Malloy: UConn investment means better hiring pool

At a time when Connecticut”™s job market remains stagnant, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said his proposal to invest $1.5 billion into the University of Connecticut over the next 10 years is an attempt to magnify one of the state”™s important economic drivers.

“(It”™s) holding our feet to fire, concentrating on what”™s important, addressing our weaknesses and building upon our strengths,” Malloy said at UConn”™s Stamford Learning Accelerator Feb. 20. “It”™s the kind of thing that in our business courses we would teach our students to do.”

The Next Generation Connecticut investment calls for UConn to increase undergraduate enrollment by a third, construct new science and technology facilities, hire faculty and build student housing worth $10 million on the Stamford campus.

The plan would increase undergraduate enrollment in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields by 42 percent and school of engineering enrollment by 70 percent.

With jobs in STEM fields growing three times as fast as non-STEM jobs, Malloy and UConn officials say the investment would prepare students to meet the professional workforce needs and further establish the Stamford campus as a hub for business innovation.

Future graduates in digital media, risk management and international business ”” all new programs at the Stamford campus ”” would also increase to help meet the demand for jobs in those areas.

Between 2010 and 2012, there were roughly 700 active candidates for 2,500 Fairfield County job openings in digital media, according to data supplied by UConn. Likewise, about 400 candidates were vying for 1,600 open financial manager and analysts positions.

“I really think that most of the ambitious people that we create in this state will leave this state forever and if we don”™t generate the big ideas, increase the wealth and open up opportunities to boost the culture of the state,” said UConn President Susan Herbst. “We”™ll be left in the dust by states who are lesser than us.”

At a Feb. 27 meeting of the UConn board of trustees, the board was scheduled to vote on the creation of a digital Media and Design major, in addition to other items.

The Next Generation expansion would more than double undergraduate enrollment on the Stamford campus, adding 300 students per year.

Chris Bruhl, president and CEO of the Business Council of Fairfield County, said he supports the expansion, noting that the more students the area has, the “cooler” it will be. Thus, he said, it would be easier for businesses to attract and retain employees.

“Businesses in Connecticut compete on human capital, on what we know, what we can innovate, what we can do,” Bruhl said. “Therefore, higher education is the foundation of economic competitiveness.”

Under the Next Generation proposal, Connecticut would invest $1.5 billion over 10 years and UConn would contribute about $385 million, with $235 million of that coming from funds that would be diverted from the UConn 2000 initiative.

Bruhl said he believes the state can afford the year-by-year investment, especially given low interest rates.

“It”™s an investment with a payoff, it”™s not a borrowing for consumption,” he said.

Given the tight budgetary climate, however, Bruhl said the size of the project may need to be scaled down if necessary.

“The broader budget needs to be considered as an entire document,” he said. “Don”™t just save one item you love while the rest have to suffer.”