Mike Bowman – 2026 Vision Award

I ask everyone to pause for just a moment. Take a look around this room. Everyone here is building something that didn’t exist before. Places. Partnerships. Pathways. The work we do demands something very fundamental. It demands vision. The ability to see what others do not yet see. The courage to bring it to life. And the talent to shape and influence national policy.

Today, we honor a leader whose vision has helped all of us see further… think bigger… and build better.

Before I tell you who it is, I want to tell you about the kind of leader we are celebrating. First, this is someone who never traveled heavy. In his busiest years, as a young man — when most of us would pack half a closet — he could disappear for weeks with a suitcase so small it looked like he was headed out for a long weekend. Two suits. A few shirts. And somehow… ten different outfits. Always perfectly pressed — despite being rolled into what can only be described as a DuPont textile science experiment inside that suitcase. To this day, I’m convinced he knows something about fabric technology the rest of us don’t. Which, when you think about it, is exactly what great innovators do. They take limited raw material…apply creativity…and produce outcomes far greater than anyone thought possible.

I learned that firsthand more than twenty years ago when the two of us — along with Brian Darmody — found ourselves huddled in the corner of a restaurant, capturing ideas that would eventually become the Power of Place whitepaper. At the time, many of those ideas felt aspirational. Innovation zones across America. Modernized tax-exempt financing to support corporate and federally funded research. Enhancements to the R&D tax credit. But reread that paper today and you won’t find a wish list. You will find a blueprint. Much of what we described back in 2008 is now embedded in how this country approaches innovation. That is the difference between reacting to the future…and seeing it before it arrives.

And here is something I have always admired deeply about this leader: He never cared whether Delaware won… or Georgia won… or any single institution won. He cared that innovation won. He viewed the university research enterprise not as a collection of competitors, but as a national engine that had to succeed if America was going to remain globally competitive. That perspective made him exceptional at building relationships across this field. It made him a connector. It made him a counselor. And a trusted voice to leaders at the highest levels of government — and I mean the highest level. They didn’t want his counsel for headlines. But for his judgment. His discernment. And His vision.

Many of you know the story of the old Chrysler plant in Newark, Delaware. A $20 million acquisition of 272 acres with an uncertain future. Alongside a 40-acre existing park that was not fully developed. Some saw risk. He saw transformational possibility. Working with his university leadership and outside partners, a bold path emerged — clear the site, harvest the steel for $25 million, generate $5 million of liquidity, and create the foundation for something entirely new. What followed was not incremental. Bloom Energy. Chemours. The University of Delaware’s health sciences campus. A research park expanded sevenfold. A research enterprise surged forward — growing dramatically over the past decade and accelerating even faster in recent years. That was not incremental development. That was transformation.

But if you really want to understand this leader, don’t just study the projects. Study the people. Because his greatest gift has always been making others feel capable of doing big things. Spend five minutes with him and you walk away standing a little taller… thinking a little bigger… believing that what felt impossible yesterday might actually be within reach. That is rare leadership.

Over the years, this AURP community has built something truly special — a network defined not just by professional respect, but by genuine friendship… a family. We have celebrated together. Learned from one another. And when life tested members of this community, we showed up for each other. When our dear friend Charlie Dagostino became ill, this community did what it always does — it showed up. Friday happy hours over Zoom, stories and trivia games — even recruiting my son Thomas at one point to help raise the competitive bar. And when Charlie passed, we rallied around Susan the way a family does. The AURP community is just that, a family… one that today’s honoree helped shape with generosity, leadership, and unwavering commitment.

There is a reason the word vision carries so much meaning. Because vision is not merely sight. It is judgement. It is imagination. It is the discipline to see beyond immediate obstacles and recognize long-term possibilities This has always been this leaders rarest gift.

His vision has never been clearer. Still expanding. Still guiding. Still pointing us toward what comes next. And perhaps that is the truest definition of a visionary — someone who helps others see what they could not yet see on their own.

So let me ask a question…

Who is the leader whose vision has helped all of us see more? The builder of platforms. The architect of ecosystems. The counselor to presidents and policymakers. The champion of collaboration. The storyteller. The friend.

It is my honor to award the AURP Vision Award and recognize my friend of more than twenty years…A true statesman of the innovation economy…A Former President of AURP…And one of the clearest strategic minds our field has ever known…Mike Bowman.

Mike — I hope you know this — the innovation economy of this country looks different because you chose to lead. Because of you, places thrive, ideas accelerate, and people believe. Your legacy is not just what you built…It is the people you lifted…The institutions you strengthened…And the future you helped all of us see more clearly.

As Tracy and I present this award to Mike, I invite everyone here to join me in a simple toast — minus the glasses, but certainly not the spirit. To the man who reminds us that vision is not about seeing what is… but about creating what could be.

To our colleague. Our mentor. Our friend. Mike Bowman.