ERLANGER — University of Kentucky's new president draws a straight line from the northernmost point of Kentucky's “Golden Triangle” to growth. But outliers will benefit too.

        When Dr. Lee Todd makes speeches around the state, he typically mentions the success Northern Kentucky has had attracting and growing businesses.

        It's a model and a method the entrepreneur who holds patents on technology that drives flight simulators and videoconferencing hopes other regions of the state emulate.

        “I look at what you have up here ... and you all have done an outstanding job of recruiting the right kinds of companies,” Dr. Todd said during a Sept. 21 breakfast address to area business and political leaders.

TOP 10 GOALS

During his Sept. 21 speech to area business and political leaders, new University of Kentucky president Dr. Lee Todd outlined his top 10 goals for developing the university's relationship with business and its ability to help grow new ventures in the state.    1. Encourage “outside activity” among faculty by embracing their plans for getting involved with start-up companies.    2. Serve as an information source and conduit for faculty seeking venture capital to start new businesses.    3. Hire professors interested in being entrepreneurs.    4. Develop “clear rules of engagement” with businesses in the state by letting them know about the research, services and facilities available through UK.     5. Provide flexibility for faculty members so they can take a leave of absence to start a business or sit on a board of directors.    6. Make businesses aware they can contract with UK on an hourly basis to use the university's equipment and labs.    7. Provide support to faculty members and young people who want to start businesses, such as letting them know the lawyers, accountants and lenders to see as they put their businesses together.    8. “Cut deals” by allowing the private sector to possibly bid on intellectual capital developed and held by UK.    9. Develop curriculum in concert with business and industry.    10. Cooperate with the other institutions of higher learning.

LEE TODD

Todd     • Age: 54.     • Residence: Lexington.     • Hometown: Earlington, Ky.     • Experience: Founder and president, DataBeam Corp., 1983-present; senior vice president, Lotus Development Corp., 2000-present; founder and chairman, Kentucky Science and Technology Council, 1988; founded Projectron and served as president, 1983-1990; engineering professor, UK, 1974-83.     • Education: Bachelor of science, electrical engineering, UK, 1968; master's, Ph.D., electrical engineering, MIT, 1974.     • Family: Married, two children.

        He pointed to Toyota Motor Manufacturing, which has its North American headquarters in Erlanger and operates a massive 6,000-employee auto plant less than an hour south in Georgetown, Ky.

        An entrepreneur-turned-academic, Dr. Todd clearly wants to use UK's resources, research, facilities and faculty to nurture start-up companies he is convinced will improve the state's economy while keeping bright college graduates from leaving Kentucky.

        A key will be showing people around the state that investing in Kentucky's so-called Golden Triangle — the region with points at Northern Kentucky, Louisville and Lexington — will help the entire economy and business climate of Kentucky.

        But in traveling around Kentucky, he said, he has encountered some bias against the region for the attention it receives and the growth of its economy.

        “You have to invest in the areas where you can generate wealth,” he said. “If we try to spread out our money all over the state and make everybody kind of feel good for the short term, we're going to lose the long term.

        “If we can get this area — Louisville, Lexington, Northern Kentucky — if we can get it to grow, if we can get professionals to create wealth here, many of them would ... locate elsewhere throughout the state of Kentucky.”

        UK can help businesses grow by making its resources available to companies in Kentucky. Companies pay for the services or in some cases receive them for free, Dr. Todd said.

        The example used during the speech was UK's Center for Robotics and Manufacturing in the College of Engineering, which provides manufacturers with technical assistance and research.

        One of the companies that has utilized the center is Tente Casters, a Boone County manufacturer of industrial and hospital casters and wheels.

        Richard Hood, managing director of Tente Casters, said UK has assisted the company in implementing what is known in the business world as “lean manufacturing,” or a more efficient use of a factory.

        After working with UK, Tente removed a lot of unnecessary “junk” from its Hebron factory and in doing so added 5,000 square feet of functional space in the facility, Mr. Hood said.

        Dr. Todd is also looking to other areas of the state to grow economically. During his 30-minute speech he mentioned:

        • Paducah, where UK has research opportunities with the U.S. Enrichment Corp.'s Gaseous Diffusion Plant, where the Energy Department manages tons of depleted uranium.

        • Owensboro, where bio-tech companies have located.

        • Morgan County, home to telecommunications companies.

        Dr. Todd's words at a Monday breakfast proved to be prophetic.

        On Friday, The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority — a state agency — approved $1.1 million for three projects:

        • $400,000 for the creation of a Western Kentucky Energy/Environmental Consortium, a joint effort among the University of Louisville, the University of Kentucky, Murray State University and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System.

        The consortium will research issues involving energy and environmental science in the region where the U.S. Enrichment Corp.'s Gaseous Diffusion Plant, coal fields and electric power plants are located.

        • $200,000 for the construction of an information-technology center at a business park in Somerset. The Valley Oak Business & Technology Park is a 150-acre regional site designed to attract new businesses to Pulaski County.

        • $500,000 was approved for new technology in a high-tech center at Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights.

        Dr. Todd said he also plans to lobby the federal government for money earmarked toward growing new businesses and ideas.

        “When I interviewed for this job I told the search committee that I'll take (University of Louisville president) John Shumaker in one hand and (Northern Kentucky University president) Jim Votruba in the other hand and we are going to Washington and say, "We are going to build this state.'”
       

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