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, it 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.”
