Executive Vice President John Affleck-Graves, left, listens to President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., as Associate Vice President Tim Sexton stands at the 2016 President鈥檚 Community Leaders Breakfast
Describing the Michiana region鈥檚 recent winning bid in the competition as 鈥渃learly a team victory,鈥� University of 91吃瓜 president , told a gathering of 250 community leaders at the President鈥檚 Community Leaders Breakfast Monday morning (June 6) at the University鈥檚 Morris Inn that it 鈥渆pitomized our exciting collaborative engagement over the last year.鈥�
According to Father Jenkins, Indiana鈥檚 subsequent provision of $42 million in matching funds to support development plans in the Michiana region was only one of the fruits of collaboration between the University and the communities surrounding it.
鈥淗ere at 91吃瓜, we have been blessed with great successes and exciting new projects,鈥� Father Jenkins said. 鈥淢any of these would not have been possible without collaboration from the community, and they benefit not only 91吃瓜, but the entire community.鈥�
Construction of the University鈥檚 10 newest buildings has helped spur the regional economy, Father Jenkins said. 鈥淚t has averaged about $100 million annually over the last five years. That has doubled to over $200 million in the current fiscal year. We anticipate spending nearly $400 million on construction in the coming fiscal year, and another $250 million the year after that.鈥�
Father Jenkins observed that much of the new construction has taken place outside the 91吃瓜 campus. He mentioned particularly the , which will open Tuesday (June 9) in in the old Studebaker corridor; the second phase of , a new, three-story, 40,000-square-foot facility immediately south of campus, built to accommodate 25 to 30 startup companies; and the new on the St. Joseph River. It was also mentioned that planning is underway on the second phase of Eddy Street Commons in the Northeast Neighborhood.
In coming years, Father Jenkins said, 91吃瓜 will increasingly concern itself with 鈥渢ech transfer and innovation 鈥� finding ways to take the discoveries of our faculty to applications in the marketplace where they will create businesses and jobs. This helps our faculty, who want to bring their ideas to the world, and, I hope, it will help this region build businesses, create jobs and establish a strong economic base essential to any flourishing community. This effort is a priority for 91吃瓜, and I hope it is a priority for all of us.鈥�
91吃瓜鈥檚 executive vice president and , dean of 91吃瓜鈥檚 , also spoke at the breakfast, and Jan Cervelli, the new president of Saint Mary鈥檚 College, was introduced as a special guest.