Citing a recently published economic analysis report, a Syracuse University vice chancellor on Wednesday said SU could help improve the support and regional retention of student entrepreneurs in central New York.

The report, an analysis of the university’s economic value in the region, compiled by the CareerBuilder consultant firm Emsi, was distributed at a community engagement forum last week. The report says SU generates $1.1 billion annually throughout the region, which is the equivalent of supporting 15,481 jobs.

But Mike Haynie, SU’s vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation, said the university could further improve its support of SU start-up and spin-off companies throughout the area. Start-up companies are “created specifically to license and commercialize SU technology or knowledge,” according to the report.

These start-up companies, in fiscal year 2015-16, generated about $1 million in additional income throughout central New York, according to the report. That’s the equivalent of just 11 jobs, per the report.

“That doesn’t compare well with institutions like ours,” Haynie said on Wednesday. “It’s not because our students aren’t starting businesses, they’re actually starting businesses at rates I would argue are much higher than our (peers). We have a remarkable entrepreneurial culture at this university. But the reason why that number is so low is they’re not starting businesses in central New York.”

Students opt to start businesses in New York City or Boston, Haynie said. The vice chancellor said he wants to address that trend moving forward with the university’s reassessment of community investments.

Entrepreneurship programs have become a key promotional tool at SU. The Martin J. Whitman School of Management’s department of entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises ranks 13th nationwide, according to the U.S. News & World Report’s 2018 Best College listing. The Institute for Veterans and Military Families runs a small-business management training program for veterans with disabilities, called the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans.

“I mean, I’ve had kids on ‘Shark Tank.’ I know companies are being created by Syracuse students in large numbers,” said Haynie, who’s also Whitman’s Barnes Professor of Entrepreneurship. “The challenge is, they’re not being created in central New York in numbers we would like to see.”

Spin-off companies, meanwhile, generated $2.3 billion throughout central New York in fiscal year 2015-16, according to Emsi’s report. These companies are “created and fostered through university programs or faculty and alumni,” but have a “weaker link” to SU, per the report.

The vice chancellor said one example of a local spin-off company is SRC, Inc. The North Syracuse-based company is a nonprofit research and development firm that’s been contracted by the United States Air Force, Army, Marines and Navy, among other organizations, according to its website. SRC, Inc. lists chem-bio defense, electronic warfare and cybersecurity as areas of expertise.

SRC, Inc. also has partnerships with SU and the Syracuse Center of Excellence, according to its website.

“This is actually something I think we can do much better at,” Haynie said last Thursday, during a community engagement forum at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo. “I think we will see a focused effort across the university with … a new vice president for research, (Zhanjiang) ‘John’ Liu, to — I don’t want to say rebuild — but transform and make more robust our technology transfer office, our commercialization office.”

Bea González, SU’s vice president for community engagement, said on Wednesday the university is having “conversations” with the South Side Innovation Center and equity unit of CenterState CEO about expanding the “entrepreneurial fabric” on the South Side, a traditionally low-income community southwest of Main Campus. González has previously said she wants to better address multigenerational poverty in the city.

Making sure people are attracted to the area, by establishing a “talent pipeline,” and having entrepreneurs stay in central New York are goals of Haynie’s, he added.

Possibly partnering with CenterState CEO, and other large institutions including the State University of New York Upstate Medical University and Lockheed Martin Corp., could be a way to support a talent pipeline, the vice chancellor said.

“Every successful economic revitalization that you’ve seen across the country, whether we’re talking about Pittsburgh or Buffalo, at its core, was a human capital or talent strategy,” Haynie said. “I think we can play a central role in that.”

Published on December 7, 2017 at 1:10 am

Contact Sam: sfogozal@syr.edu | @SamOgozalek