The Board of Governors will conclude its two-day set of meetings in Tallahassee today after discussing on Wednesday the impact Florida's 11 public universities have on the state's economy.
Yesterday's two-hour long morning meeting was comprised of six presentations highlighting the role of the universities' research and faculty in the state's economy.
"Each institution has a large economic impact on its community," wrote Bill Edmonds, the board's spokesman, in an e-mail.
Edmonds said a key point of the presentations marked Florida's public university system as the gateway to Florida's future, which he said relies on furthering a knowledge economy.
This means having innovative research ideas that can be brought to the marketplace, Edmonds said later in a phone interview.
"The key, underlying message is this: Our faculty brings in more than $1 billion (a year) in federal and private research awards," Edmonds wrote, adding commercialization of finished research efforts will benefit the economy.
He estimated the amount of grant money UF receives a year is close to half of that $1 billion.
A presentation given during the meeting by David Day, director of UF's Office of Technology Licensing, showed UF leads the state in technology transfer, which deals with commercializing the ideas and developments made in research labs, according to Edmonds.
Presentations were also given on the development of the University of Central Florida's new medical school and reducing Florida's economic reliance on agriculture, tourism and housing, moving the focus to research and technology.
"The universities are economic engines of this new economy," Edmonds wrote.
While Florida's 11 universities currently house about 300,000 students and about 63,000 employees, Edmonds said growth must continue.
"We are currently, in fact, an under-educated state," he wrote. "Florida must catch up if we are to be a player, not just a spectator."
During today's meetings, the Board of Governors will discuss the happenings of the Florida legislative session and get status reports from its various committees.
