Holbrook supports passage of State Issue 1

COLUMBUS – Ohio State University President Karen A. Holbrook today reaffirmed the university's support of State Issue 1 on Tuesday's general election ballot. “The investment generated by Issue 1 is exactly what Ohio needs to recover, grow and prosper in the years ahead,”

Holbrook said. “Contrary to what opponents say, this issue is not corporate welfare. Merit-based research awards will provide new, high-paying jobs and benefit all of Ohio.”

Holbrook said that Ohio can compete successfully in the 21st century only by realigning its workforce and jobs, encouraging science- and math-based education and attracting businesses that engage in bioscience, medicine, energy production and the other industries of the future.
“We need to encourage a culture of innovation in Ohio that will stimulate the economy,” Holbrook said.

As one of the country's top research universities, Ohio State can help the state move forward in these areas by working in partnership with other Ohio businesses and institutions. Issue 1 will expand on the Third Frontier investments of the past few years, attracting federal research funding and leveraging matching private sector investment.

Holbrook cited as an example the Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center, a partnership between Ohio State, Battelle Memorial Institute and other business collaborators, which is working with Third Frontier funding to develop technologies to produce lubricants and adhesives from Ohio-grown agricultural products, including corn and soybeans, giving Ohio farmers a new market for their goods. Nearly twenty businesses and institutions are coming together to leverage Ohio's big agricultural and chemical industries, while advancing biotech and chemical research to fundamentally improve their profitability and competitiveness.

Another example, the Third Frontier Network, is a new high-powered computer network connecting Ohio's public and private universities, and eventually many high tech companies, medical centers and elementary, middle and high schools. Unique in the nation, the TFN gives Ohio opportunities that few other states can match: new ways to reach primary- and secondary-school students, improved health care and stimulus for economic development. The network will allow Ohio State to share its high-tech tools and faculty expertise and is consistent with the university's mission of serving the broader community by putting academic and research excellence to work for the betterment of society.

Holbrook added, “It is important to remember that Issue 1 investments will flow into all areas of Ohio, through the partnerships among universities and businesses, the purchase of Ohio goods and services and the creation of jobs around the state.”

She noted that the statewide benefits, the attraction of out-of-state research dollars and the opportunities created for future workers have earned Issue 1 extensive bipartisan support. “Ultimately, this kind of investment in Ohio's future will benefit our students and prepare them to stay in Ohio, get high-paying jobs in the industries of the future, and pay taxes that will affect the quality of life of people here and elsewhere.”