Making Change

Learn More to Earn More: Education and Taft
November 8, 2002 @ 8:30 PM on WVIZ

DICK FEAGLER:
WE’VE TALKED TODAY ABOUT SOME OF THE CHALLENGES BOB TAFT FACES AS HE BEGINS HIS SECOND TERM AS GOVERNOR… THE MASSIVE HOLE IN THE STATE’S BUDGET. THE IMMINENT OHIO SUPREME COURT RULING ON THE STATE’S SCHOOL FUNDING SYSTEM. NOW, LET’S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT TAFT’S “THIRD FRONTIER” INITIATVE. THE THIRD FRONTIER IS THE GOVERNOR’S $1.6 BILLION PLAN TO CREATE HIGH-PAYING TECHNOLOGY JOBS IN OHIO. NOW PART OF THE MONEY FOR THAT PLAN COMES FROM OHIO’S SHARE OF THE NATIONAL TOBACCO SETTLEMENT. BUT PART OF IT COMES FROM A $500 MILLION BOND ISSUE TAFT WANTS TO PUT BEFORE OHIO VOTERS IN 2003.

NOW VITAL TO THE “THRID FRONTIER” PROPOSAL IS A HIGHLY-EDUCATED WORKFORCE. AND JOINING ME NOW TO TALK ABOUT THE ROLE EDUCATION PLAYS IN REINVENTING OUR STATE AND REGIONAL ECONOMY IS IDEASTREAM’S JULIE HENRY.

JULIE – IS A COLLEGE DEGREE NECESSARY FOR GETTING A JOB THESE DAYS?

JULIE HENRY:
YES, IN TODAY’S ECONOMY, IF YOU WANT TO EARN MORE, YOU HAVE TO LEARN MORE. U.S. CENSUS BUREAU REPORT SHOWS COLLEGE DEGREE WILL GET YOU ALMOST $22,000 MORE PER YEAR THAN A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA. OVER THE COURSE OF A LIFELONG CAREER, THAT’S ALMOST A MILLION DOLLARS.

GOVERNOR’S TECHNOLOGY ACTION BOARD REPORTED IN 1999 THAT TRAINING IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT IF OHIO IS GOING TO COMPETE IN GLOBAL ECONOMY. THE MESSAGE IS, WE NEED TO RELY ON BRAINS AND NOT BRAWN. TAKE A LOOK AT THIS.

MANDY MELTON: What's going on right now with DNA and how it's being used in the medical field and just the promise of what they're going to be able to do with it kind of intrigued me. It's the science of the future, I think.

JH: AND MANDY MELTON IS WORKING HARD TO PREPARE HERSELF FOR THAT FUTURE. MANDY GREW UP IN THE SMALL, NORTHEASTERN OHIO FARMING COMMUNITY OF LaGRANGE. AFTER GRADUATING FROM KEYSTONE HIGH SCHOOL IN 1999, MANDY ENROLLED IN LORAIN COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE, WHERE SHE EARNED AN ASSOCIATES OF SCIENCE DEGREE.

SHE ALSO HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK AT A CLEVELAND BIOPHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY CALLED ATHERSYS. ATHERSYS HAS JOINED FORCES WITH LORAIN COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE TO CREATE TO CREATE A BIO-TECH WORK-BASED LEARNING PROGRAM. AND MANDY… WHO ORIGINALLY PLANNED TO BE A NURSE… SAYS HER ATHERSYS EXPERIENCE HELPED OPEN HER EYES TO A NEW WORLD OF CAREER POSSIBILITIES.

MM: Well I could either work in industry in a place like this or go into academics and do my own independent research. But I'm not really sure what I want to do yet. That's why working here has been so great because it's given me a taste of industry as opposed to academics.

JH: MANDY HAS DECIDED TO FURTHER HER EDUCATION AT CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY… WHERE SHE’S RECEIVED A SCHOLARSHIP TO STUDY BIOTECHNOLOGY. AND AS SHE CONTINUES HER ACADEMIC JOURNEY… SHE’S ALSO BLAZING NEW TRAILS FOR HER FAMILY.

