Activities revolve around the declaration by Governor Herbert, himself a former small business owner, declaring today the state’s official Entrepreneurship Day. That proclamation will be made 11:30 a.m. in the Capitol Rotunda, followed by a reception hosted by the accounting firm of Ernst & Young.

The University, meanwhile, kicked off its focus on business development and innovation on September 24 with the Student Entrepreneur Conference. More than 225 student participants attended the sold-out conference at the Fort Douglas Officers Club.

Nicknamed the “Beehive State” for its focus on industry, Utah’s educated, innovative and industrious population is reflected in the U’s top ranking for creating startup companies. The University’s David Eccles School of Business was ranked 16^thamong Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top 25 best undergraduate entrepreneurial programs in 2011.

“What sets our programs apart from others in the country is our commitment to providing students with real-world experience in leadership, creative business planning and practical operations,” said Taylor Randall, dean of the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah. “Our students team up with experts, private equity managers and successful business creators to learn how to plot the commercial potential of start-up companies they envision.”

Governor Herbert’s declaration recognizes the critical role entrepreneurship has played in the state’s economy, where 98 percent of Utah’s small businesses have payrolls of less than 100 employees. Those companies account for 56 percent of total employment. In conjunction with his declaration, the governor is also inviting companies and organizations to share their plans to celebrate entrepreneurship during the week by visitingwww.business.utah.gov/eday. More…

“We are seeing fewer kids entering college. We’re seeing less women graduate from college,” said Mark Bouchard, Salt Lake Chamber Education task force.

In the last decade, Utah has actually fallen below the national average in terms of young adults attending and graduating from college.

“At the state level, there is almost a one-to-one correlation between state’s wealth and the percent with a college degree,” explained Utah’s Commissioner of Higher Education William A. Sederburg.

Prosperity 2020 aims to raise the bar for students of all ages. Those involved with the program want 90 percent of elementary students to achieve math and reading proficiency.

Many college students are having to spend tuition dollars on math classes they could have taken in high school. Utah Valley University has had to double the faculty for remedial math. At Salt Lake Community College, 28 percent of the student body take remedial math. At Westminster College, they may need to start pre-algebra classes, which is usually taught in junior high.

By 2018, two-thirds of all jobs in Utah will require postsecondary training beyond high school. Many of those jobs will also require math and technical skills. Last month, ITT Electronic Systems announced an expansion that would create 2,700 jobs over the next 15 years. EMC Corporation also said it would add 700 new jobs the end of 2015.

“The business community in its efforts is really working towards a goal that increases the attainment in the work force and those skills in the work force related to us having a prosperous economy,” Bouchard said.

Institutions of higher education in Utah are also evolving to meet the demands of the future. “We can do a better job with loan programs for part-time students. We can do a lot better job with flexible scheduling,” said Sederburg.

Technology will play a big role in flexibility. Right now, 15 percent of credits at Utah colleges are generated from online classes or mixed-delivery classes.

“You pull down from the internet the education and resources when you need it,” explained Sederburg. “That’s going to be an increasing trend. More flexibility, more providers, more standardization of opportunity and time.”

Continued after the jump…

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Utah ranks in the top three states in efficiently providing of degrees per dollar spent. And with the ambitious goal of increasing Utah’s educated population by nearly 20 percent, efficiency will be key.

“We’re going to be working for the next decade in close relationship with the legislature and the governor and both higher and public education, at building a stronger alliance with in the community and within the business community of support for education,” said Bouchard.

Higher education in Utah is considered a bargain compared to the rest of the country. Tuition and fees average $4600 a year; that’s 62 percent of the national average.

To view this story from ksl.com, click here.

Though this 20 million might sound daunting, the evidence in this report suggests that it is “not beyond our capacity.” Reaching this number over the next 15 years is a matter of adding 12 million more students total, but less than a million extra every year. This information is also in line with Utah’s HigherEdUtah 2020 Plan where we need to have 66% of our state’s workforce with a post-secondary degree or training by the year 2020.

To read more about this report, click here. Download .pdf of entire report by Anthony P. Carnevale and Stephen J. Rose here.

Moderator for the roundtable, Vicki Varela, Vicki Varela Strategic Communications started the discussion by quoting some words of Tom Friedman, op-ed columnist for The New York Times about America’s need for innovation. He wrote, “You want more good jobs, spawn more Steve Jobs.”

Utah has an advantage in meeting such a challenge, simply because of its large and growing young population. But some at the roundtable say that if we continue in our current direction and system of education, many of the rising generation could be lost—and along with it, a huge opportunity for Utah’s people and businesses.

Attracting people of all demographics to higher education is a concern to Stephen Nadauld, president of Dixie State College, although he says it’s a concern shared by many states. “It’s possible if we’re not careful enough, we will develop a ‘have’ and ‘have-not’ society in our state because we aren’t effective enough at reaching out to the under motivated and minority students,” Nadauld said.

State budget cuts to education, as well as private donor decreases are not helping places of higher education enable the less advantaged students. Some at the discussion said their institutions are doing a pretty good job at doing “more with less,” but that at some point, the state will need to see public education as an investment, not a cost.

