NWFL Institutions Collaborate: High-Tech Future

NORTHWEST FLORIDA INSTITUTIONS TO COLLABORATE IN SUPPORT OF AEROSPACE, ADVANCED MANUFACTURING & HEALTH CARE EDUCATION

Florida State University and five Northwest Florida state colleges are joining forces to provide educational support for projected growth in high-tech industries including aerospace research, additive and advanced manufacturing, and health care.

Representatives from FSU, Tallahassee Community College, Gulf Coast State College, Chipola College, Northwest Florida State College and Pensacola State College will gather at the NWFSC Aviation Center of Excellence, 3152 Airport Road in Crestview, to sign a memorandum of understanding at 10:30 a.m. CDT Monday, March 25. A brief tour of the center will occur after the signing.

Each of the institutions are at various stages of working in these areas to meet the educational needs of students in Northwest Florida. The Memorandum of Understanding will be an official pledge of collaboration for the colleges to provide opportunities for students who will become the workforce of the future.

As an example of things to come, the Triumph Gulf Coast Board voted in November 2023 in favor of a proposed $98.4 million Florida State University project that would build aerospace and advanced manufacturing facilities in Panama City. The Institute for Strategic Partnerships, Innovation, Research, and Education (InSPIRE) will include operations within or near the Northwest Florida Beaches Airport. The project also includes funds to grow the number of engineering graduates in Panama City, with dollars dedicated to STEM outreach activities in the eight-county area served by Triumph.

FSU is also expanding its health care educational and research offerings. The university is partnering with Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare and The St. Joe Company to establish a facility in Panama City Beach that will include a medical office building scheduled to be complete in 2024. This building will ultimately house TMH Physician Partners – Primary Care, Tallahassee Memorial Urgent Care Center, an ambulatory surgery center, as well as cardiology and orthopedic services. Plans include a 100-bed hospital with an emergency center and other inpatient services, including surgery, cardiology procedures and imaging, to be complete by the end of 2027. This will also include opportunities for FSU researchers focused on aging and digital health, as well as residency programs and clinical rotations for FSU medical students.

The Memorandum of Understanding outlines an agreement that FSU will work with the other colleges, as they are eligible, on InSPIRE, FSU Health and other programs to grow and retain the needed regional skilled workforce to establish Northwest Florida as a global hub for aerospace, advanced manufacturing, and health care. Representatives of each institution will meet no less than three times each year to discuss potential projects, work together on funding, and collaborate on other areas of interest.

In addition to potential funding from Triumph Gulf Coast, which is the nonprofit overseeing funds recovered after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Florida State University is applying for funding from the National Science Foundation and other federal agencies to provide even greater expansion of educational opportunities in these areas.

A tentative list of attendees includes:

• From FSU: President Richard McCullough, Vice President for Research Stacey Patterson, Associate Provost Farrukh Alvi, dean of FSU PC Randy Hanna, dean of the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering Suvranu De, dean of the College of Nursing Jing Wang, dean of the College of Medicine Alma Littles, Director of Strategic Initiatives Deborah Gautier, Chief Legislative Affairs Officer Clay Ingram, and Chief of Staff Marissa Langston.

• From GCSC: President Glen McDonald and Executive Vice President Cheryl Flax-Hyman.

• From NWFSC: President Devin Stephenson and Vice President Henry Mack.

• From Chipola College: President Sarah Clemons.

• From TCC: President Jim Murdaugh.

• From PSC: President Ed Meadows.