Here they go again

NWA Council promotes educational excellence

The Northwest Arkansas Council is at it again, looking to the future and recommending efforts to tap the pockets of economic and quality-of-life potential that abound in this corner of the state.

The council — a group of business, educational and government leaders who have over the past 30 years shone a bright light on the path to the region’s prosperity — on Monday rolled out 50 recommendations intended to keep Northwest Arkansas on the right track over the next three years.

The recommendations touched on a number of topic areas, not just economic development. In fact, educational initiatives, quality-of-life amenities and public services (like mass transit and recycling) appear among priorities along with suggestions to improve building business and entrepreneurship.

It’s a lot to digest, this report that was compiled with the help of a consulting firm called Economic Leadership, but there’s something in it for almost everyone.

“We want this region to be and be thought of as one of the top regions in America,” said Ted Abernathy, managing partner of the North Carolina-based consulting group.

So do we, and the recommendations look promising.

Among the most significant appear at different points on the spectrum of higher education. On one hand, the report calls for the doubling of spending on research and development at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. On the other, the report calls for upgrades in both the availability and facilities in vocational and technical training offerings at Springdale’s Northwest Technical Institute.

Abernathy called the proposed increase in research spending in the UA “a big, bold transformational goal.”

Increasing research spending is a cornerstone goal for UA Chancellor Joel Steinmetz — who is currently co-chairman of Northwest Arkansas Council — and is doable through additional grants and partnerships with business and industry. The UA has almost doubled its enrollment over the past 30 years, which also bodes well the UA’s chances to bring in the research and development dollars.

Steinmetz also rightly points out that those research dollars don’t “disappear” into the university’s budget. That money funds job creation and entrepreneurship not just in the region, but across the state.

For NTI’s part, the acknowledgement of the need for a bigger role for technical education comes as great news.

“I think there’s a new day coming,” said Blake Robertson, the school’s president.

NTI has trained a couple of generations of computer and medical technicians, nurses, diesel mechanics for entry into the local workforce. But its vital role has not translated into the kind of public support that it needs to keep up with the region’s demands. It seems that the rush to support colleges and universities and the push to improve public schools, technical education has gotten short shrift. Indeed, not only has NTI’s state appropriation stagnated in the past 15 years, its facilities needs have gone unmet.

“In addition to obvious capacity limitations, the look and feel of Northwest Technical Institute does not positively reflect the work and working conditions of middle-income jobs,” the report states. “It also does not reflect the world-class image the region wishes to project.”

Despite those limitations, NTI students are still transitioning into the local workforce and doing jobs that need to be done. NTI has also found ways to meet growing demand in some areas. It’s ammonia technology and industrial maintenance center — which trains workers needed in the local food processing operations — is getting an upgrade soon thanks to grants from Tyson Foods and Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s office.

It’s past time for local leaders to put more focus on NTI and the role it plays in the local economy.

It’s up to community leaders to make these recommendations happen. The council has led to a number of significant improvements that have benefited the region’s economy and standard of living. The Benton-Washington County Water Loop (also known as Tw0-Ton), the regional airport, progress toward completion of Interstate 49, the Razorback Greenway are among many improvements the council has supported and promoted.

Given the Northwest Arkansas’ track record, it behooves local leaders to listen closely to its suggestions.