CT's BIO Industry Has Strong Presence at Record-Setting International Convention

Connecticut was one of 18 states to have a strong presence at the BIO International Convention, held this week in Boston. It was a record-setting year, as 18,289 U.S. and international attendees – the most in the last 10 years – participated in what was described as “the epicenter of the biotechnology industry” for four days of programming, 46, 916 partnering meetings (setting a new Guinness World Record for “The Largest Business Partnering Event”) and entertainment. More than a dozen Connecticut companies had a presence in the state’s pavilion at the event:  Jackson Laboratory, Sema4, Genotech Matrix, AlvaHealth, RallyBio, Cantor Colburn, Pfizer, e-Path Learning, Thetis Pharmaceuticals, XViVO, Clarity Quest, Lucerna, Wyant Simboli, Boehringer Ingelheim, Aeromics, LambdaVision, Pattern Genomics.

Also participating were Southern Connecticut State University, Yale University and the University of Connecticut, as well as the City of New Haven, and the town of Branford, along with BIO CT, Connecticut Innovations and the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development.  Additional companies from the state were on-hand, although not as part of the state’s coordinated effort.

All told, there were more than 1,000 companies from dozens of nations represented at the 25^th anniversary conference.  The organizations represented at the BIO International Convention include the world’s leading biotech companies, top 25 pharma companies, top 20 CROs and CMOs, and more than 300 academic institutions including the major research labs and government agencies. Organizers indicate that one out of three attendees based outside of the U.S. and nearly 40 percent are C-level executives at their respective companies.

"If you are or want to be any type of a life science hub, you need to be at this convention," Dawn Hocevar, president and CEO of BioCT, recently told New Haven BIZ. "Connecticut participated in the last two conventions, however, this is the largest footprint we've ever had." BioCT is the bioscience industry voice for the state of Connecticut.  BioCT is dedicated to growing the vibrant bioscience ecosystem in Connecticut by supporting innovation, collaboration, networking, education, talent engagement and advocacy. 

This year’s educational programming was more robust and diverse than ever before, according to organizers, with more than 180 educational sessions, including brand new tracks on genome editing, opioids and corporate best practices.

Among the presenters, panelists, and featured speakers was Scott Gottlieb, Commissioner of Food and Drugs at the U.S. Food and drug Association, a graduate of Wesleyan University in Middletown.

https://youtu.be/rT-HCSKcsqU

Communities, Innovators Recognized for Excellence in Main Street Awards

A hybrid business incubator that provides unique opportunities for collaboration between schools and business to increase college and career readiness while expanding downtown Wallingford business, and a Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation website that is a point of entry for those seeking to spur redevelopment of Connecticut’s historic mill buildings are just two of this year’s Awards of Excellence winners recognized by the Connecticut Main Street Center (CMSC) at annual ceremonies held this year in Danbury. In total, seven initiatives receive the prestigious awards, including organizations and initiatives from Danbury, Hartford, New London, Wallingford, and Windsor, as well as the CT Trust for Historic Preservation and the State of Connecticut.

Winning entries also included collective efforts in bringing more people to Hartford through creative placemaking; a block-by-block initiative to create a positive perception of downtown New London by working with store owners to install LED lights inside storefront windows; a young professionals’ initiative to highlight the diverse culture in downtown Danbury through weekly food truck events; a multi-year deliberate and incremental effort to redevelop Windsor Center with residential and office use around transit; and the State of Connecticut’s coordinated approach to improve the economy and quality of life through investments in development around transit.

Individual awards were also presented to Andrea Pereira, Executive Director of Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and R. David Genovese, CEO of Baywater Properties in Darien.

CMSC’s mission is “to be the catalyst that ignites Connecticut’s Main Streets as the cornerstone of thriving communities.” CMSC is dedicated to community and economic development within the context of historic preservation, and is “committed to bringing Connecticut’s commercial districts back to life socially and economically.”

The Jack Shannahan Award for Public Service for 2018 goes to Andrea Pereira, a former Board Chair of Connecticut Main Street Center, who has been a partner in CMSC’s Come Home to Downtown program, providing financing through the Come Home to Downtown Loan Fund. Pereira, Executive Director of Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), earned the recognition for her leadership in “guiding strategic investments aimed at creating tangible, sustainable improvements in our communities.”

