RECENT EVENTS
June 14, 2011 Business Roundtable
Meet the Presidents:
DeKalb County Economic Development Corporation held its summer
Business Roundtable in June in order to inform those in attendance
of the key roles the local institutions of higher learning play
in our community and its economy. This roundtable also afforded
the opportunity to learn about new ways that Northern Illinois
University and Kishwaukee College can be better utilized by area
businesses and organizations to further their own missions.
Dr. John Peters, President of NIU, began the presentations with
a look at how his college affects the local economy and contributes
in a large way to its prosperity. He said the university was estimated
to contribute around $421.5 million dollars in Fiscal Year 2010
through wages and salaries, university expenditures, student and
university visitor's spending, and capital projects on and around
campus.
He also educated the crowd on resources outside of the monetary
benefit the university provides for the county including infrastructure
improvements to enhance the quality of life, students as interns
and employees, the state of the art facilities and expertise of
faculty available for use, community service projects and the
broadband project. In his presentation Peters touched on just
some of the ways that NIU added to the county but declared the
university could be leveraged for use even more by businesses,
organizations and residents.
Dr. Tom Choice, President of Kishwaukee College, followed with
a presentation on the impact his college has on their service
area of five counties. According to a recent study, 9 out of 10
area employers hired Kishwaukee College graduate in the past ten
years and two-thirds of last year's graduates went to work for
in-district employers. The college contributes to the local economy
through staff, students and graduates, most of who live in the
region. The majority of the student body (92%) is comprised of
residents from the area.
Some of the many resources available at Kishwaukee College were
also touched on by Choice. Center for Business Development worked
with 25 businesses in the past year training over 1,700 people.
Choice mentioned that some of the participants of the Center for
Business Development later become students of the college. As
enrollment continues to grow the college had to look into an expansion
project which is already underway. The project will be the largest
undertaken by the college since its establishment and will include
additional labs, classrooms and student service areas.
The take-home message of the day was that DeKalb County is a unique
county thanks to the many opportunities provided by these two
institutions. They stimulate the economy, contribute to the size
and improvement of the workforce, and offer resources too numerous
to mention in an afternoon. Both presidents expressed appreciation
for the community and felt their college had much more to impart.
Power Points that offer much more detail in the language of the
presenters are available in the Members Only
section of the DCEDC website.
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