University President Shirley Tilghman has been appointed co-chair of the newly formed New Jersey Commission on Jobs, Growth and Economic Development, whose first meeting is scheduled for today.
New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey and Roy Vagelos, retired chairman of Merck & Co., will also serve as co-chairs of the commission. Comprising 42 leaders from academia, government and the private sector, the commission will make suggestions to encourage cooperation among the three sectors in order to give the state economy a much-needed boost.
"The commission will set forth a blueprint to enable New Jersey to not simply compete in the new economy, but to thrive and prosper in the coming decade," McGreevey said, according to the Princeton Weekly Bulletin. "We have the ability to make New Jersey the premier state for research, development and innovation — and to encourage companies to build facilities here and create high-paying jobs for skilled workers."
In an interview yesterday, Tilghman said she was "cautiously optimistic" about the progress the commission could make.
But she noted that because of a tight state budget, "the kind of work we can do here is going to be tempered by the knowledge that there isn't a lot of surplus that the state could use to make stimulating programs."
The University has played and will continue to play a role in the state's economy, Tilghman said. She noted that many of the ideas first developed in its science and engineering departments have since become the seeds for local companies.
At this point, it is unclear how much time the Commission will need to make its final report, or what form that report will take.
Tilghman will not be the only University representative on the Commission. Economics professor and former department chair Burton Malkiel will also serve.
"We are clearly an international university," Tilghman said. "But we reside in the state of New Jersey, and to the extent that we can participate as citizens of the state in its prosperity, it's win-win."
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