NEW: Chafee to Check Out Houston for Ideas on Economic Development
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Governor Lincoln Chafee announced this week that he will be visiting Houston, Texas next week to check out the Texas Medical Center (TMC), the largest medical center in the world, with the intention of using it as an example for Providence, which he hopes to develop into a similar science and research center.
“I believe that Houston – together with Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Cleveland – could be a model for bringing job creation and economic growth to Providence and Rhode Island,” Chafee said. “We have valuable land opened up by the relocation of Route 195, and a partnership between our universities, the City of Providence, hospitals, non-profits, and private businesses could transform this area into a hub of health- and research-related economic activity and job creation.”
Joining him on the trip will be Brown University President Ruth Simmons (who was born and raised in Texas), University of Rhode Island President David M. Dooley, Providence Mayor Angel Taveras, Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC) Executive Director Keith W. Stokes, and Chief of Staff and Executive Counsel Patrick A. Rogers. The Houston trip is the first of what is hoped to be a series of visits to other cities with successful medical and research communities, such as Baltimore, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Worcester.
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The delegation will arrive in Texas on the night of Sunday, February 20 and will conduct their investigation of the TMC on Monday the 21st. Their itinerary includes a meeting with President and CEO of the TMC Richard E. Wainerdi P.E., Ph.D., a conference with directors and leaders at some of the academic institutions associated with the TMC, a working lunch with the Greater Houston Partnership and other groups about the community impact from the TMC, and a meeting with various chief academic personal in the fields of life science and medicine.
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