MM: My dad works at Ford and my grandfather worked at GM and my other grandfather was in the military so...yeah, it's a lot of like blue collar workers. So I guess I do kind of stick out. But my younger brother Travis, he seems to be kind of interested in this field, in biology. So maybe he'll get into something because of me, because of my influence.

JH: THE QUESTION IS WILL MANDY’S LITTLE BROTHER BE ABLE TO AFFORD A COLLEGE EDUCATION? THE OHIO BOARD OF REGENTS REPORTS THAT DURING THE LAST THREE YEARS, STATE SPENDING FOR HIGHER EDUCATION HAS BEEN CUT BY ABOUT 260-MILLION DOLLARS FROM WHAT HAD ORIGINALLY BEEN APPROPRIATED… ALL BECAUSE OF STATE BUDGET WOES. NOW THAT’S PUSHED UP TUITION RATES AT OUR STATE UNIVERSITIES… MAKING IT MORE AND MORE DIFFICULT FOR OHIOANS TO GET TH

SO, HOW DOES GOVERNOR BOB TAFT RECONCILE HIS “THIRD FRONTIER” PROJECT – AND ITS NEED FOR A HIGHLY TRAINED WORKFORCE – WITH THE CUTS IN FUNDING FOR HIGHER EDUCATION? WE ASKED HIM IN OCTOBER AT A THIRD FRONTIER SYMPOSIUM AT A WESTLAKE SOFTWARE COMPANY. AND HERE’S WHAT HE SAID.

TAFT: We have uh projects and programs that have made college more affordable for our people, for instance, we have an income tax deduction under the state income tax. we have expanded very significantly our low income scholarship money, we have preserved that and protected that from cuts. and one result of our efforts is that college enrollment has grown by about 30,000 students in Ohio over the last four years. When I took office, we were behind, we are behind, we've had a tough budget recently so our tuitions took a hit in the last year or so, but going forward, higher education will be a priority and we have worked hard to increase our scholarship dollars to help families uh of all types of different incomes to be able to afford to go to college and we're very pleased to see enrollment up 30% (IS IT 30% OR 30,000 STUDENTS???) We think that's significant. We do have to have more people in ohio taking up higher education, two year, four year colleges, graduate degrees, and also people who are in the workforce now going back to college. Very important for our future in the knowledge economy.

DICK QUESTION:
And speaking of retail, Julie, I read in the Plain Dealer that the Galleria finally has a buyer. Now there was talk of turning that space into a business incubator at one point. Is that still the plan?

JULIE:
No, the Plain Dealer reports that the potential buyer, a company called Minshall Stewart properties out of Bethesda, Maryland, want to step in and make the shopping center as vibrant as it once was. You may remember when the galleria opened in 1987, it was hailed as a shining example of downtown revitalization. Today, less than half of its original 62 stores are still open… and the Plain Dealer reported that Talbot's is scheduled to leave the galleria on January 25. In September of 2001, the original developer of the galleria, Richard Jacobs, turned the property over to its mortgage holder… Cigna corporation of Hartford Connecticut. And since then, Cigna has been looking for a buyer. We'll have to wait and see if this deal goes through.

DICK:
And the Plain Dealer pointed out that Werner Minshall, the president of Minshall Stewart properties, is the son of the late rep. William Minshall, a republican who represented most of Cleveland's western suburbs in the U.S. House from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s. Julie - what's coming up next?

JULIE:
Well to get a more detailed picture of our regional economy… check out the making change website at WVIZ.org or WCPN.org. We will link you up to the Center for Regional Economic Issues. They have a number of reports and articles available online that will give you some of the facts you need to make informed choices as we begin reinventing northeast Ohio's economy. We also have other links to sources of retail information, as well as archives of other retail reports filed by myself and by ideastream's Shula Neuman on 90.3 WCPN. Check out our new and improved Making Change website.

Support for the Making Change segments on “Feagler and Friends” is provided through a grant from the SBC Foundation. SBC companies provide a full range of voice, data, networking and e-business services throughout 13 states, including Ohio.