She has led LISC for over 20 years, having previously served as the Director of Urban Revitalization & Investment at the State of CT Department of Economic & Community Development. She is an accomplished community development professional with expertise in community development finance, organizational development, nonprofit management, grant-making, public policy, and program development. LISC Connecticut provides financial and technical resources to over 60 local housing and community development organizations each year. LISC also offers predevelopment, acquisition, bridge and/or construction financing for affordable housing and other community development projects.

The 2018 CT Main Street Founder’s Award, presented by Eversource, is presented to R. David Genovese of Baywater Properties in Darien, founded in 2001. Genovese and his team have “committed themselves to transformational projects in Darien, remaining thoughtful, creative, flexible, innovative, and respectful of the community.”  For more than a decade, he has led numerous key developments in downtown Darien that “breathed new life into the area, revitalizing buildings and reinvigorating its residents.”

Genovese has led a multi-disciplinary team of architects, civil engineers, landscape architects, retail consultants and legal advisors in creating Your Downtown Darien. Otherwise known as the Corbin Development, Baywater assembled this portfolio of properties over the course of nearly 15 years, to be redeveloped to create a mixed-use center incorporating retail, offices, and luxury residences.

“This year’s winners represent a culture of inclusivity in ensuring that Main Street belongs to everyone,” said CMSC Associate Director Kimberley Parsons-Whitaker. “From enlivening our public spaces with ethnic cuisine and multi-cultural entertainment, to redeveloping formerly abandoned mills and blighted areas around bus and train stations with residential and commercial options for people of all background and incomes, our 2018 award recipients are leading their communities and our state in improving the quality of life and our economy.”  The 2018 Awards of Excellence went to:

▪  Great Placemaking in Hartford; including Know Good Market, Riverfront Recapture, One World Market at CTfastrak Station in Parkville, Hartford BID Bicycle Roadside Assistance Program, Pratt Street Patio, and Winterfest)  – Recipients: Breakfast Lunch & Dinner, Riverfront Recapture, International Hartford, Hartford BID, and iQuilt Partnership.

▪  Light Up New London – Recipient: New London Main Street. Partners: Dominion Foundation, National Main Street Center.

▪  Downtown Chow-Down, Danbury – Recipients: CityCenter Danbury, City of Danbury. Partners: Get Downtown Danbury, Greater Danbury Chapter of CT Young Professionals.

▪  HUBCAP Wallingford – Recipients: Wallingford Center, Inc., Town of Wallingford Board of Education, Wallingford Economic Development Commission.

▪ Mills: Making Places of Connecticut – Recipient: CT Trust for Historic Preservation. Partner: Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office.

▪ Coordinated Approach to Responsible Growth and Transit Oriented Development – Recipient: State of Connecticut.

▪ Setting the Stage for TOD in Windsor Center – Recipient: Town of Windsor. Partners: CIL Development, Lexington Partners, LLC.

The Town of Windsor was recognized for the redevelopment of the portion of Windsor Center lying just east of the railroad tracks in town, which previously contained a mix of obsolete industrial and municipal uses which no longer contributed to the vitality of the Center.  The turn-around, with an eye towards transit-oriented development, included development of Windsor Station, a 130-unit market-rate rental project on a 6.5 acre site adjoining the passenger rail station.

The $23 million development project included demolition of two former industrial buildings, environmental remediation and construction of two, four-story elevator buildings with parking and site amenities. The project includes 32 studio, 65 one-bedroom and 33 two-bedroom units and is targeted to an underserved rental market of young professionals 20 to 35 years of age and baby boomers.  Construction was completed a year ago, and 90 percent occupancy was achieved within five months.

Reversal of Fortunes: A Decade Up, A Decade Down for Connecticut’s Economy

Connecticut’s economy is now smaller that it was 2004. The state’s lackluster performance stands in sharp contrast with all of the other New England states, whose economies have seen real growth, as have those of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania. The state’s economy contracted in 2017, as it did in 2014 and 2016, and its overall performance for the year ranked 49th, topping only Louisiana. An analysis by the University of Connecticut’s Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis (CCEA) points out that since 2008, Connecticut’s economy, measured in real GDP (corrected for inflation) has contracted every year, except for 2015. That year’s positive blip of 1.1 percent growth was quickly overtaken by contraction in the two subsequent years.

