Media Relations
University of South Florida
Polytechnic
3433 Winter Lake Road
Lakeland, FL 33803
(863) 667-7077
Fax (863) 667-7097
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Contact:
Tom Hagerty
(863)
667-7077
LAKELAND,
FL (July 9, 2008) -
As the University of South Florida Polytechnic grows, it has developed and maintained successful partnerships with a variety of organizations in Central Florida. Now the university has set its sights on possible partnership opportunities overseas.
Dr. Marshall Goodman, VP and CEO of USF Polytechnic, recently completed a trip to the South of France with Tom Patton, executive director of the Central Florida Development Council. Together they visited Marseille, Grasse, Sophia Antipolis, Nice and Menton. They met with officials from polytechnic universities, business schools, business incubators, research parks and economic development agencies.
"We went to find possible partnerships, to look for ways to cluster strengths, to find links with a similar region," says Goodman, who was "astounded with the parallels" between Central Florida and the South of France.
Those parallels include tourists, retirees and an older population, Goodman explains. Like Central Florida, the South of France is also home to leading companies in the flavors and fragrances industry.
"Twenty to thirty years ago, the South of France had a real problem," says Goodman. "How do you build a future in a region that relies on retirees, tourism and citrus, which is used extensively in the fragrance industry? Local leaders came up with a plan to put polytechnic universities in the area and build a major research park."
Located in Nice, the Sophia Antipolis research park is now home to about 200 major companies and employs close to 40,000 people.
"Wow!" exclaims Goodman. "The research park blew me away. It has had an absolutely amazing impact. I'm amazed at their use of technology. We can learn so much from them."
After meeting with faculty and staff at the University of Nice and Nice Polytechnic, Goodman hopes to invite French professors to visit USF Polytechnic and share their knowledge.
"I d like to link our faculty with others doing similar research so we can start a conversation," he says. "When faculty work with other faculty it creates synergy. Two heads are better than one. I hope we can align USF Polytechnic with the French polytechnics. We can learn a lot from each other, and there's no need for us to reinvent the wheel."
"I was absolutely amazed with the linkage possibilities and the parallels between the two regions. I felt in some cases like I was looking 20 years into our future."
On a visit to Grasse, world famous for perfume, Goodman and Patton learned the fragrance industry relies heavily on the citrus blossom, which Florida's citrus industry typically discards. "They asked, 'How can we link our industry with yours?'" says Goodman. "They seemed very interested."
Goodman took time out from visiting polytechs, research parks and government and economic development officials to drive to Toulon to meet Rudy Ricciotti, an internationally renowned architect who just designed an addition to the Louvre Museum. The two discussed USF Polytechnic's new campus project planned for I-4 and the Polk Parkway.
"I want to reach out to get our project known and in front of the world's great architects, in hope that some of them will take an interest in and bid on our project," says Goodman. "We want a strong response and good competition to get the best ideas and designs. We have to go out and convince architects that our project is important for them and encourage them to want to build it."
Goodman believes the project will interest top architects for several reasons. "We're Florida's first polytechnic, and we're building the very first building on a brand new campus. The building will set the tone, define the campus and provide the model for the campus build-out."
Then there's the location. "Thirty million cars a year pass our site between Orlando and Tampa, so we'll be very well viewed."
And the collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture at nearby Florida Southern College offers a chance for an architect to make a similar mark. "We can give an architect a once-in-a-lifetime chance to make a statement about architecture in the 21st century, just as Frank Lloyd Wright did in the 20th century."
According to Goodman, success in today's environment requires a willingness to partner with others, whether across the street or across the globe.
"The main point," says Goodman, "is that as a region we have to not only think globally but also act globally. We need to do the hard work of meeting people and building relationships, and you can't do that sitting behind a desk in your office. Culture, language and history all have to be overcome. To find a true partner takes a lot of work. As a region we need to develop economic development ties to education and help people discover each other."
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