Penley Panel

As the business community knows well, international relations are not just the province of the State Department. Industries, corporations, business leaders and universities all play a vital role in fostering healthy and mutually beneficial relationships with other nations and the governments and citizens that lead them.

This month, I joined a select group of university presidents from across the United States at a special summit in Washington, D.C., hosted by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, with the participation of President and Mrs. Bush and the secretaries of defense, labor and commerce. The meeting was attended by presidents from the leading research universities in the nation, including Washington, California, Stanford, Georgia Tech, as well as other universities and community colleges. The purpose was to spearhead a critical national discussion on how to identify and attract foreign talent to U.S. schools and industries, how to better prepare globally competitive students, the complex visa and security issues that face international students coming to the United States since 9/11, and new strategies for advancing international education.

These issues take on critical importance when you consider that the U.S. Department of Commerce considers higher education the nation's fifth largest service-sector export. The Institute for International Education reports that international students pumped $13.3 billion dollars – primarily from personal funds and other sources outside the U.S. -- into our nation's economy last year to pay for tuition, living expenses, and other costs. Remaining a competitive player in this arena is a high priority for Colorado State University: in addition to nurturing new and strengthened relationships with campuses in China, Mexico and elsewhere, our new strategic plan includes a goal of sending 25 percent of all our students on an international learning experience by 2015 and increasing the total number of international students to 1,100 by 2010.

Building connections like these is a critical responsibility for today's research university. This issue of The Competitive Edge spotlights another aspect of CSU's international focus with some recent reflections on Governor Bill Owens' trade mission to South America -- as well as a detailed overview of how our Office of Economic Development is supporting research and industry connections that address significant global needs while helping to sustain a health economy here at home.

Larry Edward Penley
Chancellor and President

Spotlight on Economic Development: A Message from Director Hunt Lambert

Colorado State University opened its new Office of Economic Development November 1, and I am honored to have been asked to be its first leader. My overall challenge is to systematically bring industry and the university closer together. Colorado State University makes five overarching contributions that facilitate economic growth:

Technology transfer. The Baye Dole Act of 1980 gives intellectual property ownership to universities and obliges them to manage this ownership for the betterment of society. We accomplish this by licensing technologies to industry and start-up companies. In my many years in industry, and in the cases I teach in CSU's MBA program, the hardest single business challenge is finding a market for a new technology. We need to position the university to allow the market to vote on as many technologies as possible. Given very scarce internal resources in technology transfer, we need to have close working relationships with many industries and companies so the market can vote for promising technologies.

Job creation through startup companies. Generally, for every $70 million of sponsored research per year, a university will spin off one startup. In most years, Colorado State University exceeds the expected three to four startups from its $244 million of research funding each year. When we create marketable new technology, we need to be able quickly to assemble a team to write a plan, secure funding and launch a business. The people with this expertise are found in industry and startups. Colorado State needs strong relationships with both to launch a steady stream of successful new companies. In addition, we need strong relationships with funding sources that can help us make commercial – as opposed to academic -- decisions about start-up opportunities. The Office of Economic Development will have a close working relationship with CSU's College of Business, the Vice President for Research and the Technology Transfer Office. With the help of those organizations, student teams will write business plans for credit using industry advisors and access established funding sources for testing of technology and market feasibility. Ultimately, the university will launch more successful startups.

Educational products. The Office of Economic Development can play an important role in providing information to individual academic departments, helping them understand the job world their students are entering. This allows us to tailor our degree programs so our education remains timely and relevant. Colorado State graduates traditionally enjoy a hiring rate well above that of its peer institutions. This is in part because CSU's land-grant heritage means we deliver talent that knows both theory and practice. As knowledge and tools of the trade change faster than ever in the knowledge economy, closer industry relationships will allow us to stay ahead of our peers in our educational products.

Workforce development. CSU's strategic plan calls for significantly growing its Continuing Education programming as well as growing partnerships with community colleges. This growth will respond to the ever-increasing demand for ongoing education of the existing workforce. This year, for the first time, I taught nothing in my MBA class that I learned in my own MBA program many years ago. As we take a lifelong-education approach to our students, we want to have the products, skills and partners to serve their needs up to and including retirement. The Office of Economic Development can help by working in partnership with industry and other associations to understand and deliver to their members' needs.

