Rogers State University will host a public forum from 8:30 a.m. to noon, Tuesday, Nov. 4 to seek public input on economic development recommendations for Oklahoma.
Gov. Brad Henry will host a live statewide video presentation via OneNet to kick off the forum and will be joined by Secretary of Commerce Kathy Taylor and Chancellor Paul G. Risser.
RSU will join 25 other higher education institutions around the state that will be hosting forums on their campuses as part of Oklahoma’s EDGE (Economic Development Generating Excellence), a joint project of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
The Claremore event will be held in Herrington Hall, Room 146, on the RSU campus. Interested residents are invited to attend the event to provide input on developing a vision to grow the state’s economy.
During that event, a summary of the proposals will be reviewed and local discussions will follow. It will be an open conversation intended to identify a few key ideas that should be included in the state’s economic blueprint. Leadership Oklahoma is playing a significant role in the process, working with higher education institutions to help organize these events.
Through most of August and September, 23 expert teams have been developing a draft action plan to improve Oklahoma’s economy. Team members include people who have started businesses, run businesses and organizations, and participated in all parts of business, industry, education and government. RSU President Dr. Joe Wiley serves on EDGE’s information technologies team.
Henry said that the public forums are a vital part of the process and believes some good ideas will come out of them.
“I’m looking forward to participating in the public forums and hearing what people are saying,” he said. “I’m encouraged by the bold thinking that has been going on, and I hope we have a good turnout on November 4.”
Following the Nov. 4 sessions, the steering committee will convene again and consider all of the recommendations and comments. A final EDGE report will be presented by the Governor to the state on Dec 3.
The recommendations from each of the expert teams and more information about the public forums can be found at www.okedge.org. For information about the EDGE meeting at RSU, please contact the RSU Center for Economic and Community Development at (918) 343-7533.