Abstract
Sudmir Ragupathy discusses the place of technology at the Ingenuity Festival and its role in shaping Cleveland's economic future. Recognizing Cleveland's poor environmental reputation, Ragupathy speaks about his organizations and vision of a Cleveland regional environmental economy.
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Interviewee
Ragupathy, Sudmir (interviewee)
Interviewer
Hons, Justin (interviewer); Yanoshik-Wing, Emma (interviewer)
Project
Ingenuity Fest
Date
7-14-2006
Document Type
Oral History
Duration
19 minutes
Recommended Citation
"Sudmir Ragupathy Interview, 14 July 2006" (2006). Cleveland Regional Oral History Collection. Interview 905006.
https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/crohc000/281
Transcript
Justin Hons [00:00:00] For the sound check, could you just describe how the weather is out right now?
Sudmir Ragupathy [00:00:03] Yeah, I would say the weather is a little bit overcast, but still warm and muggy. That would be the weather.
Justin Hons [00:00:10] Good. All right. Okay. If you could state your name and date for me.
Sudmir Ragupathy [00:00:17] My name is Sudhir Ragupathy, and the date is July 14, 2006.
Justin Hons [00:00:23] Sudhir, what is your involvement with the Ingenuity Fest today?
Sudmir Ragupathy [00:00:28] Sure. I’m actually involved in multiple ways. I’m part of a team that’s working to improve the ecological impact of the festival. So we’re doing things that weren’t done last year, like making sure we’re having recycling, trying to ensure that there are cleaner sources of energy being used, raising awareness at an eco-tent on East 4th and Prospect that raises awareness to people about all the exciting new alternative energy technologies that are becoming more and more powerful, I should say, or more and more of an, I think a collaborative force for not only environmental benefit, but economic benefit for our region. So I think it’s pretty exciting. I’m also helping out with another booth here with a group called Voices and Choices, and they’re really about trying to capture the voices of the people of our region here in Northeast Ohio and try to make sure that some of the economic development strategies that we implement for our region’s benefit are really what the people want, are really what people want to see happen in our region. So. And on a final level, I’m here to really enjoy the festival itself. So I’ve seen some amazing acts, musical acts, theatrical, you know, from theater to, you know, the SAFMOD performance was amazing. You know, everything I’ve seen so far has been amazing. So I’m just here enjoying the whole festival. And I’m fortunate to live, I guess, at what you would call ground zero, East 4th and Euclid. So I live there in the Windsor Apartments. So I feel like I’m in the center of it all right now.
Justin Hons [00:02:18] How long have you lived in Cleveland?
Sudmir Ragupathy [00:02:21] I came here to Case Western on a scholarship when I was 18, and I’ve lived in and around the Cleveland area ever since. I’m now 34, so it’s been quite a while. It’s been 16 years. But I’ve also- When I was two years old, my family moved from near Boston to Ashtabula, Ohio. So as a Northeast Ohioan, I’ve been here for 32 years. So I visited Cleveland and been here for well over many, many years, put it that way. Yeah.
Justin Hons [00:02:58] What are some of the significant changes in the city that have really stood out to you since when you were younger till now?
Sudmir Ragupathy [00:03:06] Sure. Let’s see. I think- I think there’s, you know, I think some of the key changes are around some of the areas in which I work or I’m interested. So I’ve noticed that over time. And one of those is, again, talking about this concept of sustainability and awareness of ecological and environmental issues. I think that awareness has always been there to some level, but I think people are realizing it more and more in our region here. And I think when you talk about alternative energy technologies like solar and wind and fuel cell, all the ones that we’re trying to showcase over there at our booth, we actually have a tremendous opportunity to become like a world center for these technologies. And actually, Ron Richards, the head of the Cleveland Foundation, echoed those very sentiments at the Cleveland Foundation’s last annual meeting. The reason is because we have these great manufacturing companies and we have great thought leaders at our universities. We have 25 excellent institutions of higher education, and we have the engineering and technical talent to, you know, really support these, all of these alternative energy technologies. So I think it’s really exciting. And when I say something new or something I’ve seen that’s been shifting a trend that’s really been growing for our region. I’ve seen that that’s been one that’s been pretty dramatic if you look at the past, you know, 25 years or so. 20, 25 years. So that would be certainly one. I guess I’d have a comment. Just in general, though, and I think one thing that hasn’t changed, that’s important to talk about is just the nature of the people here in Northeast Ohio. Like, I’ve always thought that. I’ve always thought that, you know, we have a region of really good people. You know, there, you know, there are other places that, you know, you can go. And I don’t think you get that same kind in general. I think level of helpfulness, you know, or I mean, maybe supportiveness from other people. Just, you know, in general, I think we have friendly people. It’s like good people here in our region. And it’s just one of those organizational maxims that people are your greatest asset no matter what group or organization you are, you know, So I think having that foundation and then thinking innovatively about, you know, improving and, you know, moving our region to enhance the quality of life for the people here and things like that, I think those are really important things to the whole piece of community development or economic development. I think they go hand in hand. So.
