Whatcom County Commercial Real Estate
The Dean of the College of Business and Economics at Western Washington University conveys his observations about Whatcom County's economic strengths. A strong economy will always positively affect Whatcom County Commercial real estate.
WWU dean reflects on local strengths
DAVE GALLAGHER
Dennis Murphy has seen plenty of changes in the local economy in the past 25 years and it has left him pretty upbeat about where things are going.
Murphy, dean of the College of Business and Economics at Western Washington University, will retire from that position at the end of the spring quarter. He became dean of the college in 1982 and has been instrumental in the development of programs that are important locally and has been a close watcher of what’s been driving Whatcom County. He had a regular business column in The Bellingham Herald for 10 years.
He will continue to be active in the community, teaching classes and working on the board at Cascade Financial Corp. (Cascade Bank).
The biggest change he’s seen has been the county’s transition from a resource-based economy.
What’s been interesting is that the transition has been a relatively smooth one, where we were able to quickly recover from some sudden changes, such as when the Georgia-Pacific West Inc. pulp mill shut down, Intalco’s temporary idling and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, which all happened in a one-year period.
"It’s regretful losing that industrial base and those high wage jobs, but Whatcom County was able to ride a wave of national prosperity that softened the shock of that transition,” he said. “If 20 years ago GP moved much of its operations out of Bellingham and Intalco was forced to cut back, there would have been some serious economic problems here.”
We were able to grow in other sectors, such as retail and to become a magnet for income other than wages, such as that from retirees.
"It was a metamorphosis that took place at the right time for this community,” Murphy said.
During Murphy’s tenure, programs were developed that have had a major impact in our business community, including the Small Business Development Center, as well as getting Westerns business program competing on a national level.
"I believe the role of a business school is to get the resources we have out into the community,” he said. “My job was to stay out of the way of the people we hired and let them get the resources out there, whether it’s programs or research work.”
While Murphy says it was his job to stay out of the way, he keeps close tabs on what is happening in the local economy. He’s fairly optimistic about where our economy is going; he’s a believer that free markets and free people will do wonders for commerce. He says events in recent years have strengthened trade and the overall economy.
People keep saying there is a bubble, but I believe this expansion is more than that; there is more planning involved. What’s remarkable to me is, we have students coming to Western today who have yet to see a bad downturn in the economy.
The challenges Murphy sees in coming years will be addressing transportation and the lack of light industrial land and adjusting to new energy sources.
"Our industrial base has shrunk in the past years, but it is a cycle. Local up-and-coming companies such as Ryzex are showing that industry can come back, if we provide the opportunity,” Murphy said. |