Public policy. We plan to build our current Colorado Institute for Public Policy into a facility capable of producing a high volume of objective policy work related to the great issues of our time: infectious disease, environmental sustainability, information sciences, and human food, nutrition, health and well being.

For Colorado State University, these goals sounds may sound ambitious, but in reality they simply just enhance the role we have embraced for all of our 135 years. I hope that my service to the University, the state and society as a whole helps Colorado State deliver the talent and technologies that lead to economic, environmental and social health in Colorado and around the world.

Hunt Lambert is Director of the Office of Economic Development at Colorado State University.
He can be reached at hunt.lambert@business.colostate.edu.

CSU Start-Up Honored for Tech Innovation

Envirofit International Ltd., a two-year-old non-profit company created with CSU technology, was named one of the top five environmental laureates by Silicon Valley's Tech Museum of Innovation -- only one of 25 technological advancements recognized out of a pool of 647 from 80 countries. The Tech Museum Awards selected 25 companies and organizations from around the world as laureates for technological advancements that improve the human condition in the areas of environment, economic development, education, equality and health.

The prize is yet more international recognition of Colorado State's Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory, which is addressing and providing solutions for chronic health and environmental issues affecting billions of people in the Third World. The CSU lab created a two-stroke engine retrofit that will significantly reduce taxi pollution -- a solution that already is being used in the Philippines. That unique technology evolved into Envirofit International Ltd., which has garnered international attention. Engineering researchers in the engines lab worked closely with the College of Business to create unique funding mechanisms to sell the products in the developing world. In December, Envirofit signed its first Memorandum of Understanding to retrofit two-stroke engines on 3,000 taxis in the town of Vigan in the Philippines.

Next up? A cleaner cookstove -- targeted to countries such as Brazil and Nepal -- that eliminates indoor air pollution because it doesn't use solid fuels for cooking.

Insights from Colorado Trade Mission to South America

Colorado State President Larry Penley recently took part in a trade mission led by Governor Owens to Chile and Argentina, two countries of interest to Coloradans given their tremendous growth potential. Penley has lived in Venezuela and previously worked on an AID grant in Bolivia to create a degree in agricultural economics at the Catholic university in La Paz.

Following are some of Penley's observations from the recent mission:

Argentina

• "Our visit to Argentina was an important one as the country recovers from what has been a very challenging economic situation. Argentina has a long history of boom and bust, and the decision to void its pegging of the Argentine peso against the dollar has had devastating effects that have been exacerbated by internal financial decisions and considerable external debt. Argentina does appear to be recovering. It is 90% urban, but its rural land is abundant, and Argentina has a world-class cattle industry that provides important common interests for Colorado. Argentina's economy grew by 9% in 2004, and it is expected to grow by almost 7% in 2005. The USA's exports to Argentina were $3.4 billion in 2004, up 52% over 2004. Much of those exports were in machinery and materials to support the growth of industry in Argentina. Despite the apparent challenges of the November trade talks in La Plata, it does not appear that relations with Argentina and the USA are as bad as President Chavez of Venezuela may wish."
• "I met with representatives from two universities: the University of Buenos Aires and the Pontificia Catolica. In both cases, the meetings were with representatives of agriculture and veterinary medicine. There appears to be a reasonable opportunity for joint programs between the Catholic university and CSU in the area of environmentally sustainable agriculture and the beef industry. In addition to my meetings with university representatives, I met with leaders from the cattle industry, including the Sociedad Rural which is responsible for maintaining the genetic lines of cattle that are so important to the quality of the beef industry."

Chile:

