Governors State nabs federal grant
Nearly $579,000 aims to improve Southland’s logistics operations
With millions of square feet of new warehouse distribution space set to come online in the southand southwest suburbs in the coming years, Governors State University sees opportunities for jobs beyond working in the facilities.
The university’s Supply Chain Innovation Center and Business Incubator, founded a year ago, aims to take advantage of growth in logistics and a new federal grant will help it achieve that goal, according to Jun Zhao, dean of the university’s college of business who oversees the center.
The nearly $579,000 grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration will be matched by in-kind contributions by Governors State, she said.
The incubator itself is just getting off the ground, located in a farmhouse on the school’s University Park campus, near the Prairie Place residence hall.
Formerly the grants office, it has been vacant for a couple of years but has offices, a conference roomand a kitchen, Zhao said.
The grant will help the university equip it with computers, software and other equipment. Governors State is also in line for a state grant of $400,000, through the capital funding bill, thatwould be used to improve heating, ventilation and air conditioning in the building, she said.
Through the center and incubator, GSU college of business faculty offer consulting, training and mentoring services to entrepreneurs and established businesses in the field of supply chain management and logistics, she said.
GSU was one of 52 grant recipients in 36 states of the annual Build to Scale program, according to the Commerce Department. Nationwide, therewere 600 applicants for this year’s grant program.
GSU’s grant is for three years, with funding portioned out over that span, Zhao said.
Zhao said that GSU’s application focused on fostering supply chain and logistics innovation in the Chicago Southland.
“The region has quickly become a logistics and distribution hub,” she said. “We want to play a major role in that.”
Massive warehouse distribution centers have sprung up along interstate highways crisscrossing the region, and Amazon is underway with fulfillment centers in Markham, Matteson and University Park that, combined, will have more than 7 million square feet of floor space.
The business incubator’s focus won’t necessarily be in developing
products but rather concentrated on technology to help improve logistics operations, Zhao said.
The center offers certificate training in supply chain management, and, in 2013, GSU began offering an onlineMaster of Business Administration degree in supply chain management.
Zhao said center staff are working on finding clients and collaborating with municipalities and business groups such as chambers of commerce.
“We want to let people know we are here to provide this service and thatwe have the expertise to help them develop their innovative ideas, whether it’s an entrepreneur or an established business,” she said.
About a month ago, the center hired Reggie Greenwood as full-time director.
Long involved in econo
mic development efforts in the south and southwest suburbs, Greenwood previously was executive director of the Chicago Southland Economic Development Corporation.
In a news release from U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, DMatteson, announcing the
grant, Greenwood said GSU faculty “have a wealth of private sector and educational experience to help innovate new products that advance the ability of supply chains to meet the growing needs of companies.”