Norman — On March 2 the Sooner Centurions and the NEDC hosted a consultant that presented his interpretation of a historical economic analysis of Norman and Cleveland County. Our local data was presented and compared against the best and worst performing economies from around the country.
The historical economic data reflected that Cleveland County was comparable to the best economies in terms of number of jobs, but was comparable to the worst economies in terms of wages. The interpretation was that many of the jobs created in the community were in low wage sectors. The charts also showed that we have the highest concentration of earnings in just one area (government), while the best performing economies have three or four sectors all with about the same percentages. The diversity provided through multiple sectors gives these economies more economic depth and allows for more potential growth. Both of these factors, low wages and lack of economic diversity, are areas where Norman must concatenate our efforts if we are to change these trends.
Unfortunately, the notion has emerged from the press coverage of the event that the lack of creation of these higher paying jobs should be the responsibility of the university. This notion is wrong. In terms of economic impact, the University of Oklahoma is our largest employer and provides the highest paying jobs. Moreover, the constant updating of the campus supported by President Boren has produced significant impacts in our community through construction. In fact the money brought to the community by the students and visitors to the campus is one of the largest contributors of outside income to our economy. Every home OU football game brings in approximately $8 million to our community in terms of travel, food and retail.
OU contributes to the community in so many other ways including the quality of life with its libraries, museums, sporting events, guest lectures and the list goes on. Our community is nationally known because of the university and the excellence it constantly strives to provide within academia and in our sports programs. OU’s commitment to economic development in the Norman community is unparalleled. Their support of the NEDC through financial contributions allows us to constantly recruit new and upcoming technology companies who will become major employers in the area. The research that comes out of the university brings in money from across the nation and leads to the creation of new high tech companies. Their entrepreneurial programs in the College of Business and the Center for Creation of Economic Wealth help train the next generation on how to convert this research into strong viable companies able to produce high paying jobs. The university is doing its part to create economic development opportunities but they must be supported in those efforts by the public and private sectors if we are to see the results of those efforts create the high paying jobs we desire.
We have the blueprint in the Southwest NanoTechnologies (SWeNT). This technology was developed at OU and a private company was formed to commercialize the technology here in Norman. NEDC has supported that effort by building SWeNT a state-of-the-art facility, equipment, and providing funds, along with other investors, to move the company and the technology to the forefront of the single wall carbon nanotube industry. This platform technology will create those high wage jobs we desire but we need to be prepared to duplicate this same effort with multiple companies in multiple technologies.
Norman needs to create a high tech infrastructure to support new company startups. If we don’t, the opportunities created at our university will go to places that have the capital, facilities, expertise and the desire to succeed. This is the dialogue that Norman and the NEDC should be focused on and this is where the Economic Summit should have taken us. We cannot and should not look to the university to do this for us. Instead, Norman must be willing to provide the university with a business creation support system that will take what the university has developed and create those high paying jobs. OU is doing its part by providing us with opportunities, it is time that we do our part. If we don’t, we as citizens of Norman will miss out on opportunities to further develop our wonderful community. If we wish to provide a stronger economy, NEDC and community we must be willing to work together to make this goal a priority.
Don Wood is executive director of the Norman Economic Development Coalition.
