My name is William Ihlanfeldt. I am Northwestern University's Vice President for Institutional Relations, which is the office responsible for government and community relations, and Chairman of the Board of Directors for Research Park, Inc., which is in charge of overall development and management for the Northwestern University/Evanston Research Park. Mr. Chairman, I eun pleased to have the opportunity to testify before this distinguished committee eJjout the Basic Industry Research Laboratory (BIRL) and Biotechnology Center facilities and their relationship to an innovative, two-part economic development project: establishment of the Research Park as a joint venture between Northwestern and the City of Evanston; and construction or modernization of related research facilities on campus. Northwestern is a major research university. In FY1994, Northwestern received a total of $168.5 million in external awards for sponsored programs and had a total operating budget of $678.8 million in expenditures. During the recession of the early 1980s, Northwestern was encouraged by Illinois political and community leaders to employ its research resources in order to revitalize traditional manufacturing and stimulate economic development. However, many of the University's research facilities were outmoded for the conduct of modern science and already utilized beyond capacity. Because no federal programs were available to address this need for academic facilities. Northwestern petitioned Congress to fund construction not only of the BIRL and Biotechnology Center facilities but also of the Materials Science facility. To date. Northwestern has received from Congress $43.5 million in appropriations for the three facilities — $25.5 million for the BIRL, $16 million for the Materials Science, and $2 million for the Biotechnology Center facilities. However, these federal dollars have already leveraged $184.1 million in non-federal dollars. If Northwestern ' s full $12 million request for the Biotechnology Center facilities is subsequently appropriated by Congress, and if both the Research Park and its related research facilities on campus are built out at l ast to the original estimate of $500 million in capital expenditures, the federal appropriations for $53.5 million will comprise only 10.7% of this total investment. This economic development project has already produced clear benefits. Attracted by Northwestern ' s state-of-the-art facilities, expert faculty, and well trained students in such areas as manufacturing, biotechnology, and computers, companies have located in the Research Park or increased support for sponsored programs. The Research Park now has 60 tenant companies representing 850 jobs. Universityindustry interaction has increased significantly, and industry support for research has risen from 3% to 15% of all external support. The project would have been difficult or impossible to start without federal seed money. The only source of federal funds was through direct congressional appropriation. Northwestern approached Illinois Senators and Congressmen, who agreed to help, prepared proposals and testimonies, documenting the needs, costs, and benefits of the project, and cooperated with the funding agencies. We believe these procedures provided adequate information for Congress to exercise its authority in funding projects of this sort. Moreover, we believe the benefits to date confirm the judgement of Congress in funding Northwestern ' s requests. 1. Why Northwestern University seeks congressional Iv mandated funds.
Republished by Liber Copia LLC for convenient study and reference on any device.
