Daily Business Report-Oct. 4, 2019
The Rady School of Management at UC San Diego. (Photo by Erik Jepsen/UC San Diego Publications)
UC San Diego an economic
powerhouse for county and state
UC San Diego’s economic impact on California has risen to an estimated $16.5 billion while its impact on San Diego County is projected to be $12.9 billion by 2023, according to a new report compiled by Tripp Umbach, a leading consultancy group for higher education institutions.
Since 2008, the report states, UC San Diego’s annual economic impact in California has more than doubled from $7.2 billion to $16.5 billion, an increase of 129 percent. The total number of jobs supported in California increased 158 percent, from 39,000 to 100,492. The study projects that UC San Diego will generate $18.8 billion in annual economic impact for the state of California by 2023.
“UC San Diego is a massive gravitational force in San Diego, pulling in great minds, creative entrepreneurs, and considerable financial resources to produce ground-breaking research, medical solutions that change and save lives, and business clusters that send out endless ripples of jobs and tax revenue for our regional and state economies,” says Toni Atkins, President pro Tempore of the California State Senate. “When you also consider the thousands of UC San Diego graduates each year who go on to make their mark on the world in innumerable ways, this institution’s positive impact on San Diego and California cannot be overstated.”
Click here for the full economic impact report.
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Federal agencies laud cybersecurity
program at Cal State San Marcos
The National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security have designated Cal State San Marcos as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education for its master’s program in cybersecurity, thus placing CSUSM among an elite group of colleges and universities addressing a critical shortage of cybersecurity professionals.
“If you’re a student looking for a program, this designation can be a distinguishing factor in making your decision,” said Teresa Macklin, who serves as director of CSUSM’s cybersecurity program.
The National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense’s mission is focused on reducing vulnerabilities in the country’s information infrastructure by promoting higher education and research in cyber defense and producing professionals with cyber defense expertise.
The National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security examine everything about a program before bestowing an Academic Excellence designation, including the classes taught, the curriculum each class offers, course material and examples of student work.
Seventeen students are currently enrolled in the master’s degree program at CSUSM, which was launched in 2015. The university is now developing the curriculum for a bachelor’s degree program in the subject with an eye on enrolling its first baccalaureate cohort in the fall of 2021.
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Governor signs tough new
charter school regulations
The most significant set of revisions to the state’s charter-school law in more than two decades was signed Thursday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, putting new curbs on a segment of public schools that has grown over time, particularly in cities, to enroll more than 600,000 California kids.
Negotiated over months among lawmakers, charter school advocates and organized labor, the new law is expected to make it easier both for local school boards to deny new charters and for high-performing charter schools to stay open.
Charter school teachers will also have new credentialing requirements.The legislation followed a high-dollar election in which charter schools were a flashpoint between school reformers and unions anxious to slow the growth of the largely non-unionized educational sector. But it also addresses school quality and oversight issues that have cropped up as the number of California charter schools has burgeoned to some 1,300.
The new law was celebrated as progress by Newsom and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, who both beat back rivals heavily backed by wealthy pro-charter donors, and portrayed as a compromise by the California Charter Schools Association President and CEO Myrna Castrejón.
More restrictive charter proposals – including a cap on charters in California – stalled early in the session.“I’m lovin’ this,” Newsom said as he signed the bill, but he added that he was “not naive,” and does not assume the charter debate is over.
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Rudolph and Sletten awarded $50 million contract
for Bayside Performance Park in San Diego
Rudolph and Sletten, has been awarded a contract valued at $50 million by the San Diego Symphony for construction of Bayside Performance Park, a new permanent outdoor concert venue and park in the Port of San Diego’s Embarcadero Marina Park South.
The project work includes a 13,000-square-foot acoustically engineered concert stage and shell, public patio with bay views, terraced seating for up to 10,000, new restroom facilities, sustainable landscaping and an expanded promenade around the venue.
Work on the project began in September and substantial completion is anticipated in the summer of 2020. The contract value will be included in the Company’s third quarter 2019 backlog.
Rudolph and Sletten is a subsidiary of Tutor Perini Corporation.
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PriceSmart plans to build 2 new
warehouse clubs in Jamaica and Colombia
San Diego-based PriceSmart Inc. said it has secured approximately 218,000 square feet of land in Jamaica upon which the company plans to construct its second warehouse club in that country. The club will be located within the city of Portmore, a suburb west of the capital city of Kingston. The Portmore club is expected to open in the fall of 2020.
The company also has acquired nearly 210,000 square feet of land in Colombia upon which it plans to construct its ninth warehouse club in that country. This club will be located in the Floridablanca Municipality, south of Bucaramanga, Colombia. The Bucaramanga club is also expected to open in the fall of 2020.
These additional properties will account for the company’s 48th and 49th warehouse clubs.
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Department of Education grant strengthens
SDSU-Kumeyaay partnership
Faculty in San Diego State University’s Department of Counseling and School Psychology have received a $1.25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) to support the preparation of school psychologists and counselors while serving the mental health needs of Kumeyaay youth in eastern San Diego County.
OSEP will provide funding over five years for school counselor and school psychology graduate students committed to indigenous issues to work across programs and departments, with Kumeyaay community members and leaders and with children in school sites in the Mountain Empire Unified School District. The district serves a student population that is approximately 20 percent Native American.
The Mountain Empire district is located 45 minutes east of SDSU’s main campus, which lies on historical Kumeyaay land.
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Greatscale Ventures to invest
in ethical technology companies
A new technology venture fund, Greatscale Ventures was launched Thursday with a mission to invest in people-focused technology companies.
Greatscale Ventures was founded by business executives Tyson McDowell, an artificial intelligence expert, and Aaron Contorer, a long-time Microsoft executive.
Each startup company Greatscale Ventures selects will receive up to $5 million in funding raised from private investors. Greatscale Ventures distinguishes itself from typical venture funds by providing systems and technology to scale the businesses faster. The fund will also provide extensive support from a team of experienced executives and technologists to help early-stage founders.
Greatscale Ventures has already funded three companies that fit its people-focused model, and will announce all three to the public this year. McDowell reports that the company is working through a substantial pipeline of additional startup companies from Southern California, Arizona, Utah and Colorado, and expects the total to reach 15 to 20 companies during the next three years.
Click here for Greatscale Ventures
