Senate Small Business and Economic Opportunity Committee Testimony

Chair Lang, Vice Chair Wilkin, Ranking Member Sykes, and members of the Senate Small Business and Economic Opportunity Committee, thank you for the opportunity to speak before the committee today. I am Greg Crawford and I have the honor and privilege of serving Ohio and her citizens as the 22nd President of Miami University.

Miami University is proud to produce graduates to fuel Ohio's employment needs. Our students are well-prepared for the Ohio workforce, as is evident in the fact that 98% of our 2020-21 graduates were employed, serving in the military, in a service program, or enrolled in additional studies within six months of their graduation.

We are equally proud of the economic impact that we have on advancing the Ohio economy. A forthcoming economic impact study conducted for the Inter-University Council by Lightcast found that in fiscal year 2021-22, Miami University activities added $3.8 billion in income to the Ohio economy, the equivalent of 52,401 jobs.

The same study shows that Ohio's 14 public universities have a $67.8 billion total impact on Ohio, equivalent to supporting 860,603 Ohio jobs. Miami graduates not only work for companies but they also start companies. The startup companies of our graduates accounted for the creation of 12,070 jobs and a $1.1 billion impact to the Ohio economy (fiscal year 2021-22). Our Entrepreneurship Program ranks 9th in the world and has been ranked in the top 10 for the last 15 years (Princeton Review). It is also the winner of the prestigious NASDAQ Award, and Miami just opened our incubator in Oxford, the Lee and Rosemary Fisher Innovation College@Elm.

In our continual spirit of contributing talent for Ohio's workforce and advancing the Ohio economy, we were honored to participate in the 2022 Ohio Economic Competitiveness Study ("the Study"). I extend Miami University's gratitude to the Big Six – the Ohio Business Roundtable, Ohio Council of Retail Merchants, Ohio Chamber of Commerce, Ohio Manufacturers' Association, Ohio Farm Bureau and National Federation of Independent Businesses of Ohio – Northwood University and the Ohio Business First Caucus for this opportunity. I would also like to thank Pat Tiberi and Gordon Gough, in particular, for leading this effort. At Miami University, Dr. Jing Li, Associate Professor of Economics in the nationally recognized Farmer School of Business, and Randi Thomas, Vice President of ASPIRE, were instrumental in conducting and supporting this study.

As you will hear from Dr. Timothy Nash in more detail, the Study is an analysis of Ohio's economy as compared regionally and nationally. In addition, the Study also examines Ohio's tax structure across all 88 counties, as well as compares Ohio and Ohio communities to peer states and peer states' communities.

The Study underscores Ohio's significant progress in business attraction and job creation. I am excited to see the future progress of Ohio's business environment under the vision of the Business First Caucus, the leadership of the Big Six, and the talent cultivation work of Ohio's fourteen public universities with the Inter-University Council. As an Ohio public university, Miami University stands ready to further support the growth and prosperity of Ohio's business environment.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony today.