A choice of alternatives - are we too late?

Current faculty and staff members are invited to contribute their essays and dialogues to Perspectives. In choosing from submissions, the editorial staff will be guided by the campus community's need to be informed about matters related to university governance and institutional improvement. Because of limited space, submissions should not exceed 725 words. Each contribution will appear under a byline.

The San Joaquin Valley can be described using words such as plentiful, open-spaces, the nation's food basket, thriving, and beautiful. But other words also describe the Valley - chronic unemployment, urban sprawl, low paying jobs, and limited opportunities. So which is it? In fact, it is a combination of both. For many, where you are on the economic ladder has a lot to do with how you view the Valley and the opportunities it provides.

To address these and other concerns facing the San Joaquin Valley, Dr. John Welty joined with faculty and community leaders in 1993 to create the Central California Futures Institute (CCFI). During the institute's early efforts, a regional conference was held to identify the critical issues likely to impact the Valley's future. In order of importance, jobs, the economy and crime were identified. Today, almost six years later, crime has moved off this list, but jobs and the economy remain pivotal concerns for the Valley's future.

Evolving from the CCFI's initial nine-member board is today's 25-member Board of Directors representing the nine counties comprising the region. In addition to representatives from each county, each of the three CSU campuses, the University of the Pacific, and the University of California are represented on the board. Dr. Welty has served as the board's president since its inception, although that will change in July, when Ms. Diana Dooley from Tulare County assumes that position. The institute's day-to-day activities are conducted by its executive director, Dr. John Wetzel, who has served in that capacity since 1996. Also on the staff of the institute are two research technicians, an administrative assistant, and various Eaton Fellows. Eaton Fellows are faculty selected from throughout the region to conduct specific research for the institute. Dr. Joseph Penbera, professor of business, has been a regular half-time Fellow, while Dr. Abbas Grammy, professor of economics from CSU Bakersfield, and Dr. Timothy Stearns, professor of business at Fresno State, have been involved in specific projects over the last year.

So, what next? Many involved in regional thinking are growing increasingly concerned that too much effort is going into describing the problem with no corresponding action to fundamentally affect the core issues. By CCFI estimates, every seven years another one million people are added to the Valley's population. If this continues, many fear that the Valley could become another Los Angeles, a place where cities have grown together, where highways are overcrowded and where quality of life is described as being someplace else.

To respond to this and other issues facing the Valley, the Futures Institute is focusing on two activities - creating a regional database and gaining support for a regional marketing plan.

A regional database will serve to provide local, state and federal officials with quality information about the Valley. It will also give locally important data to economic development corporations, chambers of commerce, and other local and state agencies dependent on quality data for decision-making. Lastly, this database will provide information to local as well as prospective businesses about the labor pool, training programs and the business climate throughout the Valley.

The development of a regional marketing plan is essential if the Valley is to be more successful attracting new businesses. How often, when we travel to other parts of the country, do we describe being from a place somewhere between Los Angeles and San Francisco? Where is this place called the "San Joaquin Valley"? When this happens, we have "a regional identity crisis." Industry site selectors have already told Valley officials that the Valley must market itself if it wants to increase its success in attracting businesses. The institute is preparing a policy initiative that outlines the need for federal, state, local and private dollars to aggressively market the Valley.

The Futures Institute, in addition to partner-ing with Valley congressmen and State Senators to hold the first major regional Economic Summit in November 1996, conducted a series of forums on Barriers to Job Creation in 1998. A growing list of publications reflects work being done by the institute.

How the Valley prepares for the growth that will occur during the next few decades will decide such issues as land use, urban sprawl, air quality, water use and availability, workforce preparation and quality of life. Unfortunately, time is not on the side of the Valley! The decisions made in the next 5 to 10 years will not be easily undone, especially if poor choices are made. Talk today about a region called the San Joaquin Valley is beginning, but has not advanced to where cities and counties view the region as a "city-state," a term urban and regional planning expert and author Neil Pierce uses to describe successful regions.

The Central California Futures Institute is committed to helping the region enjoy balanced growth. Its work is continuing, and much remains to be done.

As part of Fresno State's commitment to being an interactive university serving the region, the CCFI was established under its auspices to achieve three specific goals - collecting and analyzing data on issues of regional signifi-cance, preparing recommendations on regional issues, and seeking

the implementation of strategies designed to promote social, economic and environmental health in the San Joaquin Valley.