On Sept. 20, local business, education and community leaders, including D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray, gathered in GW’s Jack Morton Auditorium to brainstorm initiatives that will create job opportunities and support business formation in the District’s Ward 8.
The summit, titled Major Projects Lab: Ward 8, tapped some area leaders to discuss citizen-led projects that support small business development, jobs and job training and that are joint ventures between organizations and private and public partners. Presentation topics included utilizing veteran leadership, creating an Anacostia Business Improvement District and historic preservation in Ward 8.
Hosted by GW and the Washington, D.C. Economic Partnership (WDCEP), the event included remarks by President Steven Knapp; GW School of Business Dean Doug Guthrie; GW Director of the European Union Research Center Scheherazade Rehman; GW Associate Dean for MBA Programs Liesl Riddle; Susan Jones, director of GW Law School’s Small Business and Community Economic Development Clinic; and WDCEP CEO Steve Moore.
In his remarks, Dr. Guthrie said there are no simple solutions to solving the job growth problem, but he hopes the university and District officials can work together to “contribute to the economic discussion” and make progress in addressing economic inequalities across neighborhoods.
“There are pockets in this city that are in deep distress,” said Dr. Guthrie. “Some of the levels of unemployment in Ward 8 are higher than any other metropolitan areas of similar size…It’s that type of contradiction that becomes a very engaging and interesting topic.”
“The goal here is to get a room of people in 10 different areas who are really passionate about this issue and to really think about how to move forward.”
Dr. Knapp spoke about the collaboration between GW and the D.C. government to address job creation, which began last year at Mr. Gray’s Job Creation and Economic Development Summit.
In July, GW hosted a job fair in the university’s Marvin Center featuring recruiters from 10 local universities and hospitals from the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area. More than 2,000 local residents attended the fair, which advertised more than 400 jobs.
“These are difficult economic times, but I think there’s a lot we can do working together with the District of Columbia government,” said Dr. Knapp. “The long-term approach is to have a strategy to create jobs and make sure that the citizens of the District are trained and prepared to take those jobs, and that means working strategically with employers.”
Mr. Gray spoke about the D.C. government’s efforts to stimulate job creation in the District. He thanked Dr. Knapp and the university for helping address the city’s growing unemployment problem, noting that universities are a valuable source of jobs in the District. An alumnus of GW, Mr. Gray said he was proud to be associated with a university that “understands [it’s] more than just a part of Foggy Bottom.”
“We are spending a lot of energy and a lot of attention and effort to try and bring economic development to communities east of the [Anacostia] river,” he said. “I believe we have the capacity, the energy, the brain power and the commitment to be the greatest city—not just in the United States of America but in the world.”