EDA University Center Administration
Cornell has a rich history of community and economic development and the University Center will be supported by a coordinated effort of CaRDI, which will leverage the Cornell Cooperation Extension system, and the Office of Economic Development (OED) within CCTEC. The University Center builds on partnerships with key entities at Cornell that provide economic development services, including the Department of City and Regional Planning, Cornell Institute for Social and Economic Research, the College of Industrial and Labor Relations and the Geneva Agricultural Experiment Station. Through a concurrent effort to establish an economic development clearinghouse at Cornell, additional campus resources will be tapped for relevant expertise and resources. For example, the Cornell Center for Materials Research, College of Engineering and the Center for Advanced Technology in Biotechnology have active outreach programs for New York companies.
Entities directly supporting the University Center:
Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE)
CCE “puts knowledge to work” by providing timely, research-based information and expertise from Cornell University. CCE has a local presence in all of New York State’s 57 counties as well as New York City. The CCE system includes Cornell specialists and researchers and 500 extension educators. Cornell Cooperative Extension Associations are vital partners in fulfilling the land-grant and extension missions of Cornell University. Associations' educational programs are supported by the research conducted by faculty on the Cornell campus as well as other land-grant universities throughout the country. By extending the work of faculty, Cornell Cooperative Extension Associations provide "portals" to Cornell University and serve as the only direct contact many New Yorkers will have with their land-grant institution. Central to the system's design is the idea of strong partnerships with local governments and that communities should be a part of decisions about educational programming. Local programs are tailor ed to local needs, while maintaining system-wide integrity and connection to Cornell.
Cornell’s Community and Rural Development Institute (CaRDI)
CaRDI supports CCE Associations that meet local needs through community and economic development programming. CaRDI is a multidisciplinary center committed to building strong, vital and healthy communities through strengthening community economic development; facilitating community and government capacity building; and developing effective and collaborative land use management approaches and policies. Working in concert with others, CaRDI mobilizes and makes accessible Cornell University programs and resources to strengthen and support New York’s communities and citizens. The approach is interdisciplinary, incorporating economic opportunity, environmental health, and community participation.
Cornell Center for Technology, Enterprise and Commercialization (CCTEC)
CCTEC was created in 2004 to serve the intellectual property (IP), technology transfer, licensing, company creation and economic development mission of Cornell University. CCTEC includes the Offices of Intellectual Property Management and Licensing in Ithaca and Weill Medical College in New York City, Cornell Research Foundation and the Office of Economic Development (OED). CCTEC fosters university-industry research collaborations, promotes innovation and inventiveness on campus and encourages entrepreneurship. CCTEC is solely responsible for commercializing the University’s inventions and is a campus focal point for coordinating resources to increase research collaboration and foster economic development. CCTEC has strategic intellectual property/tech transfer relationships with colleges, centers and departments that establish it as the nexus for a broad range of technology-based economic development activities. Over the past several years, university intellectual property management and technology t transfer has intensified. The rise in small-business development in this country is due, in part, to university spin-off companies, particularly those based on high technology. CCTEC is the embodiment of this trend at Cornell. Over the past 5 years, CCTEC received 990 invention submissions from Cornell researchers, was awarded 912 U.S. patents, completed 373 license agreements, and launched 36 start-up companies. By coupling the power of intellectual property/tech transfer with the Office of Economic Development (OED) and integrating it into the overall process of technology commercialization, Cornell has embarked on an effort to foster even more local, regional and state-wide economic development. In addition to assisting the process of technology-led economic development, OED will provide a clearinghouse of all the economic development initiatives and activities at Cornell.
Cornell's EDA Center is a collaboration between Cooperative Extension & CaRDI and the Cornell Center for Technology & OED.