ABQ Times

The University of New Mexico (UNM) has been recognized by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) as a winner in the 2024 Innovation & Economic Prosperity (IEP) Awards. The awards, presented at APLU's annual meeting in Orlando, Florida, honor projects or programs that contribute to economic engagement through innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology-based development.

APLU’s IEP Universities designation program aims to support higher education institutions in enhancing their roles in economic and community development. Institutions undergo a self-study and stakeholder engagement process to identify their strengths and areas for growth in economic development.

“Public universities are major drivers of economic growth through their talent development, innovation, and community development efforts,” said APLU President Mark Becker. “We’re pleased to recognize institutions that have made a remarkable impact on their community, states, nation and beyond in these critical areas.”

This year’s IEP University Award winners include:

- The University of New Mexico won the IEP Innovation award for initiatives promoting innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology-based economic development.

- The University of Texas at San Antonio received the IEP Place award for contributions to social, cultural, or community development.

- East Carolina University was awarded the IEP Talent award for its work in education and workforce development.

- Wayne State University earned the IEP Economic Engagement Connections Award for overall excellence across all categories.

Lisa Kuuttila, CEO and chief economic development officer of UNM Rainforest Innovations stated: “This award highlights the strength of our collaborative ecosystem, where research, entrepreneurship, and community engagement come together to create a lasting impact. It reflects how we are working to drive economic prosperity across New Mexico and beyond.”

UNM's approach included supporting entrepreneurship on campus and statewide. Their efforts involved sharing resources with entrepreneurs while collaborating with civic and private partners to build a robust start-up ecosystem. Additionally, UNM's New Mexico Tribal Entrepreneurship Enhancement Program supports Indigenous entrepreneurs by addressing business barriers.

In 2021 alone, UNM-supported startups had an economic impact of $55.4 million. The university also achieved 885 U.S. patents issued with 163 start-up companies emerging from its developed technologies.

Other notable universities receiving recognition this year include The University of Texas at San Antonio, East Carolina University, and Wayne State University.

Institutions must first earn the Innovation and Economic Prosperity University designation from APLU before being eligible for an IEP award. This designation acknowledges institutional commitment to regional economic growth.

This year’s new designees include the University of California Riverside; Oklahoma State University; Rutgers University–New Brunswick; University of Texas at Arlington; and the University of Wyoming. Since 2013 when the program began ninety institutions have been named as designees.

The self-study process helps each institution develop improvement plans focusing on continuous learning within their economic engagement enterprise—essential for collaboration between universities and regional partners.

APLU’s Economic Engagement Framework provides tools aiding universities' collaboration with public/private sector partners promoting regional growth through various initiatives.

For more details about these initiatives visit APLU Names Winners online.