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I'd like to begin by thanking the committee members for the opportunity to talk this morning about two things that are very important to me and our community: the mission of the community college, and the community college's role in economic development.

I hope to bring to your attention two new concepts related to workforce development that, if properly implemented, could play a significant role in restarting the state's economy. These concepts are what I call The Education Triangle and Economic Development Units.

Before I begin my formal remarks on these topics, I'd like to take a moment and share with you a brief account of Monroe Community College's distinctive charge.

MCC opened its doors in the 1960's. Here in Rochester, as in many communities, there was a need for affordable and accessible higher education, and the notion of a two-year institution, open to all citizens, began to take root.

While the mission of access to higher education was extremely important, community leaders also envisioned another purpose for the community college: to develop a skilled workforce for an ever-changing economy. It is that duality of mission that separates community colleges, like MCC, from the other institutions of higher education. It is that duality of mission that makes us, as our name suggests, a COMMUNITY COLLEGE, flexible and responsive to the community's needs and able to serve as a catalyst for economic development and social change.

That vision was so inspired that today we have grown to over 33,000 students, and offer over 80 degree and certificate programs in a variety of formats. Additionally, the college offers hundreds of non-credit courses in collaboration with business and industry.

So what does all of this have to do with our local economy? The answer is simple: everything. MCC and all its programs are intrinsically linked with business and are central components in growing local economies and attracting new industries.

Four-year colleges and universities play a different and important role. But it is the community college that brings its resources to bear on immediate and long-term socio-economic needs.

In higher education, each type of institution can play a role in economic development. The best way to explain this is to describe what I call the Education Triangle. This triangle is a unique mix of educational institutions with complimenting missions and capabilities: research, product development and design, and training.

Here in Rochester, we already have the pieces in place: the University of Rochester, a research university to develop new technologies; Rochester Institute of Technology, a four-year technical college to develop product designs and production processes for those new technologies; and MCC, a community college to train the skilled workforce that makes and uses those new high-tech products.

Having the Education Triangle in place is half the battle. Developing an environment where it can be fully utilized, however, is essential to the economic health of a region. Imagine, if you will, a relationship between business, government, and the Education Triangle that not only benefits existing local businesses, but also acts as a marketing tool to attract new, high-tech industry to the area. My case in point is the Raleigh-Durham area in North Carolina where this collaboration of institutions, partnered with the State, has recruited dozens of companies to what once was a tobacco field.

New York can take advantage of the Education Triangle model across the State through its well-established public and private colleges. The components exist in cities all across the state, like Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany and New York, and there are a number of smaller communities that fit into the mix as well.

In order to take advantage of the valuable resources here in Rochester, there is a strong need for our local leaders and legislators to come together and develop a plan to harness the power of the Education Triangle.

New York State has made some real progress in its economic development strategies. It has improved markedly in the areas of tax breaks, consolidation of services, and the relaxation of a rigid regulatory climate.

But by considering the education community as the State's full partner in economic development, as is done in North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Maryland, and other states, we could do more for business and industry. By bringing the Education Triangle to the table during economic development policy discussions, we can attract new business and develop new technologies. By calling upon the Education Triangle to be a catalyst for economic development, we can bring business clusters together and form partnerships and synergies for a new economy.

Another idea that is a step in this direction is the creation of Economic Development Units, or EDU's. As I stated earlier, community colleges have a duality of mission: access to higher education and workforce development. But today, a funding gap exists whereby only traditional credit programs receive state funding in the form of Full-Time Equivalent payments - FTE's.

However, much of the economic development mission at any community college is accomplished through the development and offering of non-credit and specialized technical training. EDU's can be viewed as the funding formula to support this portion of the community college's economic development mission.

Currently, community colleges that provide training and expertise to businesses receive no reimbursement from the state. This training can range from time management skills for new employees, to industry-specific technical training, to a custom blend of skills training for individual employers.

By establishing an EDU formula, the State can assist blossoming new technology and high-tech businesses poised to reinvigorate upstate economies. These companies, often small businesses, have a difficult time finding the money to pay for the training they and their employees need to stay competitive. This is true despite the fact that MCC is the most efficient and flexible training provider in the region.

With the EDU concept, community colleges could provide struggling small businesses the support they need to help offset the cost of training. This would not only assist businesses already taking root here, but it could also help attract desirable business clusters to the region. If an EDU reimbursement program was instituted, community colleges, like MCC, could make training 35-50 percent more affordable.

In Greater Rochester, we have seen first-hand how important the new generation of small, technology and service-related businesses can be. With the decline in the large-company manufacturing base, like Kodak, Xerox and Bausch & Lomb, small business has become the economic engine.

Dozens of these small and emerging companies, many of them in the telecommunications, information technology, and optics/photonics sectors, have absorbed downsized employees and kept our local economy stable. By providing assistance and incentives, these companies can prosper in today's dynamic economy. Only with highly trained employees will they have the agility to respond to ever-changing market demands.

Community colleges can be the State's partner in growing these high-tech industries. MCC, working with Monroe County, has already brought the 70-plus local telecommunications companies into a cohesive cluster, and developed specific training curricula for their employees. Without these skills, telecom businesses would be forced to relocate to where they could find the people who could do the work.

A similar relationship exists between MCC and the tooling and machining industry cluster, and is now being developed with the optics and photonics clusters.

With the help of government and community leaders, we can formalize the relationships within the Education Triangles across the State, and institute an Economic Development Unit formula for the benefit of large and small businesses. We could begin to market the resources of higher education, the corporate community and the state as one powerful and attractive economic development engine. Such an effort, balanced with business-friendly incentives and workforce training support, would be a formidable combination that could put New York State and Rochester back on top as a place to do business in the U.S and the world.

I thank you for your time and am open to answering any questions you might have.