Ann Millner, president, Weber State University, said that Utah used to be a low tuition state with low financial aid, but now it is a high tuition state with low financial aid.  While 50 percent of her students already work full time, she doesn’t think any more cost should be put on their shoulders. “We have to see higher education as a public good,” Millner said.

To read the rest of this article online from Utah Business Magazine, click here.

In a press conference that day (which was just one of the things packed into Carnevale and Smith’s schedules) Dr. Carnevale acknowledged Governor Herbert’s leadership and commended him for recognizing that “Education is the foundation for economic recovery and prosperity. Investing now pays dividends for decades.” While many states face economic hardships and the need to align the training of their workforces with future employment needs, Carnevale said that the difference here Utah is that “the effort is well led.” Utah is three percentage points above the national average of 63% in the number of adults who should have skilled trade certificates by 2018, and that puts Utah eighth nationally in postsecondary intensity for the next decade.

“If we show the courage to invest and innovate, Utah has a huge strategic advantage,” Governor Herbert said in response to Carnevale.  “Our large youth population and our strong educational foundations can position Utah as a leader in science, technology, health care, and other high growth sectors.”

Carnevale explained that of the 1.6 million projected Utah jobs, only about one-fourth will be available to high school graduates. The bulk of those jobs are reserved for those who achieve associate, bachelor’s, or graduate degrees, the Georgetown study shows.  National studies also consistently show that individual earnings increase along with educational achievement. This 66% goal for the future is absolutely attainable, and it helps that Utah is one of the more prosperous states in the Union with a current unemployment rate of 7.5%, something Dr. Smith called “an amazing feat.”

In all, I believe that the time of our new friends was very well-spent. Not only was the discussion generated between Carnevale and Smith was well received by a number of our state’s influencers, but I also have to commend the great cohesiveness achieved between Governor Herbert’s office, the Education Excellence Commission, State Board of Education and business community through Prosperity2020. With all of our major government, education and business agencies working together toward the same goal, I have no doubt that we will achieve the desired outcome for the next decade.

The Council for Aid to Education’s annual “Voluntary Support of Education” survey found an 11.9 percent decline in contributions in 2009. Information provided by several of Utah’s universities and colleges, however, tells a more nuanced story.

Many things can affect donation amounts. A capital campaign, for instance, will bring more attention to a university’s needs. The proposal of a new building draws donations — sometimes even naming rights. And, as in the case with Utah Valley Community College, becoming a university can bring an outpouring of support from a community.

But nothing is bulletproof against a down economy.

“We did experience a dip in giving last year,” said Marc Archambault, vice president for development and alumni at Utah Valley University. “We had more success with some gifts, but overall cash gifts were down.”

Fred Esplin, the vice president for institutional advancement at the University of Utah, tells a different story: “Even during the recession we’ve seen growth in both the number of donors and the amount of money they have given to the university.” Esplin said private giving is up $2.7 million so far this fiscal year.

Things may be turning around for UVU as well. “We see a significant rise in giving this year. We see it coming up to about where it was in 2007 and 2008 — and maybe even exceeding that. … What has been especially encouraging is we have seen a significant increase in overall giving in a couple of important categories,” Archambault said. “For each of the last three years we’ve seen the number of donors climb. … That is a good thing and is liable to persist as the economy improves.”

But even if the economy improves, there are some economic challenges for universities.

Click here to read this article in its entirety from the Deseret News.

At the state level, most leaders will agree that our economic future depends on a well educated population.  Almost every state leader wants affordable quality education for their children and constituents.  Yet, the public at large and its elected leaders have difficulty bringing themselves to close the gap between what we know is best for our citizens and political action.

One group is different.  On Wednesday I attended and spoke briefly (new record) to a group of business leaders interested in advocating for higher education.  Over fifty business leaders met to discuss how to support higher education in the legislative process   The Friends of Utah Higher Education are lending their voice to help bridge the gap.

FOUHE was organized and is led by Robert Marquardt, a member of the Board of Regents and President of Management Training Corporation.   Bob is a former chair of the Board of Trustees of Weber State University and has also been involved in supporting the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah.   He and a small group of business friends are under writing this effort.  Bob has no personal stake in the conversation other than that of a citizen who wants to do something to build a positive future for Utah.

The focus of the luncheon was to advocate first in support of the Governor’s budget proposal and secondly to add money to the Governor’s budget in support of higher education. The outcome was positive, but the task is very challenging.

Thanks to FOUHE, Bob Marquardt and other business leaders such as the Salt Lake City Chamber of Commerce who are voices for improving higher education in Utah.

Here are some photos of the lunch:

Institution Presidents, Regents and Business Leaders at Friends of Utah Higher Education

Regent Robert Marquardt welcomes Friends of Utah Higher Education December 15, 2010

Commissioner Sederburg at Friends of Utah Higher Education December 15, 2010

Commissioner Sederburg at Friends of Utah Higher Education December 15, 2010

Lane Beattie, President and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, speaks to Friends of Utah Higher Education December 15, 2010

Regent Brent Brown in the crowd at Friends of Utah Higher Education December 15, 2010

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