A bold economic development initiative may help graduates from
Oklahoma colleges to find jobs without leaving the state.

Between 35 and 40 percent of graduates from Oklahoma
universities left the state to find work within five years of
graduation, according to a survey of 1996 graduates by the Oklahoma
State Regents for Higher Education. The outward migration of
graduates was most dramatic in technical fields such as computer
sciences and engineering.

The reason those graduates leave Oklahoma is simple: Oklahoma
lacks a strong economic base in high-technology fields that would
employ graduates from those fields of study.

The good news for majors in technical fields is this:
Oklahoma’s Economic Development Generating Excellence
campaign hopes to bring more high-tech industries in the state.

Gov. Brad Henry began the EDGE study four months ago as a
grassroots effort to determine how experts and average Oklahomans
would like to see Oklahoma’s economy transformed in the next
decade. State experts working in 23 teams partnered with more than
2,400 Oklahoma volunteers who offered ideas for economic growth at
public forums across the state, including OU.

“The possibility for more and better-paying jobs is
important for college graduates,” said Paul Risser, the state
regents chancellor. “Most people have ignored the emphasis
EDGE places on keeping graduates in Oklahoma.”

The teams arrived with four main areas of reform: creating the
“research capital of the plains,” improving public
education, reversing Oklahoma’s health trends and a number of
immediate actions intended to improve the state’s business
climate.

 

Investing in research

A proposed $1 billion endowment for research and development
tops EDGE’s wish list for the upcoming legislative
session.

Henry said funding for the endowment will not likely be
available for several years.

“If we commit to it and we fund it, we will put Oklahoma
on the map,” Henry said. “We will bring the best
scientists in the world to our universities in Oklahoma. We will be
on the cutting edge of research. That then spurs other economic
development.”

OU President David L. Boren said creating an ambitious endowment
is less important than making targeted investments in areas that
would generate growth in research and development.

“You can’t just throw money at the problem and
expect it to go away,” he said.

Boren compared Oklahoma’s potential to that of Austin,
Texas several decades ago. The state realized a potential for
growth in computers and information-technology and made investments
targeted toward that research, catapulting Texas’ economy to
the forefront with the likes of California’s Silicon
Valley.

Oklahoma could make similar investments in OU’s current
research strengths such as weather research, genetics, biochemistry
and nanotechnology, Boren said.

The new weather center has already generated 700 new high-salary
positions in the state, Boren said. Weathernews International will
also move its operational headquarters from California to a new
facility next door to the weather center, which will bring another
200 weather-related jobs into Norman, Boren said.

“I am very glad people are realizing the importance of the
university in economic development,” Boren said.

Boren added that an increased focus on technical fields should
not mean a decrease in emphasis and funding for other areas such as
history and liberal arts.

“We are not just trying to be a research
institution,” Boren said. “To do that would ignore the
central mission of the university. We are not just teaching skills.
We are educating future leaders and developing human
potential.”

 

The great state migration

“A number of communication industries that had
headquarters in Oklahoma have moved to Houston,” said Bette
Scott, director of Career Services. “There are employers in
Oklahoma, but certainly a lot of them are based out of
Oklahoma.”

The energy industry recruits extensively in Oklahoma, Scott
said. Computer or information-technology-based companies that
recruit OU graduates are, for the most part, based in other states,
Scott said.

Almost 80 percent of Oklahoma college graduates found jobs in
Oklahoma within one year after graduation, according to the
regents’ study. The number of graduates who stay for over
five years dwindled to 60 percent. Graduates with higher degrees
were even more prone to move to other states.

 

Bringing in the business

EDGE recommends, among other actions, drastic tort reforms
geared at reducing costs and liabilities for businesses. Workers
compensation is also on EDGE’s agenda. The report calls for
the legislature to find ways to reduce business costs while
increasing benefits for injured employees. Oklahoma’s
military bases should also be kept open, the report stresses.

Those items are all proposed to take place during the
legislative session beginning Feb. 2, along with pro-business
regulatory policies and a slew of proposed tax reforms.

While some of EDGE’s reforms are geared toward making
Oklahoma more appealing for business development, others seek to
generate new business in the state.

EDGE proposes support for Norman’s new National Weather
Center and the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and
Technology.
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