The suddenness of this persistent downturn for Connecticut has been dramatic.  Between 1997 and 2007, the state’s economy grew by 3 percent annually, outpacing Massachusetts (2.9%), Rhode Island (2.5%), and New York (2.3%), based on the compound rate of annual real GDP growth.  In the decade since, through 2016, the Connecticut economy contracted by 0.9 percent annually while Massachusetts and New York grew by 1.6 percent and Rhode Island by .6 percent, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The Bureau reports the state's GDP shrank 0.2 percent last year—one of just three states with negative growth— after contracting by 0.3% the previous year.  At the same time, the national economy expanded 2.1 percent, CBIA recently pointed out.  CBIA economist Pete Gioia said “We are missing the economic growth party that the region and most of the country are experiencing."  He noted that through March this year, Connecticut has recovered just 80 percent of all jobs lost in the 2008-2010 recession, the slowest recovery in New England. The U.S. has recovered 219 percent of jobs lost.

At the same time the state economy has contracted, Connecticut has seen 78 continuous months of job creation, measured year over year, since 2010, the CCEA analysis acknowledges. While private sector jobs are now above their previous peak, public sector jobs- including those at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun - have been contracting, and will likely continue to contract for a couple more years, points out Center Director Fred Carstensen.  He adds that jobs created in the private sector have been broadly of lower quality than that of jobs lost. Thus real personal income, like real output, has been contracting even as employment has grown.  So the common focus on job creation has been deceptive: rising job numbers has not meant economic growth.

Adding to the complexity of the situation in Connecticut, Carstensen explains, is the increasing number of residents who work out of state. Since 2016, more than 35,000 additional Connecticut residents have found job outside of the state —so the number of Connecticut residents employed is near an all-time peak. Unfortunately, those 35,000 all pay their income tax first to the state where they work, thus contributing to the fiscal crisis in Connecticut, Carstensen noted.

In 2017, Massachusetts led the way in New England with 2.6 percent growth, followed by 1.9% in New Hampshire, with Rhode Island (1.6%), Maine (1.4%), and Vermont (1.1%) all showing growth, unlike Connecticut. In November, 2017, the Connecticut Department of Labor reported that total payroll employment in the state had fallen below the level of February, 1989, according to CCEA.

“The dramatic reversal in fortunes for Connecticut, shifting from a decade and more of strong growth to a persistently contracting economy, is nearly unprecedented among state economies.  The next Governor and Legislature need to make a determined effort—absent to date—to understand what drove this climatic reversal of fortunes in Connecticut’s economy health.  Such an understanding is central to adopting policies and initiatives to reverse the state’s decline,” Carstensen argued.

The Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis (CCEA), under the direction of Carstensen, is a University Center located within the School of Business at UConn.  CCEA specializes in economic impact and policy analysis studies, as well as advising clients regarding business strategy, market analysis, and related topics.  CBIA’s research department, led by Goia, provides in-depth economic and policy analysis and survey research assistance to CBIA’s legal, insurance, and human resources divisions and member companies.

Connecticut-Grown Businesses Lead Stand-out Cohort of Entrepreneurial Start-Ups

reSET, the Hartford-based Social Enterprise Trust, whose mission is advancing the social enterprise sector and supporting entrepreneurs of all stripes, has announced the winners of its 2018 Venture Showcase, and three Connecticut-grown businesses took the top awards. The annual event recognizes the talented entrepreneurs and innovative businesses that have just graduated from reSET’s nationally recognized accelerator. This year, 18 early stage enterprises graduated from the most recent cohort, and eight finalists competed for $20,000 in unrestricted funding.  reSET’s goal is to meet entrepreneurs wherever they are in their trajectory and to help them take their businesses to the next level.

The entrepreneurs pitched their business models to an audience of founders, investors, and community and corporate stakeholders. The panel of judges included Claire Leonardi, former CEO of Connecticut Innovations; Alan Mattamana, Partner at Fairview Capital Partners; and Lalitha Shivaswamy, President of Helios Management Corporation.

Winning the top $10,000 award was Loki, which was created in a “group independent study” through UConn’s Digital Media and Design program by Andrew Ginzberg and co-founders Jeffrey Santi, Brian Kelleher, and Case Polen.  Described as “a new kind of media company” - a video sharing platform exclusively for smartphones - Loki is “a place where you can watch events through collections of many perspectives, live-streamed through the eyes of people actually there.”  The company’s website is welcoming people who would like to learn more to leave an email address.

