I will never forget the moment when I looked up and heard, “Hi, I’m Jerry Adams.” It was a month before I officially began the IGNITE director’s position, and I was attending the Arkansas Commercialization Retreat that the University of Arkansas Office of Entrepreneurship hosts each year for university researchers across the state. He had been sitting across the room from me, and during initial introductions to the group, he had explained his role in the Arkansas Research Alliance … and in the state.
I knew instantly that for the sake of IGNITE, I needed to meet Jerry Adams, but I knew instantly that because we shared a common personal vision for the state, I wanted to meet Jerry Adams. So when he approached me during the following break to make our introduction, I was thrilled; however, in that moment, I had no way of knowing just how meaningful that introduction was going to be.
I know that I am not alone in this experience and sentiment. As the president and CEO of ARA, Jerry has, no doubt, changed the lives of many individuals.
ARA believes that “Research Matters” in Arkansas and has two programs, the Scholars program and the Fellows program, that help drive the mission of building and strengthening research in the state. These programs are not only instrumental in recruiting renowned scientists, engineers and innovators from throughout the world to join Arkansas research universities, but the programs, in turn, also support current university faculty whose research has commercial viability and the potential to have an economic impact in the state, thus connecting the gap between fundamental research and economic development.
In early December, I had the privilege of attending the 2015 ARA Fellows announcement. (Read about it here.) Researchers from five universities in the state were awarded grants to continue their research. Recognition of the researchers included descriptions of their impressive work, patents, and companies.
While the ARA identifies as a public-private partnership, I think that Jerry’s description of the organization this past week was the best: ARA is a family. This family not only consists of the past, current and future generations of ARA scholars and fellows, but it is also comprised of the organization’s supporters from academia, industry and government, the numerous students and researchers who learn from the scholars and fellows, and the individuals who lead and are employed by the companies resulting from the research. With individuals representing multiple regions, companies, agencies and universities throughout the state, there was a reunion feel to the recent announcement. These connections will continue to drive innovation and research collaborations and stimulate entrepreneurship and commercialization opportunities in Arkansas.
State organizations like ARA are critical for Arkansas, and they are vital for our state’s universities to be leaders in innovation and to play a significant role in entrepreneurship. Our universities’ entrepreneurship programs, research centers and industry-partnership programs like IGNITE can easily unite with ARA in its mission to elevate the fundamental belief that Research Matters. It matters to the innovators and researchers doing the work on our campuses every day, but it should matter to every individual in our local communities and throughout the state because of the significant potential it has for the future of Arkansas.
As a state, we need to support organizations like ARA, and we need to take a family mentality to raise and support citizens that share its vision. We need more voices that speak up for research and innovation in Arkansas and make the significant introductions and connections so that we are, in fact, coming together to move Arkansas forward. We need more voices that say, “Hi, I’m Jerry Adams.”