UEDA is coming to Huntsville, Alabama!

In collaboration with Alabama A&M University, UEDA is holding the 2025 UEDA Summit on October 6 – 8, 2025!

This year’s Summit theme is Launching Partnerships for Prosperity, and will celebrate institutions’ impact in strengthening the workforce, building local ecosystems, learning to navigate and thrive in the new economy, and bettering the welfare of their communities.

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Recap of the Inaugural UEDA Washington Conference!

UEDA held its inaugural UEDA Washington Conference and University Center Cohort Meeting in Arlington, VA, March 11-12, 2025.

In collaboration with NADO, EDA University Centers, university economic development officers, and key partners, UEDA heard from federal agencies and peers in a workshop-style conference that fostered peer exchange and dialogue.

View our March 2025 issue of Intersections to read our recap.

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Get full access to UEDA’s network and resources to help establish your institution of higher education as a driver of economic development in your community.

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The University Economic Development Association is for economic development professionals who seek to connect with innovation ecosystem builder partners such as universities, community colleges, and other practitioners to learn best practices, gain recognition for their work, and better communicate their organization’s vital impact in building their community’s economic ecosystem.

UEDA’s mission is to empower economic ecosystems through knowledge and best practices in the realms of talent, innovation, and place.

UEDA members represent those on the cutting-edge of modern economic development. The 21st-century economy has evolved into an entity that behaves much differently from its predecessors. Attracting established industry into your town is no longer a reliable route to prosperity.

Success in our modern economy is about innovation and entrepreneurship. It is about fostering talent in young people from preschool through life to embolden them to think and create outside the traditional academic or professional requirements. It is about creating environments that attract those people who want to make and do things in new ways and retains that talent to start the process over again in the next generation.

Never before have academia, the private sector, and economic stakeholders been so reliant on one another to create economic opportunity. UEDA members work together to expand economic opportunity in their communities and regions by leveraging talent, innovation and place, and recognizing the interconnectedness of each of these elements.

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UEDA’s focus on talent, our economy’s human capital, encourages higher education to take a more cradle-to-grave approach in identifying and fostering students at all levels so they grow to be contributors to and leaders of further economic growth.

UEDA members are committed to encouraging innovation, creative problem solving, and entrepreneurship to encourage similar economic opportunities in their communities.

UEDA encourages institutions to be active members and contribute to vibrant communities where people want to live and work to lay a strong foundation for ongoing economic success.