State representatives and business leaders said Friday that they believe the expansion of Oregon State University-Cascades Campus into a four-year university could improve the region’s economy and create jobs.

A four-year university will bring economic stability to the region, Rep. Gene Whisnant, R-Sunriver, told about 20 local business people at the Bend Chamber of Commerce breakfast forum: “Job Creation in Central Oregon: What are the Issues and Challenges?”

“I don’t have to tell you we’re in trouble,” Whisnant said, referring to unemployment in Oregon and specifically Central Oregon.

Regulation, high taxes, labor laws and health care expenses are all challenges for small businesses, said Whisnant, one of three state legislators to speak at the forum.

While the lawmakers addressed concerns about the Public Employees Retirement System, land-use appeals and funding for business development, their No. 1 priority is job creation, said Rep. Jason Conger, R-Bend. One solution they see is OSU-Cascades becoming a four-year university.

There’s strong momentum for the expansion with the increase in enrollment and the broadening of courses, Conger said. The next step is to acquire the state funding to purchase the space to house the classrooms.

If there’s a university to train students, he said, local employers will benefit from an educated workforce.

“We see (OSU-Cascades) as the best opportunity for stimulating the economy and job growth for the long term,” he said. “(We need to) refine our argument about why the state should borrow money and invest it here.”

Becky Johnson, vice president of OSU-Cascades, attended the forum and said having legislative support is going to be crucial to the university obtaining the $16 million bond funding needed for the expansion.

Johnson agreed that a four-year university will fuel economic development.

“If you put out talented, bright people into the community who want to stay and live here, they’re going to have to find a way to make a living,” she said, “and that’s how you get new companies started.”

Currently, Johnson said, the college is creating a computer science degree program, which would help provide the skills local businesses say are needed in the workforce.

“(Kids) would like to stay where they go to school because they develop an affinity for that area,” she said. “If you bring people here to get a degree in computer science, our companies are more likely to be able to retain them here.”