At 7:30 a.m. in July it’s already hot and hopping in Portsmouth’s Market Square. The young man with the green hair and laptop carrying case slung over his shoulder might be headed for work in a software or marketing company occupying valuable office space near the harbor. He might be a tourist or a student. A cook in a local restaurant.

To observer Ross Gittell, savoring a decaf cappuccino at Café Brioche, he’s a part of the energy and excitement of a unique community that is “a joy to be a part of”—and worth working hard to preserve.

From Portsmouth to Pittsburg, New Hampshire, it would be difficult to find a single issue of importance to the future prosperity of the state’s economy—a delicate balance of tradition and change, of environmental beauty and electronic commerce— that hasn’t been shaped and energized in the public mind by the teachings, research, and partnership-building skills of Gittell.

“Ross epitomizes the engaged professor,” says University System of New Hampshire Chancellor Stephen Reno. “His considerable expertise makes important issues more intelligible not only to his students, but also to a much broader public.”

Reno ought to know. In a breathtaking span of publications and policy recommendations to business and industry groups and the governor’s office during the 1990s, Gittell identified the state’s quality of life, highly skilled workforce, and growing knowledge-based economy as distinctive assets that should be nurtured and promoted.

The research also warned of a potential “brain drain”—an exodus of the state’s most talented students and loss of economic competitiveness—if steps weren’t taken to align educational programs with marketplace demands. “The $100 million Knowledge Economy Education Plan for New Hampshire (KEEP-NH), the largest capital request ever embraced by legislators and the governor, was built on Ross’ argument that investing in education, K-12 to college, was critical to economic growth,” recalls Reno.

Gittell’s efforts on behalf of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, Children’s Alliance, New England Board of Higher Education, and other nonprofits, also reflect his strong belief “that economic strength requires a stronger, accessible, and relevant educational system.”

Gittell is equally at ease in the academic and business communities—a trait he affectionately attributes to his parents, one a political science professor, the other a certified public accountant. “I’ve always enjoyed the back and forth between the academic and applied,” says Gittell. “As long as it serves a purpose.” Gittell himself has served as vice president of the New England Economic Project, project director of the state’s Economic Development Action Plan, and member of a governor’s advisory team charged with presenting the state’s economic picture to Wall Street bond rating agencies.

“The University and the state’s business community have a lot to gain from working more closely with each other,” says College of Engineering and Physical Sciences Dean Arthur Greenberg, who serves on the Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce Technology Roundtable. “Ross helps bridge this gap with his energy and knowledge.”

And joy. “Ross loves everything,” enthuses Jennifer Quinlan, the chamber’s business development manager. “Picking out fruit at the farmer’s market on Saturday morning. Running through the streets of Portsmouth. Having lunch with his family downtown. Even when he’s providing analysis, he’s not removed from it all. He’s part of the community.”

Successful partnering takes patience. What role will the University play in public policy decisions affecting the state’s business community? How can educators, business leaders, and legislators create education and training programs that keep the best and brightest students in the state? The questions are difficult. The answers are harder.

One thing is sure: the man in Market Square is already working on them.

—David Moore,
University Publications