Spring 2005
What's at Stake
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"The community college is a bridge to get students into the university. There are many different steps along the way to arriving at a flagship school like UCLA. For some people there will be off-ramps as they pursue different educational goals. … But the issue is making sure that those bridges exist from one sector of the public education system to the next."

— Warren Furutani

Ziman: For there to be a successful entrepreneurial environment, there must be very strong educational institutions. We certainly know the value of this at my company. Arden Realty is the largest office landlord in Southern California. We have 20 million square feet. Our average tenant today is 6,000 square feet; they are small entrepreneurs, start-ups with tremendous amounts of innovation. We’re very fortunate to be in this geographical area where there are fine universities in or very close to Los Angeles, and where all of that education, expertise, creativity and innovation creates an environment where business can flourish.

A close friend of mine who is the CEO of a firm that is one of the largest owners of apartments in the world told me that when he picks his core markets where he will invest most heavily, he looks for where there are great universities and educational facilities that can feed the local economy and produce employees for the local economy who will fill his apartments. Purely from an entrepreneurial point of view, and especially from a real estate entrepreneurial point of view, it is a key requirement — a necessity — to have great universities within the locale of where your portfolio is going to exist. It feeds everything.

Samueli: Nearly 20 percent of Broadcom’s employees in California are UC graduates. It is disconcerting that other states such as Arizona, Michigan, Massachusetts and Mississippi are increasing investment in technology research, using tax credits, special university budget increases and other incentives, in their quest for long-term economic health at the same time that California has been making reductions. They are attempting to lure high-tech businesses and world-class engineering and other scientific researchers away from California. As a businessman who has headquartered my company here because of its proximity to great research universities, I want to see the state making more investment in research, not less.

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