{"id":75692,"date":"2013-04-11T16:04:58","date_gmt":"2013-04-11T20:04:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=75692"},"modified":"2013-04-16T11:07:42","modified_gmt":"2013-04-16T15:07:42","slug":"more-than-100-companies-business-groups-endorsing-next-generation-connecticut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2013\/04\/more-than-100-companies-business-groups-endorsing-next-generation-connecticut\/","title":{"rendered":"More Than 100 Companies, Business Groups Endorsing Next Generation Connecticut"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Gov.<\/a>
Gov. Dannel Malloy speaks at the event in support of the Next Generation Connecticut initiative at the Capitol Building on April 11. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More than 100 corporations, trade and labor groups, local businesses, and other entities concerned with strengthening Connecticut\u2019s economic development and job creation efforts have signed on to endorse the Next Generation Connecticut<\/a> proposal.<\/p>\n

\"President<\/a>
President Susan Herbst speaks about the Next Generation Connecticut initiative. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, University of Connecticut President Susan Herbst, legislative leaders, and representatives from several of the supporting businesses and organizations revealed the full list<\/a> at an event at the State Capitol on Thursday.<\/p>\n

They range from Fortune 500 companies to chambers of commerce, labor and trade organizations, research groups, local and regional businesses, and other entities. The list continues to grow, with new corporate supporters stepping forward on a steady basis to endorse the initiative.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey understand they need human capital to compete with the rest of the world,\u201d Malloy told the crowd Thursday, outlining the need for an innovation-based economy and Next Generation Connecticut\u2019s potential to help drive job creation in high-tech fields.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are important investments that will allow us to be successful not in the past, but in the future \u2013 not with yesterday\u2019s technologies, but with tomorrow\u2019s technologies,\u201d Malloy said. \u201cIt also ensures we will be competitive to keep the jobs we have in the state and attract others.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"John<\/a>
John Rathgeber, president and CEO of the Connecticut Business & Industry Alliance, speaks at the Next Generation Connecticut event. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Next Generation Connecticut (#NextGenCT) is a multi-faceted plan to build the state\u2019s economic future through strategic investments in science, technology, engineering, and math disciplines (STEM) at the University of Connecticut.<\/p>\n

It involves leveraging UConn\u2019s resources to fuel Connecticut\u2019s economy with new technologies, highly skilled graduates, new companies, patents, licenses, and research innovations leading to more high-wage STEM jobs in the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve said it everywhere I have gone and I\u2019ll keep saying it: This proposal is not about the governor and the legislature wanting to \u2018do something for<\/i> UConn.\u2019 Quite the opposite \u2013 it\u2019s about what Connecticut\u2019s leadership wants UConn to accomplish for this state, its people, its businesses, and its economy,\u201d Herbst said Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something that the University is perfectly positioned to do. Next Generation Connecticut was tailored to utilize UConn\u2019s specific, unique assets and abilities as a research institution,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The return on investment in the NextGen proposal was also attractive to state leaders and business officials at Thursday\u2019s event. The initiative is estimated to bring in $270 million in new research dollars over 10 years, spur well over half a billion dollars in business activity, and support more than 4,000 permanent jobs, plus 30,000 construction jobs.<\/p>\n

\"Lori<\/a>
Lori Pelletier, right, secretary-treasurer of the Connecticut AFL-CIO, speaks at the event. At left are Gov. Dannel Malloy and President Susan Herbst. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The dozens of companies, trade groups, labor and civic organizations, and others who have signed on to endorse the initiative come from throughout the state and a variety of industries.<\/p>\n

Several companies endorsing the initiative already have invested significantly in building a STEM workforce for their companies and industries, and praise Next Generation Connecticut\u2019s opportunities for research partnerships.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have spent years collaborating with research agencies and universities like UConn to advance our hydrogen generation technology, and have witnessed the impact that partnerships have on scientific innovation and economic growth,\u201d said Robert Friedland, co-founder, president, and CEO of Wallingford-based Proton OnSite.<\/p>\n

“We believe in Next Generation Connecticut\u2019s mission, and share the initiative\u2019s commitment to encouraging the next generation of engineers and spurring innovation in Connecticut,” Friedland says.<\/p>\n

\"Donald<\/a>
Donald Williams, state senate president pro tempore, speaks at the Next Generation Connecticut event. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Friedland was among several speakers at Thursday\u2019s event. Others included State Senate President Pro Tem Donald Williams Jr.; House Speaker Brendan Sharkey; Edmond Murphy, senior director of technology planning and intellectual property at JDS Uniphase in Bloomfield; John Rathgeber, president and CEO of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association; and Lori Pelletier, secretary-treasurer of the Connecticut AFL-CIO.<\/p>\n

The initiative includes expanding enrollment and faculty at UConn, and renovating and adding appropriate facilities in STEM disciplines to put students and faculty at the forefront in research in everything from biosciences to thermodynamics, agricultural sciences, and pharmaceutical advances.<\/p>\n

\"Provost<\/a>
Provost Mun Choi speaks at the Next Generation Connecticut event. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Stamford campus curriculum would also be expanded with a strong focus on digital media and business programs in fields with fast-growing employment opportunities, and UConn would establish the nation\u2019s first STEM honors program.<\/p>\n

The proposal involves a 10-year, $1.5 billion capital component outlined in Senate Bill 840, An Act Concerning Next Generation Connecticut, which currently awaits legislative action. The commitment to the initiative is a shared fiduciary responsibility, with UConn contributing $235 million for the building program and $149 million in operating funds to support the academic program components.<\/p>\n

In addition to bolstering job creation in high-tech STEM fields and driving innovation, Next Generation Connecticut would create 30,000 construction jobs through 2024.<\/p>\n

\"Janine<\/a>
Janine Caira, left, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, speaks with Damian Wasserbauer of Canton about her electron microscope photographs of tapeworms at the Capitol Building on April 11. (Peter Morenus\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A list, including Fortune 500 companies, chambers of commerce, labor groups, and local and regional businesses, was revealed at the Capitol Thursday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":75696,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[124],"class_list":["post-75692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-12 10:00:05","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75692"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75692\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75746,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75692\/revisions\/75746"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/75696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75692"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=75692"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=75692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}