James July-August 2024 web - Flipbook - Page 36
greater regional trail system to be enjoyed by tenants and guests. Our goal
is to honor our name, which originally
was defined as a second harvest of an
existing hay field. The Rowen team
recognizes the important role the
land played for families who lived and
worked here before us and is honored
to cultivate that same land to serve
future generations of Georgians.
As the Foundation concludes the
first phase of infrastructure on site,
opening more than 800 acres for vertical development, plans are underway
for the first building on the site: the
Rowen Convergence Center.
This Center is envisioned to be the
home of the Rowen Foundation and
space offered for higher education,
industry, innovation and community
partners to co-locate around highly programmed spaces. The Convergence
Center will also provide space for the
Georgia Department of Economic
Development to host industry prospects and convene regional economic
development leaders as it works to
ensure Georgia remains the best state
36
JAMES
JULY/AU GU ST 2024
STATE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT LEADERS GATHERED AT ROWEN AS A PART OF GWINNETT COUNTY’S WOMEN
IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DAY TO LEARN ABOUT GEORGIA’S LARGEST KNOWLEDGE COMMUNITY.
CREDIT: EMILY CRAWFORD EVENTS
to do business and brings investment
to the University Parkway corridor that
connects Athens and Atlanta.
Our progress has positioned the
Foundation to add additional partnerships beyond relationships with the
region’s core universities. Rowen is
partnering with the Georgia Chamber
and Emory University’s Center for AI
Learning to kick off a statewide education and training effort around artificial
intelligence, furthering the overall
mission of encouraging collaboration
and innovation for the wellbeing of all
Georgians and beyond. This is Georgia’s first community-based AI training
program, which paves the way for
ideas and progress in this new industry to emerge. The program seeks to
demystify AI by equipping Georgians
with skills and confidence amid the
ever-evolving workforce technologies.
Rowen leaders also anticipate a
deeper relationship with the Georgia
Research Alliance (GRA), the gold
standard nationally for academic and
industry collaboration and a key driver
of Georgia’s innovation economy for
more than 30 years. Under the leadership of new CEO Tim Denning, GRA
has leveraged billions of state dollars to
establish a core group of eminent scholars, many of whom align with Rowen’s
industry priorities.