• "During our visit, Chile was in the midst of a national election that has resulted in a January run-off contest between Michelle Bachelet, poised to become the first woman elected president of a major Latin American power, and second-place candidate Sebastian Pinera. While we were in Chile, the former Peruvian president, Alberto Fujimori, returned to Latin America and was jailed in Chile, where he apparently intends to run against the unpopular Alejandro Toledo. (When I met President Toledo, he was still a faculty member at ESAN in Lima, and I was impressed with his knowledge of business and economics. His roots among the indigenous people of Peru seemed to provide him with an understanding of the special challenges of this diverse and complex country, but his disappointing accomplishments have certainly opened the way for change.) However, the corruption and aftermath of former President Fujimori's time as president of Peru seem to make him an unlikely successor to President Toledo."
• "Chile's economy is healthy. Its productivity per worker has risen in the early years of the 21^st century. Its GDP has grown at an average rate of 5.8% between 1984 and 2005. Its foreign exchange reserves have been growing, and it has a current account surplus. Contributing to the current account surplus were $40 billion in exports last year compared with $29 B in imports. There is considerable attention in the government to controlling fiscal expenses following the substantial privatization of the economy, including roads, airlines, and ports. Chile's economy remains insufficiently diverse with considerable dependence on agriculture and mining, but other exports are growing. Among the more interesting decisions by the government was the decision to create a free trade agreement with China. This is China's first free trade agreement. Its very slow implementation schedule makes this one that will be difficult to evaluate for some time to come, but it does pose very interesting implications for the challenges of manufacturing growth in Chile in the next decade."
• "Chile has a very diverse set of universities. Among the most important research universities are the University of Chile and the Pontificia Catolica. CSU has a history of relationships with the Catholic University, and I met with the dean of engineering and a representative from agriculture. There is considerable interest in the engineering program at the Catholic University in a stronger relationship with Colorado State University. We have a long history of excellence in civil engineering, and both Chile and the USA share common interests in managing better our water resources."
• "All in all, the mission provided an excellent opportunity to position Colorado well in critical, growing markets."

You're Invited…To Connect with Engineering

The College of Engineering at Colorado State University actively collaborates and engages with business and industry, providing corporate and government partners with access to talented students and the opportunity to build relationships with active faculty researchers, find networking opportunities and leverage resources. Through these partnerships, CSU's College of Engineering connects qualified students directly with industrial partners for internships, job opportunities, and research activities. Click here to connect with the College.

A Great Pair for 100 Years: National Western Stock Show and Colorado State University

Congratulations to the National Western Stock Show on wrapping up another great year of events spotlighting agriculture and the livestock industries! Every January for the last century, CSU students, faculty, alumni, and staff have participated in the Stock Show as exhibitors, judges, interns and volunteers. And each year the National Western Scholarship Trust awards scholarships to Colorado State students to support learning and research and develop leaders for the food and agri-industries of the 21^st century.

This partnership began with the university's roots as a land-grant university focused on ensuring a reliable food supply – and continues today in recognition of CSU's expanded role as a 21^st land-grant institution and the ongoing importance of the ag and livestock industries to Colorado. Agriculture in Colorado provides nearly $1 billion in exports annually, with strong markets in Mexico, Japan, Canada and Korea. More than 105,000 Colorado jobs are related to agribusiness. Cattle and calves are the state's top agricultural commodity, with 2.5 million head of cattle in the state. Approximately 75.5 percent of the state's $5.5 billion in agricultural cash receipts are attributed to the livestock industry.

J.D. Edwards Exec Joins CSU as Executive-in-Residence

Rick Snow, former vice president, general counsel and secretary of business software giant J.D. Edwards & Co., will serve as Executive-in-Residence for CSU's College of Business for the Spring 2006 semester. Snow will lecture in select undergraduate and graduate courses, assist the career counseling program, help faculty connect with industry representatives, mentor students and advise the dean and key college leaders on strategic planning. Snow started the legal department at J.D. Edwards in 1990 and grew it to 45 people before retiring in 2004. In addition to his advisory role within the college, Snow will teach business law and ethics in the college's evening MBA and distance-learning programs. The Executive-in-Residence Program is intended to enhance the academic excellence of the College of Business with the practical experience of senior business executives. The program supplements the educational experience of business students by matching qualified business leaders at different levels to volunteer opportunities within the college.

Congratulations Are in Order…

Congratulations to Denver Metro Chamber President and CEO Joe Blake and Bonifacio "Boney" Cosyleon, president of Byerly and Cosyleon Inc. in Pueblo, who have been named by Governor Owens as the newest members of the CSU System Board of Governors. With their exceptional backgrounds in business and community involvement, Joe and Boney both bring an acute understanding of the complex issues facing Colorado higher education to their work with the Board. This expertise is invaluable as we work to ensure the immediate and long-term success of Colorado State University and Colorado higher education as a whole.