When Governor Deval Patrick addressed the gathered crowd at the University of Massachusetts for the Pioneer Valley Regional Economic Summit he expressed his hope that, despite the recession, Massachusetts will rebound faster than any of the other states in the union.

On March 19, Gov. Patrick visited the UMass campus with members of his cabinet, area legislators, local and regional planning officials as well as economist Barry Bluestone of Northeastern University to assess the current state of Massachusetts’ economy, and in particular that of Pioneer Valley.

According to the Massachusetts governor, while Massachusetts has suffered more job losses than in some other areas of the country and with unemployment standing around 9.5 percent, the recovery from the economic recession may be slow, but hope remains.

Gov. Patrick said that the state appears to be rebounding faster than most of the other states due to the leading sectors such as education, life sciences and clean technology.

Patrick was joined by UMass Provost James Staros, Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement Michael Malone, graduate school Dean John Mullin as well as other members of the faculty to analyze long-term solutions for the Pioneer Valley.

Such long-term solutions, according to the members of the summit, will work towards creating access to capital and advice for small businesses, as well as clearing the way for business expansion.

According to Patrick, the hope for accomplishing these goals rests on further investment in public education.

“We are putting more money into public education than at any other time in the history of the state,” Patrick said.

UMass Chancellor Robert C. Holub affirmed Patrick’s standing on the importance of public education in recovering from the national recession.

 “We’re delighted to have hosted this important summit and I’m particularly pleased that our faculty participated. It was critical to have the public and private sectors collaborating on solutions for growth,” Holub said. “I can’t think of a better place to have that kind of discussion than the Commonwealth’s public research university.”

According to Bluestone, who is the founding director of the Kitty and Michael Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy, one of the most difficult challenges facing the state will be a workforce shortage.

While the summit specifically focused on the local economic rebound, Tim Brennan of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission said that though recovery may be rough, the Pioneer Valley boasts having lower home prices and an attractive environment for people to reside and find work.

Last Friday’s economic summit was the second in a series of regional events that were developed in order to help Massachusetts in its recovery from the recession.

The summit was organized by the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development led by Secretary Greg Bialecki, as well as a planning committee of leaders from UMass, the city of Springfield, the Pioneer Valley Commission, Franklin Regional Council of Governments, the Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts, Holyoke Community College, Hoppe Tool, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, MassDevelopment and regional chambers of commerce and local officials.

Jennifer Heshion can be reached at [email protected].