Since Amazon narrowed its list of potential locations for a second headquarters on Thursday from over 200 qualifying regions to just 20 finalists, colleges in those lucky cities have become more hopeful that they might reap the benefits if the huge company comes to town.
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The new headquarters, to join Amazon’s first, in Seattle, will create an estimated 50,000 high-paying jobs in the city it selects, according to the online retailer.
While higher-education institutions see the opportunities a nearby headquarters could bring their students and alumni, the prospective deal may be mutually beneficial to Amazon and the city’s nearby institutions. The universities and colleges near each finalist may sway Amazon’s headquarters selection. And Amazon said in a statement it is looking for a place with “the potential to attract and retain strong technical talent.” Among the finalists with multiple large, highly ranked institutions are Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York.
Colleges hoping to draw the retail giant to their town are quick to highlight their technological achievements. Southern Methodist University’s president, R. Gerald Turner, cited his institution’s work on an academic supercomputer in Dallas, a finalist. At Purdue University, Suresh V. Garimella, executive vice president for research and partnerships, emphasized its record in producing STEM degrees as one draw of an Indianapolis headquarters.
“Perhaps somewhat unnoticed — although apparently not by Amazon — NYC has been becoming a major player in science and tech. NYU, along with our sister institutions, have been drivers of that transformation,” said New York University’s spokesman, John Beckman.
Many colleges, alongside local officials and other regional institutions, contributed to bids sent to Amazon. Tony Armstrong, president and chief executive of the Indiana University Research and Technology Corporation, which helps build IU partnerships with businesses and other universities, said the case for Indianapolis was strengthened by the number of higher-education institutions it houses.
“We have three Tier 1 institutions, two Big Ten schools, a number of students, a technical community college. We are a feeder for talent,” Mr. Armstrong said. “It’s not just talent, but a diverse pool of talent in the commuting space and in business.”
Powerhouse Colleges
Experts see a range of possible winners of the competition, but Jeffrey D. Shulman, a professor of marketing at the University of Washington, said his best guess is Chicago — in large part because of the talent at nearby colleges and universities.
“Chicago is a strong contender,” he said, “because Amazon needs the best talent to thrive,” and the region includes local powerhouses like the University of Chicago and Northwestern University as well as more distant institutions like Indiana and the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. “It’s a regional hub for a lot of high-powered universities,” he continued. “Boston is obviously another place where universities could play a role in being attractive.”
Mr. Shulman said the new headquarters would have a positive impact on surrounding colleges and universities, probably increasing their job-placement rates, offering opportunities to recent M.B.A. recipients, and attracting more high-quality applicants for advanced degrees. Professors in the city with the golden ticket may be in for good news as well. The Chronicle reported in October that Amazon had already hired more than 500 Ph.D.s in 2017, many of them former professors.
The list of finalists includes only one West Coast city, Los Angeles, and only one city outside the United States, Toronto.
Richard Florida, a professor of business at the University of Toronto and director of its Martin Prosperity Institute, said while universities stand to benefit from having an Amazon headquarters in their city, their students and faculty members will probably face major changes and some drawbacks.
Any other metropolitan area Amazon goes to is going to feel a shock.
“The only place that could accommodate Amazon straightaway is the New York metro area, or maybe LA,” he said. “Any other metropolitan area Amazon goes to is going to feel a shock. Certainly if it goes to a smaller metro like Pittsburgh or Columbus, they are going to feel massive effects.” Mr. Florida singled out rent costs and transportation as among the most likely to be affected.
Mr. Florida said his best guess at a winner was either New York or Washington, D.C., because they serve as the nation’s economic and power centers and because they offer so much talent. He said colleges will be a major determinant of where the Amazon headquarters ends up, and those institutions are right to be excited about the prospect.
“One of the key criteria is a great university,” he said. “Every one of those cities has one or two great universities. Talented people want to be there, they are more open-minded, they treat talented people fairly. It’s going to be a combination of university and city that works.”
