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February 8, 2024

Dear Wolf Pack Family,

I have some fantastic news to share with you.

Earlier today the State Legislature’s Interim Finance Committee approved a $7.5 million match for a $75 million appropriation from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to fund Â鶹ӳ»­’s Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs (Tech Hubs). The state government’s provision of $7.5 million, in partnership with the Economic Development Authority of Western Â鶹ӳ»­ (EDAWN), is a continuation of the investment that the state has made in contributing to national security and in creating the businesses and new jobs that will power broader national and statewide economic development.

This is an important step forward following the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) announcement that Â鶹ӳ»­ — led by our University — was named one of the inaugural 31 Tech Hubs. Â鶹ӳ»­ was selected from a competitive pool of 489 applicants from across the United States and its territories.

Â鶹ӳ»­’s Tech Hub is a network of 60 public-private partnerships with entities throughout all Â鶹ӳ»­ counties who are collaborating to lead our state into a new era as a globally competitive innovation center. Our University is working in concert with core Â鶹ӳ»­ Tech Hub Consortium members including the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, Â鶹ӳ»­ Battery Coalition and the Â鶹ӳ»­ Mining Association. These efforts will be collaborative, building on existing workforce development and advanced research and innovation efforts already being led by each campus of the Â鶹ӳ»­ System of Higher Education.

Today’s approval by the members of Interim Finance Committee paves the way for large-scale coordination between the University and Consortium partners for workforce development and industry innovation through clean energy initiatives such as lithium batteries and EV materials, among many other areas. We will seek to invest these funds in targeted and aggressive business creation, attraction, retention, and expansion efforts designed to close identified gaps in this emerging industry sector across our state. Our University is uniquely and strategically positioned to serve as a core Consortium member in coordinating this effort, thanks to the research, innovation and alignment with key Â鶹ӳ»­ industries.

The impact of the work that will be done as part of being a designated Tech Hub will be transformational and will include:

• Providing pathways for existing well-established workforce development programs to educate, train, and transition the next generation workforce to an economy of the future.
• Creating an estimated 50,000 new jobs across the 16-county Tech Hub region in Â鶹ӳ»­ within a five-year period.
• Serving as an organizing force to direct targeted federal, state, regional and local infrastructure investments to create the largest impact for Â鶹ӳ»­.
• Supporting innovation and commercialization of research and development.
• Supporting critical community ecosystem development improvement inclusive of Â鶹ӳ»­ Native American Tribal populations.

Working with our 60-plus Â鶹ӳ»­ Tech Hub Consortium members and partners, these funds will be used to support specific initiatives including supply chain enhancement efforts, broad workforce development strategies, efforts to move research and development into the marketplace through improved commercialization and entrepreneurship efforts, as well as address the community infrastructure, capacity, and housing challenges our communities already face.

I wish to thank the members of Interim Finance Committee for their approval today, Gov. Joe Lombardo for his continued support of this initiative, as well the more than 60 Â鶹ӳ»­ Tech Hub Consortium members for their belief in this broad effort. We are seeking a generational shift in the economic future of Â鶹ӳ»­. Today’s news brings us one step closer to realizing it.

Go Pack!

Sincere regards,

Brian Sandoval
President