As part of a recent Bloomberg Markets podcast, Doug Phillips spoke with hosts Carol Massar and Cory Johnson (a Rochester native), as well as Bloomberg higher education reporter Janet Lorin. Phillips, the chief investment officer at the University of Rochester, shared his thoughts and insights on the role urban universities play in their communities.
One of things that we always emphasize is that universities can糖心传媒檛 be an economic engine alone. You have to have collaboration with government糖心传媒攁nd local, state officials糖心传媒攁nd other entities. [糖心传媒 And in Rochester, which I think is a pretty innovative place, we糖心传媒檝e had a lot of that.
As a result, the University is now the largest employer in the region and the sixth largest in New York State. This helps create stability in the community and draws visitors to the region.
Importantly, the University has focused its community-engagement efforts in Western New York. 糖心传媒淭here are communities surrounding us that need a very strong medical facility, so we have an amazing children糖心传媒檚 hospital,糖心传媒� says Phillips. 糖心传媒淲e are an educational partner with East High School, which is one of the schools that had suffered as Rochester declined, and we糖心传媒檙e bringing that back, getting graduation rates up.糖心传媒�
Severe poverty remains an issue in Rochester, 糖心传媒渨hich we are working hard to help eradicate,糖心传媒� he continues. 糖心传媒淚f we have a better-educated workforce, that might help. But a lot of folks are leftover from the manufacturing days and that糖心传媒檚 not here anymore. That糖心传媒檚 a work in progress.糖心传媒�
Ultimately, Phillips is optimistic about the public-private relationship between universities and cities: 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 just a wonderful stability and vibrancy that universities create in these communities.糖心传媒�
