John Bardo: I-35 corridor a key to growing economy

Wichita State University’s I-35 corridor strategy is designed to enhance the ability of south-central Kansas to compete in the global economy. That’s why we’ve requested permission from the Kansas Board of Regents in recent months to charge reduced tuition rates in the Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Dallas-Fort Worth and Kansas City, Mo., metropolitan areas.

There is a strong south-central Kansas trading connection to those places, going back to at least Chisholm Trail days.

There are two critical dimensions to this strategy:

▪  The number of people here with college degrees must be increased, especially in fields including engineering, health care and business.

▪  Because of the restructuring of the economy, it is crucial that our region be linked to larger hubs of trade and economic activity.

Our region’s current economic situation is not sustainable over the long run, and it is not serving the people well. According to the Brookings Institution, between 2009 and 2014 Wichita’s growth rate was 98th among 100 top metros. It was one of only two metropolitan areas to lose net jobs during that time period.

Global strategist Parag Khanna notes in his recent book, “Connectography,” that Dallas-Fort Worth is one of the three major emerging hubs of economic activity in the entire United States.

Wichita and Kansas aren’t growing at the pace of the Kansas City area or the metro areas to our south. If Wichita State can regularly draw students from all along the I-35 corridor, both the university and the regional economy will benefit.

Tuition policy is an important component of WSU’s strategy to increase network linkages between Wichita and the nearby economic hubs. The regents understood that in granting our Oklahoma and Texas requests. They will consider our Kansas City proposal later this year.

Increasing workforce capacity is an important goal of the ongoing discussions about a Blueprint for Regional Economic Growth. At WSU, industry partnerships on the Innovation Campus and deepening ties with Wichita Area Technical College are part of that strategy. So is enabling recruiting of out-of-state students, especially students from the economic hubs of the region. Thus, tuition policy can help spur enrollment growth and enhance the regional workforce.

Other universities have found that if jobs are available, 20 to 35 percent of out-of-state students will stay in state after graduation. Many others will return to their home metropolitan areas, but they take with them knowledge and relationships that can act as informal linkages in the development of regional networks.

All of these efforts are aimed at actively developing relationships with critical hubs of trade and economic activity to help this region create a brighter future.

This story was originally published June 26, 2016 at 12:05 AM with the headline "John Bardo: I-35 corridor a key to growing economy."