Governor brings upbeat message in stops through area

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KEVIN GUTTING

University of Massachusetts student trustee Emily Bloch asks Gov. Deval Patrick if he will return the state income tax level to its 1992 level to better fund public higher education. The question came during a forum with area college students Wednesday in the ballroom of the UMass Student Union. Patrick said he won't make a "No new taxes" pledge but also didn't think the time was right to increase taxes with families struggling to make ends meet.

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KEVIN GUTTING

University of Massachusetts junior Marco Cross asks Gov. Patrick how the state can make higher education more affordable.

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KEVIN GUTTING

Governor Deval Patrick takes part in a forum with area college students Wednesday at the University of Massachusetts. The event was part of a series of community forums for young adults.

NORTHAMPTON - There was no reason to shoot this messenger.

Gov. Deval L. Patrick was in western Massachusetts Wednesday spreading good news in the cities of Amherst, Northampton and Holyoke.

Yes, a high-performance computing center will be constructed in downtown Holyoke. Ground will be broken next fall.

Yes, Patrick will support a new multi-cultural learning initiative at the University of Massachusetts.

And yes, once tax revenues pick up for the state, higher education funding will be restored.

"We're going to get though this. I'm confident we will," Patrick said Wednesday afternoon of the economy. "And we will all share the upside."

Patrick was in the area to attend a variety of events. He spent the morning at the Jackson Street School in Northampton discussing economic recovery. The early afternoon was spent at UMass where Patrick attended a pitch from Isenberg School of Management students eager to gain his support for a proposed curriculum that would focus on multi-cultural collaboration. He also sat on a panel for a community meeting with young adults, attended by 600 people, to discuss how the state can attract and retain young workers.

From 1999 to 2008, the number of young workers aged 20-34 decreased in Massachusetts by 5.6 percent, or 59,000 people. Across the nation, that same working cohort has grown by 5.3 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Computer announcement

At around 3 p.m., the governor went south to Holyoke Community College where he was joined by UMass President Jack M. Wilson and representatives from Cisco, EMC, MIT, as well as Boston University to outline a timeline for the establishment of a high-performance computing center near the city's canal system.

"The establishment of the Holyoke HPCC would represent the most significant partnership among state government, leading research universities and private industry in the history of the Commonwealth," Wilson said in a joint statement with the presidents of MIT and Boston University. "We believe that it would also represent an important catalyst for economic and workforce development in Holyoke and the Pioneer Valley."

At least $50 million, including $7.5 million from UMass, has been pledged by universities, the state and private corporations to build the center in Holyoke, about half the cost of its estimated construction.

A location for the center is yet to be established, but officials have set their eyes on downtown Holyoke near the Connecticut River, which will be used for hydro-electric power and cooling for the center's machines.

With a plan to break ground next fall, involved parties are now working on institutional agreements, design plans and securing investments. Occupancy is planned for late 2011.

A high-performance computing center is a place where computer clusters and networks are used to solve complex problems. In Holyoke, there could be applications for biofuels, the life sciences and clean energy, among other fields that could benefit from sophisticated computations.

It is also something the area lacks and a likely spark for area job growth.

"It'll be an IT hub," Patrick said. "I'm very excited."

Student questions

At UMass, Patrick was grilled with tough questions from students who queried the governor about how he would stem violence in Springfield, restore funding to UMass and the entire public higher education system, make the state a more affordable place for young people to live and address global warming.

"I know I can afford to be here," said Marco C. Cross, a UMass student, during a question-and-answer period, "but I know a lot of people who can't."

UMass is facing a $38.2 million budget shortfall for the coming fiscal year, according to Provost James V. Staros. UMass faced a similar funding cut last year, but was able to avoid the gap with funding from the federal stimulus package - a resource that is unlikely to save UMass twice. Still, due to a 12 percent, or $123 million, cut in state funding for the entire public higher education system, UMass had to make budget cuts to balance its ledger this year.

Patrick pledged to restore funding for higher education once tax revenues improve. However, economic barometers don't point to those revenues coming any time soon. This week, Patrick announced a $600 million tax revenue shortfall, which may result in 2,000 layoffs of state employees.

Acknowledging higher education's impact on creating innovations that lead to job creation, Patrick said, "I know what to do when the revenue comes back and one important thing to do is get higher education funding back on track."

On the subject of retaining young people who are educated in Massachusetts, Patrick said the state needs more affordable "starter" homes and rental properties that will allow young people to get a "toe-hold" in the state.

The governor also noted the importance of high-speed broadband Internet access for the entire state in keeping young people in the Bay State, adding that $4.3 million was recently appropriated from state funds for western Massachusetts to help in achieving that goal.

On the topic of violence in Springfield, Patrick said additional police are not the only solution to the city's high crime rate. Young people need opportunities, backed by consistently funded programs, to alleviate the violence.

As for global warming, the governor agreed to meet with students who pressed the issue. They want to discuss how Massachusetts can institute additional environmentally friendly policies.

"You're preaching to the choir," Patrick said to a student who requested the meeting.

He noted that in the last year, Massachusetts passed more green legislation than any other state and that this point will likely be addressed by President Obama when he is in Massachusetts Friday to deliver a speech at MIT and attend a fundraising campaign for the governor.

Young business leaders

At an event earlier in the day with students from the Jewish Leadership in Business, Muslim Student Association and Association of Diversity in Sports groups, Patrick was asked to support a student initiative that aims to educate students about different cultures, while they make headway on their majors.

The three student groups, along with help from the Student Government Association, have developed a program that they hope to turn into a minor called the Cultural Education Initiative. As Carolyn D. Ware, a member of the JLB noted, business is a global institution in which people who understand how to work with various cultures have an edge.

Through the minor, which students are seeking funds to initiate and evaluate, students would study several cultures, engage in decision-making and problem solving scenarios with these cultures as a backdrop, and complete a capstone project.

Patrick was asked to "enthusiastically" promote the program to possible business sponsors and endorse its aims on a statewide scale.

Patrick promised he would.

"People may look at things differently," Patrick said. "The goal of the state and in other places is to get that part of education right. If we don't we will grow isolated as a nation."

Kristin Palpini can be reached at kpalpini@gazettenet.com