Release

Metropolitan Area Policy Expert Bruce J. Katz Discusses New Rules for Regional Economic Success for Tech Valley
Business-Higher Education Roundtable's Innovation in Tech Valley Series

Contact: Catherine Herman (518) 437-4980

ALBANY, N.Y. (December 13, 2005) -- The Business-Higher Education Roundtable (BHER), a five-county alliance of area academic and business chief executives, is holding an interactive strategy forum, The Competitiveness of Metropolitan Areas and What Tech Valley Can Do, with Bruce J. Katz, a national policy expert from the Brookings Institution, as the second offering in BHER's Innovation in Tech Valley series. The series engages global experts with area leaders in discussion of next-stage strategies to advance Tech Valley's global competitiveness.

"The melding of technology, business acumen and higher education is crucial to the economic success of our region as we compete in a global marketplace," said University at Albany President and BHER Co-Convenor Kermit L. Hall. "We will need the new innovative, entrepreneurial strategies that Bruce Katz is recommending for our arsenal, if we are to forge a new economic culture in the region."

Katz will talk about the need for regions to adapt to dramatic economic and demographic changes to be successful in the future, and will describe the new rules for economic success. An expert on both national policy and Upstate New York, Katz will put this region in a comparative light. A facilitated discussion will follow aimed at strategies to advance the global competitiveness of Tech Valley.

"The rules of economic success in the U.S. have dramatically changed given the rapid pace of demographic change and economic restructuring" said Bruce J. Katz, Vice President and Director, Metropolitan Policy Program, The Brookings Institution. "The new metropolitan reality requires political, corporate and civic leaders to move beyond parochial concerns and think and act regionally. To be prosperous, regions now need to leverage the new drivers of economic growth—innovation, entrepreneurship, education—promote the vitality and vibrancy of cities and older suburbs, and find new ways of governing across counties and municipalities."

BHER is a non-partisan, non-political alliance of college and university presidents and business executives in a five-county area collaborating to advance the region's economic growth and quality of life. Both visionary and catalyst, the group works to build the region's competitiveness at all levels. Katz is participating in the forum at the invitation of Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and BHER member, who serves on the board of the Brookings Institute.

"The BHER strategic forums unite area leaders with national experts to address critical questions facing our region's economic future," said Michael D. Marvin, BHER Co-Convenor and Chairman Emeritus of MapInfo Corporation. "How does Tech Valley fit into the world picture? What is our global competitive position? These are all questions BHER strives to answer."

Katz writes and comments widely on urban and metropolitan issues ranging from demographic trends and economic development to urban and regional politics and transportation reform. His publications and articles include Redefining Urban and Suburban American: Evidence from Census 2000 (co-editor) and Reflections on Regionalism (editor) and his work has appeared in Business Week, The Atlantic Monthly, the Washington Post, the Christian Science Monitor and other major publications. His current projects include Redefining Metropolitan Economies; Growing the Urban Middle Class; and Transforming Weak Market Cities.

A graduate of Brown University in Rhode Island, and Yale Law School, Katz is currently a Visiting Professor of Social Policy at the London School of Economics. Before joining Brookings, he served as Chief of Staff to Henry G. Cisneros, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and has also served as the Staff Director of the Senate Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Affairs.

BHER Members
Co-Convenors Kermit Hall (University at Albany) and Michael Marvin (Chairman Emeritus, MapInfo Corporation); Harry Apkarian (TransTech Systems, Inc.); Guha Bala (Vicarious Visions); James Barba (Albany Medical Center); Gabriel Basil (Schenectady County Community College); Murray Block (Interim, Excelsior College); Steven Boyle (St. Peter’s Health Care Services); Mark Cattini (MapInfo Corporation); William Dake (Stewart’s Ice Cream Co.); Steven Fischer (Mechanical Technology Inc.); Philip Glotzbach (Skidmore College); James Gozzo (Albany College of Pharmacy); Thomas Guernsey (Albany Law School); Thomas Haas (SUNY Cobleskill); Daniel Hogarty, Jr. (First Niagara Financial Group); Shirley Ann Jackson (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute); Susan Lehrman (Graduate College of Union University); Fr. Kevin Mackin (Siena College); Thomas J. Marusak (Comfortex Corporation); Elliott Masie (The Masie Center); Andrew Matonak (Hudson Valley Community College); George McNamee (First Albany Corp.); Joseph Moore (Empire State College, SUNY); Jeanne Neff (The Sage Colleges); Deborah Onslow (WMHT Educational Telecommunications); James Reed, MD (Northeast Health); Carl Rosner (CardioMag Imaging Inc.); Frank Schmeler (Albany International Corp.); Craig Skevington (Flow Management Technologies); Robert Smanik (Ellis Hospital); R. Mark Sullivan (The College of Saint Rose); James Underwood (Interim, Union College)