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The University of Toledo and the
Science and Technology Corridor


 UT has stepped forward to provide support for the economic transformation of the region through the development of the Toledo Science and Technology Corridor (see map below). The Corridor is a partnership to marshal the resources of the technology entities in the region so that research produced at local universities is transformed into innovations to promote long-term economic development and diversification as well as a positive transformation of depressed inner-city neighborhoods. It is both a regional initiative and a "technology district" within Toledo.

Peter Kay, a former economic adviser for the Pennsylvania Governor’s Office, has been hired as director of the Toledo Science and Technology Corridor.

Kay has been appointed to develop and implement a plan for the UT Corridor. He will obtain support for the Corridor from the community leaders as well as the local neighborhoods, preparing proposals and other initiatives in order to gain funding and encouragement for for UT Corridor projects. Kay will also seek out and recruit high-tech businesses in conjunction with ecenomic development partners.

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Photo from The Toledo Blade article (click photo to see article).

Specific activities include:

  • Corridor management support
  • Partial support of "technology cluster leaders"
  • Product development of university technology to lead to commercialization in the Corridor
  • Incubation services through the resources of the RGP, UT College of Business
  • Administration and College of Engineering
  • Secondary and Post-Secondary Workforce Development programs aimed at talent retention and increasing capacity in traditionally under-represented groups.

 

Led by The University of Toledo (UT), the Toledo Science and Technology Corridor is a community partnership marshalling the business, education, and technology resources in the region for the purpose of economic diversification and revitalization. As Northwest Ohio continues to experience population and job losses due to its heavy reliance on traditional manufacturing, regional business and government leaders have embraced a new path to lead to economic transformation and revitalization. As a long-term UT and community initiative, the Corridor will facilitate commercial innovation based on University research, provide long-term development opportunities and support positive transformation of economically depressed neighborhoods. Supported by the Regional Growth Partnership, the Corridor will further develop an industry cluster strategy for economic development in Northwest Ohio by fostering collaboration among the region's technology organizations as well as creating a "technology district" within Toledo that will focus R&D and educational activities between the campuses of UT and the Medical University of Ohio at Toledo (MUOT).

The Corridor will transform the City of Toledo, particularly adjacent to the campuses of UT and MUOT. The Corridor will include University research centers and incubation facilities, a venture capital fund, development land and ultimately a transit system. The Corridor will also encompass key workforce development programs including expansion of UT's Capacity Building Program to increase technical workforce and contractor base from under-represented groups in support of clusters, and a UT based Early College High School, in partnership with TPS, focused on retaining talented students who might otherwise leave Northwest Ohio for post-secondary education and career employment. The Corridor supports clusters by providing mechanisms to promote collaboration among the region's technology organizations as well as the creation of a "technology district" within Toledo that will focus R&D and educational activities between the campuses of UT and MUOT. The Corridor will house university research centers, university incubation facilities, a new joint UT- Toledo Public Schools (TPS) Early College High School, development land, transit systems, and university capacity-building programs that will train individuals from underrepresented groups to enter the workforce in growing and new industries. Although technology developed at the local universities can be licensed globally, our desire is to develop local entrepreneurs who will take advantage of local assets to create opportunities locally.

UT and the community have taken important steps in the establishment of the Corridor.
  • In January, 2005, the University purchased a 30,000 sf building on the UT Bancroft campus as its incubation/alternative energy technology center. The building has approximately 15,000 square feet of finished office space and 15,000 square feet of high-bay, unfinished industrial space and is in excellent condition. There are currently five tenants including two faculty spin-off businesses, two small businesses not associated with UT, UT's Wright Center for Photovoltaic Electricity and Hydrogen, and a State of Ohio Edison Industrial Service Center business assistance agency. Eventually UT's Office of Research, the Director of the Science and Technology Corridor, technology assistance staff of the RGP, and a regional Venture Capital corporation will move into the building.
  • The University is working with federal partners to bring their research programs into the Corridor as well. The USDA's Agricultural Research Service has located a small technical unit in the corridor as our first federal presence and UT has had discussion with NREL about having a presence in the Corridor through a Cooperative Agreement.
  • The University is now interviewing candidates for Director of the S&T Corridor. The position, funded by the UT Foundation, will be filled by September, 2005. Position Description, PDF.
  • The University hired a consultant in January 2005 to raise $200,000 of community funds to support the Corridor.
  • In Spring 2005, the community began work on its EDA Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for economic development that is to include projects of high priority for economic development.
  • Using funds from the Regional Growth Partnership, UT and the RGP have commissioned an external firm to provide an implementation study for incubators in the Corridor. This report will be completed by September, 2005.
  • UT has invited qualified firms through an RFI process to provide their ideas on how they would develop the Corridor and their qualifications for completing such a study. A formal RFP was distributed in July.

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This page was modified on March 11, 2008 .