In our last editorial, we noted Nancy Bird’s appointment as the new CEO/president of the Iowa City Area Business Partnership entity, and how this will be a challenging endeavor.
One overarching question remains: Will Ms. Bird seek the status quo or put her foot on the economic development gas pedal and try to transform Iowa City and Johnson County into the economic juggernaut that it could be?
We’re hoping for the latter.
Unfortunately, sometimes leaders in Iowa City and Johnson County become complacent about economic development, knowing that the University of Iowa and the UI Hospitals & Clinics tend to allay any economic lows, resting on the assumption that things will always be OK.
We don’t disagree that the UI is an economic heavyweight, but we would like to see more of an emphasis on buttressing private sector growth rather than simply relying on the public sector.
Of the list of the 40 largest privately held companies published in the CBJ in May, only nine are headquartered in Johnson County and only three are located in Iowa City proper, including MCI, Relion Insurance Solutions and SouthGate Companies. While this isn’t a definitive list, it certainly provides a representation of private enterprise in the region, which is fundamental to a region and community’s long-term success.
We have become particularly concerned with several of Iowa City’s private-sector stalwarts, including Pearson, ACT and Mercy Iowa City.
According to the 2009 annual report from the Iowa City Area Development Group (ICAD), Pearson had 982 employees in Iowa City, ACT had 1,646 and Mercy Iowa City had 1,383. Today, according to company officials, Pearson has over 500 full-time employees in the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area, ACT has 310 employees and Mercy Iowa City has 1,100.
And it isn’t just a decrease in employees that causes us concern, it is a decrease in community and regional leadership that could be lost. Consider that Pearson and ACT had such notable business and community leaders as Dick Schwab, Mary Westbrook, Kate Minette, Anne Parmley, Dick Ferguson and now Janet Godwin, to name a few.
Additionally, several years ago Iowa City and the state were starting to promote Iowa City/Coralville as an EdTech epicenter with ACT and Pearson as foundational entities combined with startups Pear Deck, Leepfrog Technologies, College Raptor and Higher Learning Technologies, among others. It appears that this once golden-opportunity EdTech strategy to put Iowa City/Coralville on the map needs new energy.
We hope that Ms. Bird will redouble efforts to help strengthen Iowa City and Johnson County’s private sector and that her board of directors will give her the encouragement and support to make it happen.