Taking the second-place $6,000 award was Florapothecarie, a line of 100% natural + vegan skincare products, “lovingly handmade in Connecticut” by Sami Jo Jensen.  The line of products is certified vegan and cruelty-free by Leaping Bunny and PETA.

The third-place entrepreneurial business was Bare Life, launching a line of crave-worthy food products with the world’s first Organic, Vegan, Paleo, Non-GMO, Dairy Free, Gluten Free and Refined Sugar Free Hot Chocolate Powder.  Founded by local resident Ali Lazowski, who was put on a very restricted diet due to numerous medical conditions and learned first-hand how scarce allergen and irritant-free foods are. So, she set out to create them. Bare Life's mission is to make these allergen and irritant friendly foods and recipes convenient for everyone, especially the chronically ill.

The event was held last week at the YG Club at Dunkin’ Donuts Park to a sellout crowd of 225. Before selecting the 18 ventures that would participate in the Accelerator class, officials had reSET had to sift through an applicant pool that was the most competitive yet, with 110+ submissions from all over the world.  Since 2013, reSET has graduated 105 companies from its accelerator program and has awarded more than a quarter of a million dollars to scaling ventures.

The Superlative Award for “Most Improved Pitch” was won by FieldOwler, a new business that provides auditing and risk management software and solutions to help businesses, organizations, and agencies.  Other finalists were CNG Fit, LLC / Fit Party Me, Lioness Magazine, Noteworthy Chocolates, RecordME, and SKYWIREme .

The Accelerator program and Venture Showcase was made possible by reSET’s partners and sponsors, including  CTNext, The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Travelers, The Walker Group, Bank of America, The Hartford, GoodWorks Insurance, and People’s United Community Foundation.  SnapSeat Photo Booths also provided in-kind services.

reSET, the Social Enterprise Trust is a non-profit organization whose mission is to advance the social enterprise sector. reSET serves all entrepreneurs, but specializes in social enterprise ― impact driven business with a double and sometimes triple bottom line. In addition to providing co-working space and accelerator and mentoring programs, reSET aims to inspire innovation and community collaboration, and to support entrepreneurs in creating market-based solutions to community challenges.

Pratt & Whitney to Receive State's Medal of Technology

Pratt & Whitney has been selected as the 2018 recipient of the Connecticut Medal of Technology in recognition of its accomplishments in creating the groundbreaking geared turbofan (GTF) technology with unprecedented reductions in fuel consumption and noise, representing an incredible technological achievement in mechanical engineering and aircraft propulsion. It marks the first time in recent memory that the Medal will be presented to a business; previous recipients have been individuals.  David B. Carter, Senior Vice President of Engineering will accept the award on behalf of Pratt & Whitney at the 43rd Annual Meeting & Dinner of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE) on Thursday, May 24, 2018 at the Red Lion Hotel in Cromwell.

Pratt employs thousands of engineers and workers with headquarters, research and development organizations and production facilities in Connecticut. United Technologies Corporation, parent company of Pratt & Whitney, spent more than $10 billion on research before launching the GTF engine.

With more than 8,000 engines sold to date, the GTF represents several hundred billion dollars of economic activity in Connecticut over the next few years. Numerous airline customers have chosen Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower® turbofan engines because of the superior architecture and performance, as well as economic and environmental benefits.

“At Pratt & Whitney, we are in a very competitive industry and our continued success depends on our people driving innovation into every part, process and service,” said Carter. “Our customers have depended on Pratt & Whitney innovators literally for generations, and with the GTF, they can continue to count on us for the next generation.”

“From the smallest detail of our engine design to the last stage of our manufacturing line, they are continuously improving how our engines are designed, manufactured and serviced. In the GTF alone, we matured or invented at least 48 technologies to drive performance benefits and we have over 3600 patents and patent applications filed globally to protect our investment in innovative GTF architecture. These technologies go beyond the gear and include advancements to the fan blade, engine core, materials, monitoring systems and a host of others.

Pratt & Whitney has had a long-term commitment to and association with the State of Connecticut. “The State of Connecticut is proud to award the Connecticut Medal of Technology to Pratt & Whitney,” said Governor Dannel P. Malloy.

