Stephen S. Fuller, Ph.D. on Amazon and future job and economic growth in Our Town~ They worked together to make this happen, and it will benefit the region broadly, but it isn't the final, it isn't all that is coming. This is just the beginning. We expect there to be almost 400,000 new jobs in the next 15 years and this is just 25,000 of them. Stephen S. Fuller, Ph.D. and Our Town host Andy Ockershausen in-studio interview Andy Ockershausen: This is Andy Ockershausen and this is Our Town. I have been so excited to know that we could talk to this man and we could talk to him away from his usual role as the head of some meeting or group because I have been following him through the Washington Board of Trade since he first worked for GW. It was way back in the '60s I guess. Steve Fuller, welcome to Our Town. Stephen S. Fuller, Ph.D.: Pleasure to be with you. Andy Ockershausen: You know, we think Our Town and we created the show - my Janice recreated it. We had a television program on channel 50 called Our Town. So Janice dug it up three years ago and said, "Why don't we do it again?" about the people that have impact in Our Town and we think Our Town is Upper Marlboro, it's Vienna, Virginia, it's as far north as Baltimore, it's as far south as Richmond. That's Our Town. We go all over and Steve Fuller, you've had such an enormous impact on that geographical selection, Our Town. Rutgers and Cornell Stephen S. Fuller, Ph.D.: Well, I've been studying it for 50 years and I try to share some of my knowledge. So this is a great opportunity. Andy Ockershausen: I love your resume. I love your background. You grew up in New Jersey, I would take it. You went to Rutgers. Stephen S. Fuller, Ph.D.: I did go to Rutgers. Andy Ockershausen: That's a state school, isn't it? Stephen S. Fuller, Ph.D.: A state school. It's the sixth oldest university in the country. Andy Ockershausen: It's older than Princeton. Stephen S. Fuller, Ph.D.: 1766, Queens College, it was then. Andy Ockershausen: Queens College. Well, wasn't William and Mary King's College at one time in Southern Virginia? I think it's something like that. There were only one of each, I know that. And you graduated from Rutgers in '62, but then it took you seven years to graduate from Cornell. Stephen S. Fuller, Ph.D.: Well, I worked, I went out and worked. Andy Ockershausen: Oh, it didn't say that. Stephen S. Fuller, Ph.D.: I took a few jobs. Andy Ockershausen: The way I read your resume, you graduated in '62 and then went to Cornell, high above Cayuga's waters, right? Stephen S. Fuller, Ph.D.: That's right. Andy Ockershausen: And that launched you into a career by going to Cornell. Was that a special school for you? Stephen S. Fuller, Ph.D.: I went there to get a PhD in Urban and Regional Planning and Economic Development, and I was there just for two years. Then I came to Washington in 1967, because I lucked out to get some financing from a small agency to fund my dissertation research on rural redevelopment. Andy Ockershausen: Wow! On Coming to Our Town Stephen S. Fuller, Ph.D.: So I came down here with the promise of one year paycheck to do my research and write my dissertation, and then they hired me to stay on for a year and after that I went to GW in '69. Andy Ockershausen: And you became whether you planned or not, you became part of Our Town, a big part of Our Town. Stephen S. Fuller, Ph.D.: I did. Andy Ockershausen: And you had had all the training to better urban development and training about how to judge markets and growth and so forth. So you were prepared to help at GW. Were you're the first one in that category at George Washington? George Washington University Opportunity - New Urban Regional Planning Department Stephen S. Fuller, Ph.D.: There was a new department at George Washington that offered a master's degree in Urban Regional Planning, and it just started up in 1968 and they needed a third faculty member,
Stephen S. Fuller, Ph.D. is Our Town’s expert on Greater Washington’s regional economy. Dr. Fuller received a B.A. in Economics from Rutgers University and a Doctorate in Regional Planning and Economic Development from Cornell University. His dissertation research in rural redevelopment was funded by a small agency in Washington DC. He came to Our Town and never left. After receiving his Ph.D. in 1969, Dr. Fuller was hired by George Washington University as a faculty member of its then new Urban Regional Planning master’s program.
Andy and Dr. Fuller discuss one of the most impactful Presidents of George Washington University, Stephen Trachtenberg, and how GW has done much for urban renewal in the District of Columbia. Dr. Fuller also tells Andy that one of the reasons Amazon chose Our Town for its HQ2 is access to a talented workforce due to the large number of colleges and universities in the area.
Dr. Fuller and Andy also discuss changes that have and will affect the economy – the building of Metro and Amazon. Additionally, that Our Town is not as dependent on the Federal Government as it once was. They do acknowledge that with the stroke of a pen it can be shut down and that can be devasting for the economy.
Andy and Dr. Fuller’s conversation also includes discussions on
• Net Domestic Out-Migration, Natural Growth and International In-Migration and what that means about the Our Town population.
• Putting Amazon’s Impact on Our Town in Perspective – It is Just the Beginning
• New Paradigm for Jobs and Economy
• The River and Growth in Northern Virginia
• Private Sector and Elected Leadership Must Be Involved at Local Level for Proper Growth
• New Money Will Drive the Economy
There’s a lot packed into this information interview with Dr. Stephen S. Fuller.