June 24, 1996 Contact: Robert Irion (408) 459-2495; irion@ua.ucsc.edu

UC SANTA CRUZ CONVENES WORKSHOPS FOR BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY LEADERS TO SHARE PERSPECTIVES ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AT FORT ORD

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SANTA CRUZ, CA--The University of California's Monterey Bay Education, Science, and Technology (MBEST) Center is holding a pair of work sessions for leaders of businesses and industries in the Monterey Bay Area and Silicon Valley, with the goal of soliciting their perspectives on how to succeed in conducting educationally related and research-oriented business in the Monterey Bay region.

Participants at the first daylong session, held on June 17 at the Quadrus Conference Center in Menlo Park, shared their views on the region's attributes: those which are attractive to technology- intensive businesses, as well as those needing attention for economic development to succeed. Quality of life and the strengths of the region's research institutions were the most frequently cited attributes.

The second work session, in Monterey on Monday, July 8, will follow up on these themes. Attendees will offer specific suggestions to the MBEST team as it implements its program and moves forward with developing its site at the former Fort Ord. Also on the agenda will be opportunities for agencies and industries to collaborate as the plans progress. New UC Santa Cruz Chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood, who begins her position on July 1, will open the meeting.

"The interesting challenge is that we must enhance the visibility of the Monterey Bay region's assets to potential tenants of the MBEST Center outside of the region," said consultant James Gollub of Information Design Associates (IDeA) and DRI/McGraw- Hill, leader of a team that is analyzing the region's competitive advantages. "We're getting strong views about what the region must do to prepare itself for the next generation of industries.

"The bottom line is that any region wanting to succeed in attracting and forming industry has to understand that the region must actively create sources of advantage for them in comparison to other regions."

"I guarantee you that the university will use this information," said UCSC's James Gill, director of the MBEST Center, at the end of the first work session. "Your input has transformed our approach to the MBEST Center and will continue to do so."

The MBEST Center, led by UCSC, is envisioned as one of the cornerstones for the economic rebirth of the region. The U.S. Army has conveyed about 1,090 acres of land at Fort Ord to the University of California for the project. Plans call for the development of an industrial research and technology center during the next several decades on about 485 acres. The remaining land will become part of the UC Natural Reserve System, preserved as unique maritime chaparral.

Discussions at the first work session were driven by groups representing each of four market niches: environmental science, technology, and instrumentation, especially coastal applications; biotechnology, emphasizing agricultural and marine applications; information science and technologies; and multimedia education and entertainment. The UC Fort Ord Project team chose those areas for their connections to existing regional strengths and for their growth potential.

About two dozen leaders from private industries and others from regional institutions and government attended the session, which was facilitated by IDeA and DRI/McGraw-Hill. Among the participants were representatives of Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Kinnetic Laboratories, Plantronics, SRI International, Sun Microsystems, Raychem, Triton Technology, ESCAtech Media, Comerica Bank, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and California State University, Monterey Bay.

Sponsors of the work sessions are the University of California, the Santa Cruz County Economic Development Office, the City of Santa Cruz Redevelopment Agency, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, the Naval Postgraduate School of Monterey, and the City of Monterey.

Editor's notes: The Monterey work session is not open to reporters. However, interviews are available with members of the MBEST team and with the external consultants. To arrange interviews, please call Robert Irion at (408) 459-2495 or the UC Fort Ord Project Office at (408) 459-3652. (Robert Irion will be away the week of June 24.)

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