Malloy said that “Connecticut is the proud home of some of the nation’s most talented aerospace and defense manufacturers and suppliers, and Pratt & Whitney is certainly among them. This company continues to conduct cutting-edge aerospace research, providing exciting new opportunities for top engineering and science graduates from our state’s colleges and universities. We applaud Pratt & Whitney for their ongoing innovations and continued commitment to the State of Connecticut.”

The Connecticut Medal of Technology is awarded to individuals, teams, and companies/non-profits or divisions of companies/nonprofits for their outstanding contributions to the economic, environmental and social well-being of Connecticut and the nation through the promotion of technology, technological innovation, or the development of the technological workforce.

By highlighting the importance of technological innovation, the Medal also seeks to inspire future generations to prepare for and pursue technical careers to keep Connecticut and the nation at the forefront of global technology and economic leadership.

The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering was chartered by the General Assembly in 1976 to provide expert guidance on science and technology to the people and to the state of Connecticut, and to promote the application of science and technology to human welfare and economic well-being.

Modeled after the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, this award is bestowed by the State of Connecticut, with the assistance of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, in alternate years with the Connecticut Medal of Science.

The Connecticut Medal of Science was presented last year to Professor Robert Schoelkopf, Sterling Professor of Applied Physics and Physics and Director of the Yale Quantum Institute.  Previous Connecticut Medal of Technology recipients include Cato T. Laurencin (2016) Professor at the University of Connecticut andCEO, Connecticut Institute for Clinical and Translational Science, and Frederick J. Leonberger (2014), Principal of Ovation Advisors, LLC and Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer (ret.), JDS Uniphase Corporation.

For more information about the Academy, visit www.ctcase.org.

Women’s Economic Status in Connecticut Among Best in Nation, But Still Insufficient

Women are faring better in Connecticut than in most states in the nation, according to a new analysis that focused on data in two central areas of everyday life – Employment & Earnings and Poverty & Opportunity. Connecticut ranked 4^th in the Employment and Earnings category, earning a B+, and 4^th in the Poverty and Opportunity category, with a B- grade.

Status of Women in the States is a project of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, a comprehensive project that presents and analyzes data for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The Institute suggests that the data can be used “to raise awareness, improve policies, and promote women’s equality.”

Connecticut’s grade for women’s Employment & Earnings, B+, has improved since the 2004 Status of Women in the States report.  Its grade for women’s Poverty & Opportunity, B-, has dropped since 2004.

In the subcategories of Employment and Earnings, Connecticut ranked Connecticut ranked 2nd in median annual earnings for women employed full-time, 5^th in the percent of all employed women in managerial or professional occupations, 13^th in the percent of women in the labor force, and 38^th in the earnings ratio between women and men employed full-time, year-round.

The Employment & Earnings Index measures states on women’s earnings, the gender wage gap, women’s labor force participation, and women’s representation in professional and managerial occupations. The top states were District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York.

Women working full-time, year-round have the highest earnings in the District of Columbia, where women’s median annual earnings are $65,000. Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New Jersey are tied for second, with women in those states earning $50,000 at the median.

In the Poverty and Opportunity subcategories, Connecticut ranked 2^nd in the percent of women age 18 and older above poverty, 5^th in the percent of women age 25 and older with a Bachelor’s degree or higher, 10^th in the percent of women age 18-64 with health insurance, and 29^th in the percent of businesses owned by women.

New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maryland, and New Jersey have the highest rates of women living above poverty in the country at 89.2 percent, 88.4 percent, 88.1 percent, and 88.1 percent, respectively.

The report noted that women in Connecticut aged 16 and older who work full-time, year-round have median annual earnings of $50,000, which is 76.9 cents on the dollar compared with men who work full-time, year-round. Hispanic women earn just 47 cents for every dollar earned by White men, according to the report. According to the report’s analysis, if employed women in Connecticut were paid the same as comparable men, their poverty rate would be reduced by more than half and poverty among employed single mothers would be cut in half.

In Connecticut, 32.7 percent of businesses in 2012 were owned by women, up from 28.1 percent in 2007.  The report also indicates that 94.2 percent of Connecticut’s women aged 18 to 64 have health insurance coverage, which is above the national average for women of 89.4 percent.

