Lisa Kuuttila, CEO & Chief Economic Development Officer of STC.UNM, the University of New Mexico’s technology transfer and economic development organization, announced that the University has been chosen to become a member of The Advanced Economic Development Leadership Program (AEDL), a nationwide alliance of five major universities offering an advanced economic-development leadership course for mid- and senior-level economic development professionals. The partner universities, The University of Alabama, Clemson University, The University of Southern Mississippi, TCU, and UNM, have developed a core curriculum that specifically addresses the demands of the complex profession of economic development.
“As a nationwide program, AEDL has been searching for a western U.S. anchor to bring an expanded perspective to the effort,” said Neal Wade, Director of the University of Alabama’s Economic Development Academy & AEDL’s managing partner. “The University of New Mexico accomplishes the geographic goal but also an economic development approach that is working in support of new jobs throughout New Mexico.”
The partner universities spent three years researching, analyzing, strategizing and developing a program specifically designed to meet the needs of a dynamic, fast-paced industry that is continually evolving. The goal is to expand the skills of today’s leaders in the field so that they will be fully prepared to meet the exciting challenges and opportunities of contemporary economic development, and grow the AEDL program into a nationally recognized ED training option.
Ms. Kuuttila added, “The University of New Mexico is honored to become a partner of the alliance, which is on the cutting edge of training professionals who are at a stage in their economic development careers when current trends and best practices will help them become effective economic-development leaders in their communities. AEDL is a unique program that combines the best of what practitioners and thinkers from business and academia have to offer.”
The highly interactive two-week program examines contemporary economic development issues on a deeper level, focusing on real world applicability with an experienced faculty of ED professionals from public/private sector industries and from academia. The two-week program is divided into separate weeklong sessions in the fall and spring. Participants receive an Economic Development Master Practitioner diploma from AEDL upon completion of the program. To find out more about the program, visit the AEDL website.