There’s a lot going right for New York City’s economy. Jobs are at an all-time high, housing demand is strong, and tourism is nearly back to 2019 levels. But as resilient as New York has been, the city faces several new economic challenges in today’s post-pandemic world — from hybrid work and e-commerce to a sluggish recovery in several key industries — that could threaten our future competitiveness. New York’s leaders should respond as they have so many times in the past: with big ideas to reshape the city’s economy for a new era.

Creating a prestigious new undergraduate university — or helping an existing university to significantly expand into a world-class institution — would help the city achieve two critical objectives. It would enable the city to continue attracting the highly educated, creative, and entrepreneurial young people who drive success in today’s economy. And it will help New York cultivate an engine of job growth, helping to offset employment declines in industries like retail, the arts, and manufacturing.

In this Daily News op-ed, Jonathan Bowles and Winston Fisher argue that a new top-tier university would create hundreds — if not thousands — of new jobs, attract highly talented young people, and strengthen the foundations of the economy for what’s shaping up to be a vastly different economic landscape.

Read the full op-ed here.

This op-ed builds on CUF's recent report, Big Ideas to Help NYC Thrive in the Post-Pandemic Economy.