The report, published in March 2018, concludes that “Women in Connecticut have made considerable advances in recent years but still face inequities that often prevent them from reaching their full potential.”

Small Business Administration to Honor CT’s Leading Small Business Owners

April M. Lukasik, President & CEO of Bright & Early Children’s Learning Centers, has been named the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2018 Connecticut Small Business Person of the Year, SBA’s top award, Anne Hunt, SBA’s District Director, has announced. “We are extremely excited to honor a truly amazing line up of small business owners and champions this year, said Anne Hunt, SBA’s Connecticut District Director.  It is important to recognize these outstanding small businesses in the state as they are the job creators, innovators and the fabric of our local communities!” 

The slate of leading small business owners in Connecticut will be honored at the Annual Small Business Week Awards Luncheon at Anthony’s Ocean View in New Haven on May 3.  National Small Business Week is obsered April 29-May 5.

Bright & Early Children’s Learning Centers have four locations in Connecticut.  The business was founded in Middletown 2012 by Lukasik.  The mission statement describes the Center as “a child care and early education solution in a nurturing and scholastic environment where dedicated teachers are awakening young minds when it matters most.”  Old Saybrook, Branford locations followed, with West Hartford soon to open.

“We hope the small business community will join the SBA and our host, SCORE for an inspiring awards luncheon on May 3rd in New Haven,” Hunt added.

The 2018 Connecticut SBA Honorees are:

• Region 1 & Connecticut Manufacturer of the Year  Brian Weinstein, CHAPCO, Chester
• Region 1 & Connecticut Family-Owned Small Business   Charles Buck Jr., Buck’s Spumoni Company, Inc., Milford
• Exporter of the Year  Dennis Nash, Control Station Inc., Manchester
• Woman-Owned Small Business  Erin Emmons, Lucky Taco Cantina and Tap Room, Manchester
• Minority-Owned Small Business  Marilyn Ortiz, Borinquen Bakery, New Britain
• Veteran Owned Business of the Year Nicholas W. Wright, Unlimited Fun LLC., Prospect
• Home-Based Business of the Year Linda Longboardi, ReGift the Wrap, LLC., Glastonbury
• Young Entrepreneur of the Year  Alyssa DeMatteo, Wildflour Confections, Seymour
• CT Microenterprise Award  Stefanie Toise, At Once LLC., Vernon
• Financial Services Champion  Aaron M. Bohigan- Webster Bank, Hartford

Lukasik, founder of Bright & Early Children's Learning Centers, finds her roots in a family of entrepreneurs. Her grandmother owned and operated a nursing home that her parents later grew into a successful entity. She started off working in the family business, gathering experience and cultivating her passion of caring for others. After obtaining her Bachelors Degree in Marketing, she jumpstarted her entrepreneurial career, creating and operating multiple companies while gaining experience and insight into what it takes to build and grow a successful organization.

When her children were toddlers, she found herself searching for child care options that suited her needs and standards as a discerning parent… a safe, secure, nurturing, warm, home-like, educational, organized, and clean child care center. Not finding what she was looking for, she tapped into her entrepreneurial spirit to start her own child care center that met all of these standards.

The Young Entreprenuer of the Year, Alyssa DeMatteo, is a 26 year old Seymour resident who quickly gained popularity in southern Connecticut's cake and cupcake scene when she launched Wildflour Cupcakes & Sweets as a Facebook page in 2013.

Control Station was founded in 1988 and headquartered near the University of Connecticut. Control Station harnesses the creative energies of its surrounding, solving difficult plant monitoring and controller challenges facing process manufacturers with a broad portfolio of software-based solutions. Exporter of the Year Dennis Nash is President and Chief Executive Officer of Control Station, Inc.

Museums Have Significant Impact on State, National Economy, Report Concludes

Museums in Connecticut had a one-year total financial impact on Connecticut’s economy of $834 million, providing $556 million in income via wages and other income to state residents, generating $223.5 million in taxes (including $77.5 million in state and local taxes), and supporting just over 10,200 jobs – including 5,400 direct jobs, 1,877 indirect jobs and nearly 3,000 induced jobs. The data was compiled as part of a national report, Museums as Economic Engines, compiled the Alliance of American Museums. The report indicates that nationwide, museums support 726,000 jobs in the United States, and directly employ 372,100 people, more than double that of the professional sports industry, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Alliance points out.

