October 2, 1996 Contact: Robert Irion (408) 459-2495; irion@ua.ucsc.edu
LORA LEE MARTIN TO DIRECT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA'S MBEST CENTER AT THE FORMER FORT ORD Technology park will occupy the heart of a "research crescent" around Monterey Bay
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SANTA CRUZ, CA--Lora Lee Martin of the University of California, Santa Cruz, has become the first full-time director of UC's Monterey Bay Education, Science, and Technology (MBEST) Center. The MBEST Center, led by UCSC, is a regional economic initiative that includes development of a technology center on UC-owned property at the former Fort Ord--at the heart of the region's rich base of research institutions.
Martin, the federal governmental affairs officer at UCSC, most recently directed the campus's office of Governmental Research Affairs and Regional Economic Development, which will be absorbed into MBEST. She has overseen many of UC's roles in the reuse of Fort Ord since 1991, and she represents UC on the board of the Fort Ord Reuse Authority (FORA). Martin works with regional research and teaching institutions, local elected officials, and industry representatives to facilitate the economic growth of the Monterey Bay region.
Martin succeeds and was appointed by founding MBEST director James Gill, associate vice chancellor for research at UCSC. Gill will continue to be the faculty member and vice chancellor most involved in MBEST Center administration.
The MBEST Center has become the focus of UCSC's increasing role in the economy of the Monterey Bay region. Its mission is to develop and promote collaborative interaction between private business, government research agencies, public and private educational and research institutions, and policy makers. These interactions will increase the role of UCSC and similar research organizations in economic development, especially in the Monterey Bay region, but also with linkages to statewide, national, and global marketplaces.
"I believe that the location of the UC MBEST Center at the former Fort Ord will attract innovative and entrepreneurial companies," Martin says. "These companies will complement the competencies of the institutions in our region."
Of the more than 1,000 acres acquired by UC from the U.S. Army in 1994, about 440 acres are now available for development. Figures released recently by FORA predict that the MBEST Center will create the greatest number of jobs of any reuse activity at the former base.
Planners at UCSC and their consultants will complete land-use and business plans for the property this fall. MBEST's first building is almost fully leased to tenants that complement regional research organizations; project managers plan to construct a second building next year.
As part of the MBEST project, the UC Regents recently accepted about 600 acres of unique maritime chaparral into the UC Natural Reserve System. Called the Fort Ord Reserve, this land is adjacent to the developable MBEST property and the new Marina Municipal Airport.
Martin holds a B.S. in zoology from UC Davis and an M.B.A. from UC Berkeley. She came to UCSC in 1989 after experience in the environmental remediation industry, as a staff member in Washington, D.C., and in political and nonprofit organizations. Her role in the Fort Ord project has twice included giving testimony before the U.S. Congress on related base- conversion issues.
As director, Martin will develop and promote the "research crescent" around Monterey Bay by representing UC and the MBEST Center in collaboration with regional institutions, businesses, and government to promote their sustainable interrelationships. She also will oversee the recruitment of businesses and agencies to MBEST's property and the forging of relationships among them, UCSC, and other regional institutions.
Editor's note: You may reach Lora Lee Martin at (408) 459-3652 or loralee@ua.ucsc.edu.
This news release is also available on the World Wide Web at UCSC's "Services for Journalists" site (http://www.ucsc.edu/news/journalist.html). MBEST Center director - -
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