Fortune 1500 companies can now meet a mission-critical need because of an innovative public-private partnership spearheaded by Valley City State University, a university that prides itself in its responsiveness to industry needs.

In 2004, VCSU, the Valley City-Barnes County Economic Development Corporation and North Dakota’s New Economy Initiative convened an Engaged University Summit together with business and government leaders from Barnes County, North Dakota. The Summit focused on ways the economy of Barnes County could better utilize opportunities associated with and related to the University.

Valley City State University was one of the first colleges to go to an entirely “laptop” campus and is a leader in technology-based education not only in North Dakota, but across the nation. Because of this, the Valley City-Barnes County Development Corporation wanted to capitalize on the talent streaming from VCSU to cultivate the local and regional economy through entrepreneurs and new and existing business in order to boost the region and state’s stature in the new economic environment.

The roundtable resulted in three High Performance Action Steps for the region and university to be proactive and invest in infrastructure needed to create a technology friendly environment designed to help attract talented people and provide high paying jobs for their residents. These action steps resulted in the restructuring of VCSU to create a vital link with economic development and the establishment of the Sheyenne Valley Growth Alliance.