In addition to clean energy, your focus on water is essential, as I can attest after having lived in the bone-dry state of Utah.
Our natural springs draw divers from around the globe, but this is about more than recreation.
The new water-conservation ethic that is growing in our region, thanks in part to your organization, will also help spark innovation and industry. As the marine scientist Sylvia Earle tells us, quote, "Without the blue, there is no green."
Our Water Institute brings together experts throughout the university with water managers and environmentalists to find wiser ways to use our local water resources.
Our agricultural scientists are finding new ways to help the Heart of Florida's homeowners and growers battle drought. Getting just the right amount of water to St. Augustine grass or citrus—not one drop too much or too little—is the focus of much of our work.
Our scientists have found that homeowners can slash lawn watering by a third simply through installing soil moisture sensors.
Increasingly, we hope to see these and other water technologies adopted in regions such as the Heart of Florida to help save our most essential asset.
I applaud the Heart of Florida for its work to develop the Heart of Florida Technology Corridor.
David Day, director of our Office of Technology Licensing, is here to give you a more detailed look at our innovative technologies.
I would like to leave you with a big-picture take on the Heart of Florida region and its future.
If UF and our region can focus in on what we do that is already world-class; if we can protect our world-class natural resources; if we can anticipate the future marketplace, one that will include sustainable, green and blue industries, we will emerge from these difficult times triumphant, just as our predecessors did during 20th century downturns.
I applaud you for having had the foresight during good times to create a structure—Heart of Florida—that will help us achieve these goals now that times are rougher.
I wish you the best as you work on the goals today and throughout the year.
The University of Florida is honored to be a part of the process.
Thank you.
Bernie Machen