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piece of equipment can be
replaced. But there’s often no
substitute for the ideas, energy,
knowledge and creativity of
people – known as Intellectual Capital.
Westchester County is rich in Intellectual
Capital, thanks to its strong schools and
concerted efforts to attract and retain the
best and brightest in a variety of fields. But,
like regular capital, it’s something that the
region wants to increase.
“The enormous complexity and feverish
pace of business today places an incredible
burden on many companies to find endless
pools of highly educated workers who
possess the right skill set and experience
that will help firms survive today and
grow tomorrow,” says Westchester County
Executive Robert Astorino. “Given that 45
percent of Westchester residents 25 years
and older hold a bachelor’s degree or higher,
the county provides a brilliant business
atmosphere electrified by pure brain power.”
“The primary engine of the
pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry
is Intellectual Capital,” says Jeff Macdonald,
Senior Director of communications for
Acorda Therapeutics, a Hawthorne company
that develops prescription drugs. “The
biggest thing that we need is access to the
right minds.”
Local colleges meet that demand with
numerous programs.
The Professional Development Center at
Westchester Community College provides
training in everything from computers
to compliance, develops online training
programs for companies, and offers
organizational and documentation services,
as well as English for Speakers of Other
Languages (ESOL) training.
Ann Rubenzahl, Assistant Dean of
Continuing Education for the college,
explains that a company might come to
the center because, “in terms of technical
expertise, they’re at the top of their game,
but they need skills to increase productivity
or improve service, and we work
with them to help them develop
their skills.”
The center works with a
company to assess gaps and
then tailor training to fill
them. The center also recently
launched – in close partnership
with the Office of Economic
Development – a “mini-MBA,”
a three-day, Ivy League-level
course for biotech scientists and
middle managers.
“Everyone suddenly has a
common language,” Rubenzahl says.
At The College of New Rochelle (CNR),
3,000 students are enrolled in the School of
New Resources, a pioneering approach to
adult education that offers a baccalaureate
liberal arts program where life experience is
incorporated directly into the curriculum.
Its flexible class schedule, accessible
locations, seminar-style classes and credit
for prior learning appeal to adults who
traditionally have been underserved by higher
education. The typical adult learner is a
35-year-old single parent with a full-time job.
The college also has the School of
Nursing, the School of Arts & Science, and
the Graduate School.
“The College of New Rochelle has provided
the workplaces of Westchester County, as
well as Greater New York, an infusion of
bright, eager and competent adults skilled
in a variety of fields since 1904,” says Dr.
Dorothy Escribano, Senior Vice President for
Academic Affairs. “Ask your nurse at an area
hospital or the teacher at your child’s school,
and chances are they are CNR graduates.
A liberal arts education might appear to be
old-fashioned in our technological world,
but studies show that graduates with a broad
base of knowledge, and with the ability to
communicate and comprehend, are much
more able to adapt in the rapidly changing
new world of today’s workplace.”
And campuses continue to innovate.
The state of New York has allocated $4
million to establish a biotech incubator
at New York University, which will be a
spring board for new businesses that fight
disease. Meanwhile, Pace University is
reconfiguring its Pleasantville campus – an
environmentally friendly change that will
consolidate the activities of the 35-acre
Briarcliff campus within the 200 acres of the
Pleasantville campus, upgrading its facilities
and creating an attractive campus core.
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