Increased federal grants will almost immediately raise the standing of the research facility and begin to draw attention from high-tech companies, he says. Businesses like to be near research universities because they need the expertise of faculty, and have a ready-made labor pool to draw from. And frankly, the best way to do that is to hire the guy who came up with the idea or work with the guy who came up with the idea. The commission itself represents a different approach to research funding, says Virginia Secretary of Technology Donald Upson. Its members are senior research managers from Virginia universities and executives from companies such as Litton-PRC, WorldCom and PSINet, along with the directors of two research facilities and cabinet secretaries like Upson.
Every university comes hat in hand.
The commission gets to decide, and not the lobbyists. Leaders of the new commission know they'll soon need more funding from the state, and they know the General Assembly will want something to show for its investment. Return to The Golden Egg index . Use of this website is subject to certain terms and conditions . We may collect personal information on this site, as described in our privacy policy.