Make this happen, please
Thursday, Oct 19, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* When Bruce Rauner was elected, this is exactly the sort of thing I hoped he’d be doing…
Rauner is backing the University of Illinois-led Discovery Partners Institute, a public-private facility for conducting specialized research in an array of fields, including computing and big data, food and agriculture, and health and wellness.
The center, which is to be announced officially on Thursday morning, is intended to bring together academic faculty, students and companies to collaborate on research and to parlay that work into new products and companies, U. of I. President Timothy Killeen said.
It would also give the state’s flagship public university, the Urbana-Champaign campus, a prominent footprint in Chicago — a long-held goal — and bring it closer to the city’s most prestigious private institutions. Northwestern University and the University of Chicago have committed to become partners in the new center, school representatives confirmed.
“What if we formed more collaboration with those universities and created a dense network of students, faculty and research; and encouraged them to form businesses, connect them to the university, and give them the rights and ability to take their research and their technology and commercialize them, and develop products?” Rauner said in an interview last week. “We thought that would be a major magnet to keeping and growing the Illinois economy.”
* More…
Dubbed the Discovery Partners Institute, the UI-led initiative would allow top faculty and students from several universities to work side-by-side with industry to produce innovations and spin-off companies that would create high-paying jobs for the state and keep talent in Illinois, according to the UI. […]
Research would initially focus on advances in “big data” technology, from cybersecurity to the “internet of things; in health care, including new drugs and treatments; and in food and agriculture breakthroughs, to improve nutrition and help feed a growing world,” the UI said.
“It incorporates some of what UI Labs is already doing, but this is a much bigger initiative,” said Rauner spokesman Hud Englehart, referring to the public-private research and development organization in Chicago involving the UI, launched in 2013.
Seidel said the new institute will be “much more deeply integrated with the university curriculum” than UI Labs and would hire its own faculty.
The interdisciplinary collaborations would address real-world challenges, in the hopes of creating breakthrough discoveries that lead to new products and companies, while giving students hands-on experience and creating a highly skilled work force for the future, the UI said.
* More…
University of Illinois President Tim Killeen sees the center as a way for the state to retain talent.
“If you look at the state of Illinois we know there is a net outflow of college-ready high school graduates to the tune of about 16,000 a year,” Killeen said. “We want to reverse that arrow if we can,” he said, noting that the goal would be to keep that brain power, degree in hand, in Illinois to build the sort of tax base that creates a healthy state. […]
Plans also include using 40 percent of the land for a public park in the shape of a crescent — an homage to the original shape of the river on the site before it was straightened in the 1920s to accommodate barge traffic.
The site will also include a 100-feet wide riverwalk that developers said will be part of a larger plan to build a continuous river walk extending to Wolf Point. […]
He did say though that he envisions a place that includes, residential, commercial and entertainment that would become a tourist destination.
“What we are building is what we refer to as 78 — the city’s 78th neighborhood,” Bailey said.
- PJ - Thursday, Oct 19, 17 @ 9:53 am:
So we’re looking at a property that’s 40% public part, some percent residential, some part commercial, some part tourist entertainment, and the rest a giant mishmash of Northwestern, O of I, and U of C studying … literally every and making businesses out of it.
This sounds like the Intersect Illinois team did a bunch of acid together and scribbled down the hallucinations that came to them.
A little non-buzzword clarity on what the hell they’re actually going to build, what it’s for and who’ll pay for it would be nice.
- PJ - Thursday, Oct 19, 17 @ 9:54 am:
Should have had my coffee first: public *park, literally *everything
- Blago's Hare - Thursday, Oct 19, 17 @ 9:56 am:
Agreed, this was my hope for Rauner from the start, maybe he has figured out that he needs to work with others. The sooner the better. Not to bash, but Chicago is late to this game. Check out 39 North in St. Louis to see what is and can be done if we work together and have a vision.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 19, 17 @ 9:56 am:
Some context to Bruce Rauner and how he feels about “investing” in Illinois higher education and how his actions have been seen.
Crain’s…
===“Given the financial challenges facing higher education over the past 25 months, our focus has been on protecting our students’ Illinois experience and ensuring their success,” Urbana-Champaign Chancellor Robert Jones said in a statement.===
While I too had hoped Bruce Rauner would prove me wrong time and time again, this premise of a project and the hope it does happen for a better city and state also put into question how Rauner sees higher education. Is it an important tool and asset for this state and Chicago, or a phony unfunded pawn that only got a full year of funding now by an override vote of Bruce Rauner’s veto.
So, “you” don’t matter until “you” do, higher education?
The U of I system is only getting state funding by the bipartisan members of the General Assembly, but Gov. Rauner touts this really great idea while continually refusing to fund the catalyst of this premise.
Rauner has had every opportunity to prove me wrong, but hypocrisy here is placated by Rauner doing what he hasn’t done consistently these 2 1/2 years plus.
You don’t matter to Rauner… until you do.
Prime example.
- My New Handle - Thursday, Oct 19, 17 @ 10:00 am:
I wonder how this “foorprint” helps students afford a college education without a $30,0000 debt attached to their diplomas. I’d rather see greater effort on that front.
- asldkura;c - Thursday, Oct 19, 17 @ 10:01 am:
I see endless commercials featuring a vacant lot that signifies the administrations’ prime economic development accomplishment during the term in office.
- tobor - Thursday, Oct 19, 17 @ 10:02 am:
How long until the election.
- Anon221 - Thursday, Oct 19, 17 @ 10:04 am:
This was the most interesting thing I’ve read so far as to possible support. A surprising take from a former Rauner Rah-Rah.
