As I See It
by Angela Bennett
Special to The Star
The recent announcement that the University of Missouri system’s newest research park had acquired its first tenant was another positive sign that the university’s direct involvement in economic development was paying dividends for Missouri.
Analytical Bio-Chemistry Laboratories, an international firm that conducts biological and chemical research for drug and chemical companies, will soon break ground for a $15 million facility at the University’s Discovery Ridge research park in Columbia.
This is good news for ABC Labs and the university — and even better news for Missouri’s economy.
To remain competitive, ABC Labs needs ready access to skilled employees and to the latest research developments, both of which are available nearby on the university’s Columbia campus.
For the university, a successful and proven high-tech tenant like ABC Labs will make it easier to attract other companies to Discovery Ridge.
In turn, those firms will provide our faculty with opportunities for collaborative research and our students with internships and employment.
The state’s drive to become a leader in the life sciences, a field with tremendous economic potential, also will be strengthened by ABC Labs’ continued presence. Combining the resources of private firms like ABC Labs with the university’s life sciences expertise can help create the “critical mass” needed for success. Discovery Ridge truly will be a place “where science goes to work.”
ABC Labs’ decision to move to Discovery Ridge was not an isolated event. Last fall Express Scripts Inc., a $15 billion pharmaceutical distribution company, agreed to build its headquarters at the University of Missouri-St. Louis’ new research park, rather than move out of state.
Thanks to the university, and with strong support from Gov. Matt Blunt and the Missouri Department of Economic Development, Express Scripts and its 1,200 employees will remain in Missouri, as will ABC Labs and its 250 employees.
One cannot discuss the university’s direct role in economic development without mentioning our first such endeavor, the Missouri Research Park in St. Charles County. The research park not only is home to 17 tenant organizations that employ 2,000 people, it has spawned the growth of a booming high-tech corridor, creating thousands more jobs and millions of dollars in new construction.
The university also operates a technology park at Fort Leonard Wood, the first such park to be located on an active Army post. Plans are being made to expand the park at Fort Wood, as well as to create research parks for our Rolla and Kansas City campuses.
These and other developments affirm and validate the Board of Curators’ decision to add economic development to the university’s traditional missions of teaching, research and service, as recommended by University President Elson Floyd.
They also offer proof positive that Missouri’s investment in public higher education not only serves students and their families, but helps secure our economic future as a state.
Angela Bennett is president of the University of Missouri system Board of Curators. She lives in Kansas City.