Justin Hons [00:05:59] What do you think it is about Cleveland that kind of lends itself to that type of environment?
Sudmir Ragupathy [00:06:06] Right. Wow. That’s a good question. I think- I mean, just Cleveland has- I mean, there’s so many assets, you know, that Cleveland- If you’re just going to talk about Cleveland as a city, you know, and I just think that- I just think that there’s strengths that people may not normally recognize, but one of them is we have a great level of diversity, and we have people from all over the world that come to our educational institutions to learn and study, and many who stay. And I think that’s a strength. And I think just the diverse perspectives and viewpoints that that diversity brings in its own. Right, I think that’s a strength. And I think- Yeah. And I just think, you know, with the right kind of efforts, the kind of efforts that these kinds of initiatives are trying to get together to do, I think we can get to, like, some, you know, like, to a place that’s even, you know, even greater than we are now. So, I mean, just at the very core, a great, you know, a great body of people, a great group of people. Historically, I think, though, what our region and maybe our city’s people has had at times is at times sort of a- Sort of a negative mindset that maybe, like, certain things will, you know, cause people to think or maybe not, you know, maybe believe as strongly that our city can be, you know, like to not have any. Put any kind of limits or boundaries to what our city can be, you know. So another shift to talk about is that if, you know, there was that kind of joke for a while in the past about mistake by the lake or, you know, that kind of thing, or, you know, Cleveland, Ohio, you know what I mean? But I think that’s something that’s definitely changing now, too. I think if you look at what different rankings have shown in different publications, the quality, I mean, the affordability of housing here, the, you know, the kind of- Just the kind, again, the people here, the opportunities here, the cultural centers here, you know, there’s all kinds of assets that make this place really special. University Circle is a place like nowhere else in the world. You know, that- Just a small, you know, square area that there’s so much, you know, cultural opportunity there just in that area. And I think there’s so many other gems, too, like, you know, Tremont or Shaker Square or, you know, you could. You could, you know, go on and on Coventry, you know, and there’s, like, a lot of places in and around, you know, Cleveland, the city proper, that just kind of add a lot of character to the city itself. So.
Justin Hons [00:08:41] But you live downtown?
Sudmir Ragupathy [00:08:43] I live downtown. I’ve lived actually all over. I’ve lived in University Heights before. I’ve lived right next to campus there in University before. I’ve even lived further down south in, actually near Kent, Ohio, before. So regionally, and of course Ashtabula. But. And so I’ve gotten to experience. Oh, I’ve lived in Shaker, in the Shaker area, too. Shaker, Shaker Heights area. So I’ve gotten to experience, I guess, through my time here, you know, like, the living in all those different places, you know, and appreciate, you know, what. You know, the kind of. The best of what those different places has to offer. So, yeah, it’s all been great.
Justin Hons [00:09:32] With this happening basically in your neighborhood this weekend, this festival, how does that make you feel? How do you feel?
Sudmir Ragupathy [00:09:40] I feel great. I feel like, you know, I think this is exactly what our city could use, you know, more of, you know, opportunities that kind of celebrate. Celebrate things like art and technology and culture. I mean, I- And I’m sure many other people have a philosophy about how quality of life can be improved or enhanced in a place which already is a great city and it’s a great region and there are great people, but there are things that can be done in a holistic way across different segments, and raising awareness to people about those things can make it that much better, even that much better. So we have some of the great cultural institutions in Northeast Ohio. We have the Cleveland Symphony and Cleveland Orchestra, and we have these galleries showcasing some great local art not everyone in the region fully realizes or possibly fully appreciates or even knows. It just might be just an awareness piece about all of those opportunities, how to best appreciate those opportunities. And it might very well start with education in the schools and having arts appreciation or those kinds of things so that people can really have an interest in appreciation and engage in that sort of thing at an earlier age. And there’s also sort of a mentality that some of these things are maybe a little bit elitist or for the wealthy, which isn’t true at all, you know, And, I mean, I think just experiencing things for the first time. Case has a program where they’re all subsidized tickets to see the Cleveland Orchestra, and they’re one of the best orchestras in the world. And, you know, at first glance, someone might say, oh, classical music, that’s, you know, that’s something snobby, or, I can’t afford that, you know, and you actually Go and you see it’s not really that expensive and you experience it and you can actually experience something new that’s world class, you know. And I think the more that things like that happen, the better things will be. And festivals like ingenuity help raise that awareness. Like raise awareness around all the different arts going on and the kind of talent that we have here regionally and that we can showcase here in Cleveland or in the region. And the other thing, the interesting thing about that is when you talk about holistically, there’s more than just arts. There’s arts and there’s health and there’s education and there’s technology and there’s these different spheres that you can make positive change happen within. And it’s really interesting when you can find intersections of value between those different things. So there’s cool intersections between arts and education, for example, where there’s cool intersections, as we see in this very festival, between art and technology. Because great technological minds and great technology can provide new and innovative media for the artists to be able to express themselves and vice versa. The creativity, some people call it, right-brainedness or whatever you call it that artists have is phenomenal. And sometimes some of the greatest ideas come from very art-minded people or artists. And so when you have these opportunities to connect artists to technologists or you know, those kinds of parties that may not normally interact or intersect all the time, you can create even new kind of sources of value, multimedia art experiences, you know, or just, I mean, all kinds of, you know, all kinds of possibilities. So I think festivals like this are fantastic. And I think, you know, as people get, you know, as they become more, I think what Ingenuity festival. I think what will happen this is, it’s just a second year and I already, I’ve seen such an amazing difference from year one that I think it’s just going to continue to, you know, grow and become more, more of a phenomenon over time. So.