From today’s News-Gazette:
State Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, said he had heard about the project last week and on Friday called Rauner, who told him that components of the project will help downstate cities such as Champaign-Urbana, Peoria and Rockford.
But he said he still hasn’t heard many details.
“I’m going to reserve judgment until I see what it is,” Rose said.
https://tinyurl.com/ybapxfjv
- Amalia - Thursday, Oct 19, 17 @ 10:05 am:
Perfect headline, Rich.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Oct 19, 17 @ 10:15 am:
Is this idea, murky as it is right now, an example of “investing” or “taxpayer spending,” in troncsylvania?
What’s the difference between a “public-private partnership” and “socialism?” Some consider that a scary, naughty word.
- We'll See - Thursday, Oct 19, 17 @ 10:16 am:
In the 1950’s North Carolina developed the Research Triangle Park and today its one of the world’s premier spots for R&D and it attracts and maintains Fortune 100 companies.
In the words of Daniel Burnham “Make no little plans.”
- ChicagoVinny - Thursday, Oct 19, 17 @ 10:18 am:
These sorts of incubators can have success and are not uncommon at top-flight universities. I’m not so partisan that I’m going to pooh-pooh it because Rauner is pushing it.
I would like to see our state fully fund the Universities, particularly downstate, and not starve them as well, but to me that’s a “yes, and” not an either or.
- Chris P. Bacon - Thursday, Oct 19, 17 @ 10:21 am:
The private sector isn’t already doing basically the same thing on it’s own? Sounds like a boondoggle. And how is UI-Chicago going to feel about UI-Champaign recreating the wheel in its backyard?
Bet it never happens. Kinda like the Olympics, and Toyota-Mazda, and Amazon.
- lake county democrat - Thursday, Oct 19, 17 @ 10:24 am:
I’m not sure how “collaborative” the two private schools (especially University of Chicago) would be, but this would still be a welcome move. Apart from the business development aspects, I wonder how UIC feels about this. Wouldn’t a Chicago UIUC campus pick off some of their best students (ones who had the grades/SAT scores to get into UIUC but maybe needed to stay close to home to save room/board or for personal reasons)? I heard rumors a long time ago that UIC was looking to buy John Marshall Law School and UIUC wasn’t happy about that for the same kind of reasons (some of their best law students might opt for staying in Chicago so long as they could pay in-state public tuition). The flip side to that is between getting some of those students and the attraction of a Chicago campus to other students (and professors), UIUC could reach Ivy League stature like University of Michigan and Cal-Berkeley. Also, a Chicago campus would allow UIUC to offer more spaces to in-state residents while still admitting the robust number of foreign students that they do. Win-wins all around.
- RNUG - Thursday, Oct 19, 17 @ 10:25 am:
So … is this a real plan or just a pipe dream to garner Chicago / suburban Cook votes for re-election?
- Jane A. - Thursday, Oct 19, 17 @ 11:19 am:
I work at a Chicago-area community college and was a TA during grad school at UIC.
Students that attend UIC are often immigrants, or first generation, or first in family to attend college, and drawn heavily from the Chicago area. It is a feeder school for Chicago area community colleges, which have articulation agreements with it.
I would hate to see UIC not be an equal partner in all this. Otherwise the potential optics–and actualities–are really, really bad on multiple levels.
- @MisterJayEm - Thursday, Oct 19, 17 @ 12:36 pm:
“So … is this a real plan or just a pipe dream to garner Chicago / suburban Cook votes for re-election?”
The Trib article says, “No opening date has been set,” so…
– MrJM
- Ghost - Thursday, Oct 19, 17 @ 12:40 pm:
Just to be clear, Rauner after complaining about the research faculty salaries, and chasing some off with budget sabotage, now says those faculty can be the backbone of development?
So is he starving higher ed and reducing valuable faculty to save cash or supporting having these folks around?
- From the 'Dale to HP - Thursday, Oct 19, 17 @ 1:11 pm:
While the idea is interesting, if way light on details and realistic outcomes; why not UIC? And how does Chicago State and Northestern feel about this?
- ArchPundit - Thursday, Oct 19, 17 @ 2:12 pm:
This is essentially an incubator to attract venture capital for translating research into viable ventures. U of C and Northwestern are the primary institutions with the volume of research to be a big part of this and it helps them if they don’t have to invest in their own operation.
It’s great for Illinois because it locates a facility to essentially create small high tech businesses in Chicago that have high potential for growth. It also helps create a specific destination for venture capital from out of town.
UIC probably has some faculty who could work with it, but most other universities in the area simply don’t have the faculty base to work with this kind of operation.
- G'Kar - Thursday, Oct 19, 17 @ 8:25 pm:
On the way home today I listen to the last part of a conversation on the Roe Conn show on WGN with Rauner as a guest talking about this project. My first reaction was that an alien had possessed Rauner’s body as all he was doing was praising Illinois and how everything here from transportation to higher education was “second to none.” He was in pure cheerleader mode.
Of course, there was no mention of him not fully funding higher education since he has been in office, including vetoing their funding this year.
But eventually the real Rauner re-surfaced. He told the story of how GE had Illinois as their top pick for their new headquarters, but, paraphrasing, the problems in Illinois drove them away.
- Blue dog dem - Thursday, Oct 19, 17 @ 8:53 pm:
Wjen my alma mater staerts accepting credits on a reasonable basis fro Illinois JUCOS,then I will support their isead.
- Workin' - Thursday, Oct 19, 17 @ 9:01 pm:
Just what we need - a shiny new object to distract from the crumbling husks of what was once one of the premier state higher education networks. This is a nice idea but if the Governor and his board of higher ed had been doing his job UIC and UIUC would have been working together better and this would not be seen as a shot against UIC.