DETROIT – The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) today named Wayne State University as one of six universities as finalists for its 12th annual Innovation & Economic Prosperity (IEP) Awards.

“We are beyond proud to be named a finalist for the APLU’s IEP award,” said Ned Staebler, Wayne State University’s vice president for economic development and president and CEO of TechTown Detroit. “It’s a testament to the university’s commitment and proven track record of fueling entrepreneurship and innovation as drivers of inclusive economic development and regional competitiveness.”

In 2019, the APLU recognized Wayne State University with the IEP Talent Award, and in 2023, recognized a five-year extension of its IEP designation, originally received in 2014.

The winners will be announced during the association’s annual meeting in November. The six finalists are Wayne State University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, East Carolina University, the University of New Mexico, the University of Memphis and the University of Texas at San Antonio, where Wayne State University President Kimberly Andrews Espy, Ph.D., previously championed economic development and innovation. The finalists are competing for different awards that recognize exemplary and innovative case studies of economic engagement impact:

• IEP Talent Award, recognizing exemplary initiatives in education and workforce development.
   
• IEP Place Award, recognizing exemplary initiatives resulting in social, cultural or community development.
   
• IEP Innovation Award, recognizing exemplary initiatives spurring innovation, entrepreneurship and technology-based economic development.

All universities are finalists for the IEP Economic Engagement Connections Award, which is the top prize in the awards competition, recognizing overall excellence across all three award categories.

Wayne State University contributes $2.75 billion in annual economic impact and is Detroit’s 11th largest employer. Of its 300,000 alumni, 80% continue to live and work in Michigan. In TechTown’s 20-year history, the nonprofit entrepreneurship hub of the university raised more than $408 million in startup and growth capital and created more than 2,346 jobs. In 2023 alone, TechTown supported 1,059 entrepreneurs. Of those entrepreneurs, 80% identify as Black, indigenous, and people of color; 63% identify as Black/African American; 65% use she/her/hers pronouns; and 11% are immigrants to the U.S.

As defined by APLU’s Economic Engagement Framework — a series of tools and publications that helps institutions better know, measure and communicate their work in economic engagement — universities collaborate with their public and private sector partners in their states and regions to promote economic growth, competitiveness and opportunity through a variety of efforts across the categories.

“Congratulations to our 2024 IEP Awards finalists on their outstanding efforts to support talent development, drive innovation and spur place-based development,” said APLU President Mark Becker. “We’re excited to spotlight the exemplary work of our IEP Award finalists in driving innovation and prosperity across their regions.”

To be eligible for an IEP award, an institution must first earn the IEP designation from APLU, which recognizes institutional commitment to regional economic development. To earn the IEP designation, universities conduct a rigorous self-study of their economic engagement activities that includes input from external stakeholders. As part of the self-study, each institution identifies areas for growth and improvement within its economic engagement enterprise and develops an improvement plan. This work demonstrates a commitment to continuous learning and improvement in this kind of engagement vital to universities and their regional partners.

More than 85 institutions have been named IEP designees since the program was launched in 2012.