Justin Hons [00:13:49] I wanted to ask you, what does it mean to be working on alternative energy in a city that at one point was known for its river catching fire?
Sudmir Ragupathy [00:13:58] Exactly. You know, you just perfectly illustrated in a short phrase what a tremendous shift we’re talking about you know, now, you know, from that time, I guess sometimes something extreme like that, you know, being the brunt of a joke, being, you know, sometimes ranked last in something, you know, just a few years back we were listed in a publication as one of the poorest cities in the country. You know, so sometimes having that, you know, being that scapegoat can be a positive because it can actually light that fire and get- You get, you know, people- You know, people don’t want to be last. You know, people don’t want to be that scapegoat. And when something like that happens, you know, it certainly leaves a lasting impression, you know, not only here, but certainly not good publicity elsewhere. People almost in a tongue-in-cheek way have worked on festivals. Another festival actually, which is coming up in August is the Burning River Fest. And they just call it the Burning River Fest because it’s kind of tongue in cheek. It’s like, yeah, this used to be, but look at what we’re doing now. And that’s going to be really exciting because that’s going to be held on Whiskey island this year in August. And it’s going to be a collaborative where all the different organisms that care about alternative energy or ecology or improving the quality of life and environment, of just our environment in general are going to be able to showcase what they do using the river itself kind of as a showpiece, as, you know, like issues with watershed planning and issues with all the kinds of things that can be done. But all the different kinds of environmental organizations will be represented. And that’s just another example. Those kinds of collaborations and those kinds of festivals that have become more and more popular, they weren’t in existence back then, 20 years ago, you know, so it’s just showing that the people have recognized something and have worked and are working to make a major change happen.
Justin Hons [00:16:09] I wanted to ask you, how does organization, voice and choices come into play in all this?
Sudmir Ragupathy [00:16:14] Sure, I think in many ways, again, the basic premise when this first started was that the Fund for Our Economic Future, what that is, is a fund that 80 or so of the foundations in our region put together to work on issues of improving our region, our city and our region. And people realize you have to improve our city or find ways to enhance quality of life in our city to have also enhancement of our region. But specifically, Voices and Choices was funded by the Fund for Our Economic Future to be this vehicle, to be this entity that would help create an unprecedented level of dialogue between the leaders and the people of our region. So it started out initially as getting, simply as getting the leaders of the different counties, and every county had a leadership workshop where the leaders would all come together and then they would ask, they would be asked key questions about what they thought about the region, what they thought a regional economy could mean for the city and the region. You know, just all the kinds of questions. And there’s a key philosophy in organizational behavior, which is what my background is, which is that change begins the moment you start asking the questions. And when people start asking questions and studying ways to do that, then they start thinking, and they start thinking about connections they have, the networks they have. So they had those workshops in, you know, I think, 11 of the different counties in Northeast Ohio, and it was pretty exciting. They had electronic polling. They did all this kind of stuff, and they got a lot of data and a lot of information on what people of the region think. And I think that’s not something that was ever done before. You know, the group that ran that is out of Washington, D.C. They’re called America Speaks, and they were really successful using that technology after the 9/11 tragedy. So this is just an ongoing effort. And it’s just yet another way that people are showing in different ways that they care about our region, and they care about enhancing and improving both the economic development and the quality of life of our region. So, yeah, I think it’s been great being involved with them.
Justin Hons [00:18:44] All right, we’re actually out of time. [crosstalk] That was excellent.
Sudmir Ragupathy [00:18:47] Yeah. All right.
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