The University Research Corridor (URC) is a research consortium founded in November 2006 by the three leading research universities in the state of Michigan: Michigan State University, Wayne State University, and the University of Michigan. The alliance was formed to leverage their collective capabilities and drive the transformation of the state's economy. In aggregate, these universities bring in nearly $1.4 billion of federal research dollars each year.[1]
MSU President Dr. Lou Anna Simon on the importance of the URC, "Michigan's three internationally recognized research institutions are essential to creating the intellectual capital and the technology breakthroughs that will make our state competitive. The URC generates innovations, new technologies, and new businesses that not only provide jobs, but also improve life for all citizens of Michigan."[2]
All three schools are classified as a Research Intensive Universities (Very High research activity), or RU/VH, by the Carnegie Foundation.[3] These institutions initially united in the 1999 state-directed establishment of the Michigan Life Sciences Corridor. Since the launch of that program, over 120 new companies in the Michigan life sciences industry have been created.[4]
Peer Comparison
Compared to other significant research clusters across the nation, the URC has similar outputs in terms of federal research dollars, invention disclosures, and patents. Other peer university clusters include those in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, North Carolina's Research Triangle Park, and California. Each of these groups includes three in-state research institutions which are well known for their R&D endeavors. In terms of human capital, the URC universities currently employ 49 thousand people and educate 135 thousand students. [5] The student population of the URC campuses is the largest of any comparable research cluster. The collective living URC alumni in the state of Michigan total more than 550 thousand people. [6]
Transportation
Transportation is key to the URC both from the practical standpoint of collaboration, as well as as a key research area. In March 2010, the URC announced the Transforming Transportation: Economies & Communities (TTEC) research consortium with the intent to "transform the regional, state, national and, ultimately, global transportation industries."
TTEC will hopefully help diversify the transportation environment that it works in - as with all things Michigan, the partners are currently better connected by car than any other mode choice:
- The corridor is served by the three major interstate highways in Southeastern Michigan — I-75, I-94, and I-96. Enabling the close collaboration between these institutions, each school is under a two hour drive of its URC peers.
- The main airport of the region — among the top 20 largest airports in the world — is Detroit Metro Airport.[7] Both Wayne State University and The University of Michigan are roughly a half-hour drive from the Romulus-based airport. However when traveling to East Lansing, the Capital Region International Airport is the most convenient - just a 20 minute commute to the MSU campus.
- Transit links are generally absent, but for indirect or infrequent inter-city bus and Amtrak. Better connections are in the works, however - the Ann Arbor Detroit Commuter Rail would connect UM with WSU; WALLY would get travelers to Howell, halfway to Lansing. A 1996 study of Lansing to Detroit passenger rail options identified these two segments, plus Lansing to Howell, as the best option, meaning that these two projects could be extended to complete the URC rail link.
Ongoing Emphasis
Community Engagement
- The leaders from each of the three institution meet regularly to discuss progress and often organize jointly sponsored speaker forums. Three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman recently spoke at a URC event focused on the global economy and sustainable energy.
Economic Stimulus
- An economic report detailing the collective successes of the URC universities as well as a metric comparison to their peer clusters is released annually each fall.
