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Instead of flying out of town for our annual leadership trip, we will be “visiting” the St. Louis region this month. Some 125 elected officials, civic and business leaders will experience three days in St. Louis as though we’ve flown in from another city.
In the past, our leadership delegation has toured places like Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland, Denver, San Diego, Seattle and Toronto to examine some of the best practices in other regions. “Visiting” St. Louis from October 9th through 11th will give our region’s leadership a look at St. Louis through the lens of other leadership delegations that have recently visited St. Louis, including places like Birmingham, Charlotte, Richmond, Jacksonville, Nashville and New Orleans.
We will look at various aspects of what’s taking place in our region in regards to center city revitalization, economic development and infrastructure improvements. We will also investigate what’s going on in our life science industry. With so much happening in our region over the past several years, the RCGA board of directors decided that it would be timely for our region’s leadership to take a closer look at St. Louis.
Another subject we will witness during our leadership trip will be the broad range of impacts that higher education brings to our region—which is the focus of this month’s
St. Louis Commerce Magazine. In the cover story, Bill Beggs Jr. profiles the region’s university chancellors and college presidents—from small liberal-arts colleges to big research universities from both sides of the river, each leader has a unique perspective.
James Nicholson writes about how universities are working to help revitalize their surrounding neighborhoods.
Brian R. Hook profiles how universities are investing in the region, from major redevelopment ventures like CORTEX—a consortium dedicated to the development of a nationally recognized life-sciences industry in Midtown St. Louis that includes Washington University, the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and Saint Louis University. He also writes about collaborations between faculty and start-up companies.
These types of developments start to add up as Bryan Bezold, RCGA director of research and chief economist explains. He estimates that the post-secondary educational institutions across the region provide at least $3.9 billion in annual economic impact to the metro area. Bezold writes that the 31,200 employees at these educational institutions earn an estimated $1.17 billion per year. These jobs support another 19,600 jobs in St. Louis.
Finally, in our spotlight, Christine Imbs profiles Tom George, the chancellor of the University of Missouri- St. Louis. In addition to running the university, George is a classically trained pianist who likes and plays jazz music. Imbs writes, George compares running the university to playing jazz. “In classical music if you make a mistake it’s just wrong. But in jazz a mistake is an opportunity,” he says. Something for all leaders to consider.
We hope you enjoy this issue of St. Louis Commerce. Send your comments and suggestions to us at dfleming@stlrcga.org.
RICHARD C.D. FLEMING
President and Chief Executive Officer
St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association
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