Westchester”™s colleges and universities generate more than $1.2 billion annually for the local economy, according to a study by the Westchester County Association.
And many of those institutions of higher learning figure to play a major role in the Blueprint Accelerator Network Inc., a business incubator that was launched in March as part of the WCA”™s economic development initiative, The Blueprint for Westchester.
Officials representing 10 Westchester colleges and universities joined WCA leaders May 3 to announce the next steps in the education component of the initiative.
The collaboration between the WCA and the colleges stems from an October 2011 memorandum of understanding drafted by the WCA and signed by 14 school presidents, under which the colleges pledged to do their part to shore up the county”™s reputation for economic growth.
“Thanks in part to several steps taken by collective higher education groups and the collaboration of our colleges and universities, this region is undergoing a transformation that will fuel research (opportunities) and job growth,” said Kimberly R. Cline, president of Mercy College, which is based in Dobbs Ferry and has satellite campuses in New York City and Yorktown Heights.
Cline is also chair of the WCA”™s higher education committee.
As part of the partnership, the 14 colleges and universities will create an online database containing all academic programs offered in Westchester, they will produce a joint career fair in the fall and they will work with the Blueprint Accelerator Network to supply mentors and interns for the businesses accepted into the program.
As Westchester”™s businesses seek to emulate the growth of businesses and startups in areas like the Research Triangle in North Carolina and Silicon Valley in California, the county”™s higher education centers will play a pivotal role, said William V. Cuddy, executive vice president in CB Richard Ellis”™ Stamford, Conn., office and chairman of the Blueprint.
“The one commonality for all of those successful economic development platforms was a partnership that involved academia,” Cuddy said.
[Editor’s note — This article has been updated to reflect the following correction: Mercy College is based in Dobbs Ferry and has satellite campuses in New York City and Yorktown Heights.]
