Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com September 28, 2015 • Hartford Business Journal 11 Hartford evolves into college town By John Stearns Jstearns@HartfordBusiness.com D owntown Hartford is about to get a shot of energy and urban renewal from the expansions of three colleges and universities, which could elevate the center city's status to a college town, officials say. "They will provide — and they are providing as this evolves — a foundation to basically rebuild the downtown community," Michael Freimuth, executive director of the Capital Region Development Authority, said of plans by the University of Connecticut, Trinity College and the Uni- versity of St. Joseph to expand their presence in the cen- ter city, which is already home to Rensselaer and Capital Community College. The projects will put more feet on the street during the day and after 5 p.m., fill up more apartment units, and support local businesses, Freimuth said. The schools also bring students closer to corporate and gov- ernment employers for lectures, internships and future jobs, bolstering the local economy. Freimuth said "eds and meds," or educational oppor- tunities and medical institutions, are two growth sec- tors in urban renewal around the country. Greater Hartford already has a substantial medical and biomedical presence. "You see the elements coming together to really repo- sition Hartford for the long-term and I think the colleges are a big component of that," Freimuth said. Also, college graduates become the innovators, small-business startups and new entrepreneurs "and you want them in your cities," he said. Flagship university presence UConn is making the biggest splash downtown with its $115 million plan to relocate its West Hartford campus to a remodeled Hartford Times building and erect an adjoin- ing five-story facility. UConn also plans to partner with the Hartford Public Library and Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art to share facilities and pump about 2,300 students and 250 faculty and staff into the downtown core. The campus' architectural plans were designed to open the school to the streets, encouraging walking and exploring. "One of the things that we really wanted to do was bring more life to the city by designing a neighborhood campus" for students, faculty, government and industry, said Laura Cruickshank, UConn's master planner and chief architect. Colleges' impact on the future development of down- town is still unfolding, said Thomas Deller, director of the city's Department of Development Services. "The real question is with UConn coming downtown and the amount of space that they're taking and the way they're designing the classrooms and space, trying to force students out of the building to walk around and connect, will we see the spinoff benefits of small com- mercial shops and things of that nature develop?" he said. "And will we see students seeking to move down- town and move into some of these apartments that are being built? That's still something we're not sure of." But Deller said he's optimistic the campus will spur additional growth, development and connectivity, which the city wants. Some small businesses already are expressing interest in being downtown, he said, and the city is talking with Zipcar about expanding there. "Ultimately, people are waiting to understand what the flow is and the demand is, but I think that the action, the growth, the universities coming downtown bringing the students, the housing that's happening, it is start- ing to create the mass that's necessary for some of this growth," Deller said. St. Joseph expansion The University of St. Joseph, which already has its phar- macy school in the XL Center, plans to start a physician- assistant program downtown, hopefully by fall 2016, which will require leasing additional space in the XL Center or elsewhere, said Rhona Free, university president. That will bring more students downtown, where St. Joseph has upwards of 300 pupils in its three-year pharmacy program. "It's obviously been a real asset for us in terms of students being able to live within walking distance of where they're working and studying, so that's been won- derful," Free said. "Our students like being downtown. I think the faculty members also like being downtown." Beyond the physician assistant plans, St. Joseph sees a chance for more program expansion downtown, including management, accounting and social work, Free said. With the rising cost of college, students want to maximize their investment, so being in an urban environment offering closer connections to internships and employers is advan- tageous, as is proximity to public transportation, she said. She thinks downtown is evolving towards a college town. "I think the city will reach that tipping point where businesses will start to adjust the way they operate to accommodate college students," as seen around schools in other cities, she said. College towns also have to be pedestrian friendly, she said, expecting Hartford to trend more that way as increasing numbers of students and faculty use the city's improved public transit. She also expects to see more cultural activities pop up that college students enjoy. Once the city gets to that critical student mass, "it's a sort of self-perpetuating process — more and more businesses come in, more students want to be there, faculty want to be there," Free said. Q&A UTC Employee Scholar Program passes $1B in education spending Q&A sits down with Amy Liedke, director of talent development for Hartford conglomerate United Technologies Corp., to discuss its extensive employee education programs. Q: What kind of educa- tion benefits does UTC offer employees who want to pursue a graduate degree? Have education ben- efits changed over the years? A: At United Technologies, we believe in lifelong learning. The UTC Employee Scholar Pro- gram (ESP) enables employees to expand their skills throughout their careers at UTC. The program, recognized as one of the world's most com- prehensive employee education programs, pays for tuition, books and fees for employees enrolled in accredited pro- grams. In addi- tion to prepay- ment of expenses, employees also receive paid time off each week to study. Unlike more typical tuition reimburse- ment programs, ESP places no restrictions on the course of study an employ- ee may pursue, and there is no requirement that coursework per- tain to an employ- ee's current job. U n i t e d T e c h n o l o g i e s has invested $1.17 billion in the Employee Scholar Program since it was established in 1996. To date, UTC employees have earned more than 37,000 degrees in more than 50 countries. In 2014, nearly 8,000 UTC employ- ees were enrolled in college pro- grams through ESP, with more than 50 percent of them pursuing advanced degrees. Since the adoption of the Employee Scholar Program, the program mission has changed very little. Q: Online education seems to be in vogue. Does UTC embrace online education as a viable option for employees looking to earn a graduate degree? A: Through UTC's Employee Scholar Program, employees have access to programs with both online and classroom learning curriculums. ESP supports our employees' decisions on how they choose to learn, as well as what degree they choose to pursue. Some of UTC's partner univer- sities deliver programs at our loca- tions to provide work-life flexibility. Q: How important is it for employees to have an MBA if they want to take on lead- ership and/or management/ executive positions within the company? Has the value of an MBA changed over the years? Has it become more or less important over the last 10 years? A: UTC leaders and employ- ees hold a wide array of degree types and majors, and at varying levels. We value and believe in life- long learning and appreciate employ- ees who continue to grow and devel- op their skills with educational degree programs, corpo- rate classroom learning or on-the- job training. The knowl- edge employees acquire through the UTC Employ- ee Scholar Pro- gram makes them more effec- tive in their cur- rent positions and more capa- ble of adapting to change in the global business e n v i r o n m e n t . While there is no obligation for Employee Scholar Program participants to stay with the company after earning their degrees, the retention rate among employee scholars is sig- nificantly higher than for their counterparts, as is the promo- tion rate. Many of the ESP grad- uates now hold senior positions across UTC companies. Q: What other graduate degrees are popular among UTC employees? Have any new grad- uate degree programs emerged geared specifically for the aero- space and building services industries? A: The MBA remains the most popular advanced degree among UTC employees followed by graduate degrees in engineer- ing. Employees pursue a host of other technical degrees in quali- ty, supply management, aeronau- tics, manufacturing, operations and more. n Students at the University of St. Joseph's pharmacy school in downtown Hartford have added vibrancy to the center city. P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D ▶ ▶ United Technologies has invested $1.17 billion in the Employee Scholar Program since it was established in 1996. Continued on page 16 FOCUS CONTINUING AND GRADUATE EDUCATION FOR PROFESSIONALS AND EXECUTIVES

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