talent, grants and intellectual property into our super region,” said Rick Homans,
“On a larger scale, the University of Florida,
president/CEO of the Tampa Bay Partnership. “The academic excellence of
the University of Central Florida and the
these three top-tier universities provides the most compelling advantage when
University of South Florida have developed a
it comes to our efforts to attract high-wage jobs and transformative investment
highly symbiotic relationship over the last two
to the region.”
decades,” she said. “The competition and
collaboration among the three universities and
And the state’s elder statesman among universities, the University of Florida, not
their respective business ecosystems make the
only continues its land grant mission of statewide service, but has in recent years
High Tech Corridor a powerhouse of tech talent,
propelled the Gainesville area forward with new jobs producing a hotbed of
innovation and opportunity for Florida and the
tech activity.
entire U.S.”
“The University of Florida and its $700 million a year research engine
gives Gainesville the capacity it needs to forge high-impact publicprivate partnerships and research capabilities such as those in Boston,
New York, Austin and numerous other tech hubs across the country,”
said Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Susan
Davenport. “Alone, UF’s Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering
produces 28 percent of all STEM graduates of Florida’s public
universities.”
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