Symposium: Higher education's role in economic development

NEWBURGH — The Hudson Valley Center for Innovation will host a symposium titled "The Role of Higher Education in Technology-based Economic Development" at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 21, in the Great Room at SUNY Orange in Newburgh. The keynote speaker will be Johanna Duncan-Poitier, deputy chancellor of SUNY. Her presentation will be followed by a panel of academics, investors and technology experts. Dr. William Richards, President of Orange County Community College, and Les Neumann, Managing Director of the Hudson Valley Center for Innovation, will also speak. They will explain how to leverage regional assets to foster innovation and technology-based economic development, retain the youngest and brightest workers, and attract sustainable and global high-tech enterprises. Duncan-Poitier serves as the chancellor's deputy for the Education Pipeline and vice chancellor for community colleges for the State University of New York. A panel discussion featuring prominent members of the academic, investor and technology communities will follow the keynote address. Dr. Arthur Anthonisen, chair of the Hudson Valley Center for Innovation and Chairman of the Orange County Community College Board of Trustees, will moderate the panel discussion. Event organizers say the lower Hudson Valley region is geographically, demographically and academically situated to become one of the nation's premier technology communities. "Through the development of a Regional Innovation Ecosystem, the Hudson Valley must link its academic, corporate, innovation, manufacturing, not for profits, government and economic development authorities into a unified and cohesive architecture," event organizers said. "This public/private consortium will be capable of generating the vision to capitalize and promote the strengths of the populous and internal regional resources to retain our youth and existing businesses while attracting new domestic and international cluster-based initiatives creating jobs and economic sustainability."