MIDLAND, Mich. – Northwood University announced today that it has commissioned its McNair Center for the Advancement of Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship to facilitate a regional economic impact study to measure and quantify The Dow Chemical Company’s economic footprint in the Great Lakes Bay Region.“Dow has been a significant employer and community partner for 120 years,” said Keith Pretty, president and CEO of Northwood University. “Due to the significant transformation Dow is currently undergoing, this is a unique opportunity to study the company’s regional impact.”
“With the Dow Corning transaction now complete, and the pending merger with DuPont on the near horizon, we realize Dow is at a pivotal point and making key decisions that will impact their vision and future investments,” Pretty said.
Northwood’s McNair Center, a research think-tank, is led by Timothy Nash, senior vice president at Northwood and lead economist on the study. Nash and a team of researchers from other universities, will evaluate state and local gross domestic product (GDP), employment, assets, local purchasing, philanthropy and economic development to appraise the company’s investments and subsequent impact.
The study will be completed in summer 2017, and when complete, will be shared publicly and used by Dow to help advance the company’s growth and innovation strategy.
“There is no better time to quantify and validate Dow’s imprint on the economic vitality of Michigan, the Great Lakes Bay Region, and specifically Midland,” said Nash. “We believe the results will also help drive other economic development activities to help make Midland a more sustainable, prosperous place to live and do business.”
For more information about Northwood University’s McNair Center, visit https://www.northwood.edu/mcnair/about.
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ABOUT THE MCNAIR CENTER FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF FREE ENTERPRISE AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The McNair Center for the Advancement of Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship at Northwood University is a leading economic think tank generating information focused on the study, advocacy and expansion of the market-process and the creation and cultivation of entrepreneurs. The McNair Center aims to generate knowledge and understanding of the importance and value of entrepreneurship in a free and competitive economy, and the impact entrepreneurs have beyond transactions on the progress and prosperity of society as a whole. It was dedicated in July 2015 by Robert and Janice McNair.
