Governors to tackle issues of how states can prosper in the future
By Lisa M. Rosellini

Buzzwords like "new economy," "global challenges," "technology infusion" and "digital marketplace" peppered opening remarks at a news conference today (July 8), as some of the nation’s leaders kicked off the 92nd annual National Governor’s Association summer meeting being held at Penn State. Thirty-eight governors from across the country are in attendance at the event that will run through Tuesday, July 11.

"The broad goal of this meeting is to address what states must do to prosper in the 21st century," said Utah Gov. Michael O. Leavitt, chairman of NGA. "The mantra for the 21st century is going to be central coordination, but local control. We have to create new models of government that will allow us to thrive in a global marketplace."

Leavitt, along with Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge and Maryland Gov. Parris N. Glendening, answered a barrage of media questions during the 50-minute press conference that was held in Penn State’s Technology Center, home to the University’s technology transfer organizations and a business incubator. Although the conference was held to outline some of the issues the governors would be tackling during the four-day meeting, reporters fired questions at the trio that ran the gamut from their feelings on capital punishment to the possibility that Ridge would be selected as the vice presidential running mate for U.S. presidential hopeful George W. Bush. Bush, governor of Texas, is not attending the meeting.

Leavitt briefly outlined a seven-point plan that he believes will give states a leg up on meeting new challenges brought on by rapidly changing technology and deregulation. That seven-point agenda was spelled out recently in a series of NGA reports that have become the most requested documents in NGA history, with more than 15,000 copies downloaded from the association’s Web site at http://www.nga.org/.

"Our world is undergoing a transformation that is being driven by technology and the Internet," Leavitt said.

According to the Utah governor, the path states should take in order to be effective in the coming years must include: 1) an investment in people and a commitment to strengthen education at all levels; 2) building state-of-the art infrastructure, which should include not only highways and airports, but telecommunications and technology services; 3) treating citizens like customers by making government more responsive; 4) streamlining taxes and regulation to simplify life and protect consumers; 5) nurturing entrepreneurship; 6) creating high-tech magnets, like university-based research centers such as Penn State’s Research Park; and 7) preserving the quality of life.

Leavitt said Penn State was an excellent choice for discussing these approaches to the 21st century because it is one of the most technologically advanced campuses in the country. He also indicated that transforming the higher education systems in all states into ones that will prepare citizens for a technology-driven world also is a challenge that will be addressed this week.

Ridge also praised the University for its many partnerships with the state and its industries and said Penn State has greatly aided the Commonwealth in its quest to connect universities, government and the private sector. As the site of the opening press conference, Penn State’s Research Park is a prime example of technology transfer – applying the results of University research for use in business and industry. Located on a 118-acre site east of the University Park campus, the Research Park is home to more than 35 businesses and organizations and more than 750 employees. Tenant companies represent a number of industries, including telecommunications, biotechnology, engineering and e-commerce.

Leavitt said that at the meeting the states leaders also would discuss the "digital divide" – issues of accessibility and affordability that do not allow all citizens to keep pace with technology and use of the Internet.

"These are the broad national, social issues that we will be wrestling with during this meeting," he said.

The agenda for the governors’ meeting includes sessions on information technology, health, human resources, natural resources and economic development. The spouses of governors will hold their own sessions, looking at issues of literacy, early learning and childhood development in which director/actor Rob Reiner will speak. Gen. Colin Powell, now chairman of America’s Promise – The Alliance for Youth, and Alan Greenspan, Federal Reserve Board chairman, will address the governors during the meeting, and President Clinton is expected to speak on Monday, July 10.

On the issue of being Bush’s running mate in the upcoming presidential election, Ridge – who had been fly-fishing in the region earlier in the day – said he was flattered at the suggestion, but he also liked his job as governor.

"I think it’s more important that all of this speculation has really put the focus on what we have been doing in Pennsylvania for the past several years. We are seen as a leader in the new economy," Ridge said. "We are a proud industrial state, but we get it. We get that change is happening. We make stuff, and we have made stuff for years, but we are converting our old economy to a new economy."