The study, conducted by Oxford Economics with the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, shows that for every $100 of economic activity created by museums, an additional $220 is created in other sectors of the US economy as a result of supply chain and employee expenditure impacts, according to the report.  The data analyzed was from calendar year 2016, the most recent full year of data available.

These impacts mean that museums contribute approximately $50 billion to the US economy each year, a number that’s more than twice previous estimates, according to the Alliance.  The report is also the first to show that US museums generate more than $12 billion per year in tax revenue to federal, state, and local governments.

The report estimated that there are 372,100 museum workers employed in the US along with 3 million volunteers.  It also indicated that 89 percent of Americans believe that museums provide important economic impacts back to their communities, according to a public opinion survey conducted in 2017.

Nationally, the museum field’s largest economic impact is on the leisure and hospitality industry (approximately $17 billion), but it also generates approximately $12 billion in the financial activities sector and approximately $3 billion each in the education/health services and manufacturing sectors.

The top 10 states driving this impact are geographically diverse and account for 57 percent of the gross value added to the national economy. States with the highest economic impact from the museum sector included California ($6.6 billion), New York ($5.4 billion), and Texas ($3.9 billion). However, those that rely most heavily on museums due to their relatively higher concentration, the report indicated, include the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Wyoming, and Alaska.

In breaking down the jobs impact of museums, direct impact refers to direct employment and spending by the industry’s business operations; indirect impact includes supply-chain effects, stemming from industry’s operations (e.g. legal services, utilities, etc.) and induced impact describes the impact resulting from employees spending their incomes in the economy.

The American Alliance of Museums (AAM), founded in 1906, now represents more than 35,000 professionals and volunteers, institutions, and corporate partners in the sector.

More Than 1,500 College Students from CT Save Average of $7,700 in Tuition in New England Program

Seventy-eight percent of college students from Connecticut participating this academic year in a reciprocal tuition reduction program coordinated by the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) attend undergraduate programs at state colleges and universities.  That’s the highest participation level at state colleges and universities among the six New England states, and provides Connecticut students, on average, with $7,747 in tuition savings.  That's the third highest average tuition savings among the six states. In an annual report on the Regional Student Program (RSP), also known as Tuition Break, NEBHE reported that more than $59 million in tuition savings was provided during academic year 2017-18 to 8,654 participating students throughout the region.  Just over 1,500 of them are from Connecticut.

The RSP allows eligible residents of the six New England states to pay a reduced tuition rate when they enroll at out-of-state public colleges and universities within the region and pursue approved degree programs not offered by their home-state public institutions. In some cases, students may be eligible when their home is closer to an out-of-state college than to an in-state college. Connecticut residents are eligible for more than 500 undergraduate and graduate degree programs with the RSP Tuition Break.

There were more students coming in to Connecticut public institutions of higher education from other New England states than Connecticut students pursuing their education elsewhere in the region.  There were 239 students from Connecticut attending community colleges elsewhere in the region, while 197 students came into Connecticut.

Among the institutions seeing the highest number of incoming students in the Tuition Break program were the University of Connecticut (724 undergraduate students), Asnuntuck Community College (163) and Eastern Connecticut State University (172).

At the undergraduate level, 1,210 students came into the state under the RSP initiative, while 948 from Connecticut attended colleges outside the state under the program.  At the graduate level, the trend was reversed:  102 came in to Connecticut while 93 went outside the state through the tuition break program.

The data compiled on the RSP indicates that participating students and families saved an estimated $59 million on this academic year's tuition bills, with a full-time student saving an average of $8,157.  Overall, enrollment at four-year undergraduate institutions decreased by 2%, following a 6.8% increase the previous year. Graduate enrollment increased by 11%. Enrollment at community colleges decreased by nearly 9%.  Participating Massachusetts students saved an average of $9,285; Rhode Island students an average of $8,613 and Connecticut students an average of $7,747.

New England public colleges and universities received nearly $97 million in tuition revenue from RSP students enrolled at their campuses.  Undergraduate programs at four-year state colleges and universities accounted for 59% of RSP enrollment; associate programs, 35%; and graduate programs, 6%.

In Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine and Rhode Island, the highest percentage of residents enrolled under the RSP in undergraduate programs were at the state colleges and universities: 78%, 66%, 60% and 56%, respectively. In Vermont and New Hampshire, the highest percentage of residents enrolled under the RSP were at the community colleges: 52% and 48%, respectively.

Among the programs enrolling Connecticut residents in 2017-18 are animation, aquaculture & fisher technology, criminal justice, food science, forestry, legal studies, marine engineering, marine science, marine transportation, mountain recreation management, performing arts, fashion merchandising, and zoology.

More than 850 undergraduate and graduate degree programs are offered under the RSP, many of them in specialized and high-demand fields. In 2017, the region's public colleges and universities approved 33 additional programs.  Officials note that program offerings expand each year.  Programs now include:

Associate degree programs (8): Audio Engineering, Culinary Arts: Baking and Pastry, Entrepreneurship, Fine Woodworking and Furniture Design, Global Studies, International Business, Professional Writing, Video/Film

Bachelor's degree programs (13): Accelerated Nursing, Aging Studies, Climate Change Science, Elementary Education: Community Engaged Learning, Environmental Studies and Sustainability, Fine Woodworking and Furniture Design, Fisheries Biology, Health Care Studies, Information Technology International Affairs (dual major), Movement Science: Wilderness Leadership Concentration, Wildlife Biology, World Languages Education (K-12)

Graduate programs (12): Master's: Athletic Training, Engineering Management, Exercise and Health Sciences, Genetics and Genomic Counseling, Music Pedagogy, Quantitative Economics, Transnational, Cultural and Community Studies, Urban Planning and Community Development

Doctoral: Computational Sciences, Counseling Psychology, Exercise and Health Sciences, Health Promotion Science

Now in its 61st year, the RSP was established by NEBHE in 1957-58 to fulfill the purposes of the congressionally authorized New England Higher Education Compact forged to expand educational opportunities for New England residents and share higher education resources. The RSP helps the individual New England states avoid the high costs of establishing and operating academic programs already offered in the six-state region.

Connecticut Export Week, Which Starts Today, is One-of-a-Kind in U.S.

There is only one state in the nation that has an “export week,” designed to encourage more in-state businesses to take the first steps toward building international business connections.  “Connecticut Export Week,” now in its third year, takes place March 19-23, 2018. The week-long focus on the business potential of exports features a dozen events and webinars with expertise offered in a range of broad and very specific aspects of international business. It is a joint initiative of the U.S. Export Center and the affiliated District Export Council.  Connecticut is the only state where the local office of the federal agency functions as the State Trade Office.

The initiative has been very successful in exporting awareness and training for companies, according to officials.  The information shared by experts at programs and events during the week helps companies become “Export Ready” so that when they use agency services to meet new customers and get into new markets, they are better prepared to close the deal.

According to the Connecticut Business and Industry Association's 2017 international trade survey, there are nearly 6,000 companies exporting from within the state.   Connecticut achieved export levels in goods and services reaching $14.4 billion, contributing to the more than $1.45 trillion in U.S. commodity exports in 2016.

Topics during the week will include Market Research, Global Intellectual Property, Digital Strategy, Doing Business with NATO, export Finance and Insurance for U.S. Exporters, Understanding Foreign Exchange and Letters of Credit and Export Documentation Basics.  There will also be a CEO’s and Managers Export Forum, a session focused on Opportunities for Advanced Manufacturing in Germany, and another on Infrastructure in Peru.

According to U.S. Census Bureau 2017 data, nations topping the list of exports from Connecticut are France (14.3%), Canada (12.8%), Germany (12.4%), United Kingdom (8.8%), Mexico (7.0%), China (5.4%), Netherlands (4.2%), Japan (3.7%), South Korea (3.6%) and Singapore (2.7%).

CBIA noted that the vast majority (89%) of Connecticut businesses engaged in international trade are small and midsize enterprises employing fewer than 500 workers.  The top three areas where Connecticut companies are looking for assistance, the survey found, are market research (52%), making connections with customers (32%), and finding foreign representatives (19%). Connecticut's top three export categories, the CBIA survey pointed out, are transportation equipment, machinery, and computer and electronic products, sold primarily to France, Germany, and Canada.

Between 2007 and 2017, there has been a steady increase in the number of Connecticut companies engaging in international trade, the CBIA survey found —from 53% to 77% over the 10-year period.