Is Springfield Fighting a Brain Drain?

When college graduates and young professionals leave Springfield, is it a natural progression or or a troubling trend? Locals who have left provide some insight, while others are taking action to keep the Ozarks brimming with talent.

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Andrew Paul Jackson is leaving Springfield for Boston, Massachusetts. He doesn’t know how long he’ll be gone, but the verdict is at least two years, and probably more. At the end of July he and his girlfriend, Erica Spyres, an actress, will pack their bags and move into their new apartment; Andrew will attend the prestigious Boston Conservatory in the fall. Andrew, a graduate of Drury University, believes he needs to make the move in order to grow as a composer and a musical critic. Despite his quiet voice and demeanor, Andrew has already published two articles in a worldwide publication dedicated to the work of Dmitri Shostakovich, a famous Russian composer. Boston offers opportunity for Erica as well, a talented singer and actress who has appeared in regional plays such as The Taffetas. Both Andrew and Erica are from the Springfield area, and both are reluctant, in some ways, to leave. This is their home; but each knows that greater opportunity awaits them in a larger, more diverse part of the county.

“For me it’s about getting a bigger peer group for what I do,” says Andrew. He says that at Drury he had two composition majors and four students who were studying composition. At the Boston Conservatory program, the students in his major will total twenty-six.

Erica says Springfield needs to focus on growing solid, middle-class jobs for people her own age. “I think more people would stay if there were more opportunities,” Erica says. “We have really talented people that live here, but there are only so many jobs to go around.”

On the other side of the coin, professional photographer Rachael Dunville is hesitant to say that she lives in New York—even though she does—at least three-fourths of the year. After five years of living in the Big Apple, she’s still proud to say that she visits the Midwest regularly. As it happens, she just arrived back in NYC from Springfield. She explains that she does most of her work in Manhattan—in what she calls her “tree house,” because she’s one of the lucky few to have trees outside her apartment window—but that Springfield is never far from her mind. Some of her projects include a photography exhibit for the Breast Cancer Society of the Ozarks, as well as the book of photos Springtown (rachaeldunville.com).

“I don’t think [young professionals] are all running out of Springfield,” Rachael says. “I think they’re not looking hard enough if they’re not finding them. I love Springfield for the fact that people do leave—and they come back.”

It’s no secret that people move away from smaller towns. If they didn’t, small towns wouldn’t have that nomenclature. But when does the exodus become dangerous? This pattern of professionals leaving—from artists to business leaders—might be unsettling to some. Is Springfield suffering from a brain drain? And what is a brain drain anyway?

According to Kristen Westerman, manager of workforce and business development at the Springfield Chamber of Commerce, the whole U.S. may soon be suffering from human capital flight (the correct sociological term for “brain drain”). She says that as Baby Boomers retire, leaders for communities will be more scarce. She adds that the next generation will lack enough members to fill the gap left by those retiring. Essentially this means that, in theory, all the cities in the U.S., Springfield included, will be competing for a certain type of young professional: talented, driven, and exceptionally intelligent.

“It’s hard to tell,” says Westerman when asked if Springfield is indeed suffering from a brain drain. “A little, maybe.” Westerman agrees that the problem may be more like a “brain leak”—but that it shouldn’t be taken lightly. “Our goal is to prevent it,” she adds, essentially echoing Erica Spyres’s assertion that Springfield’s focus should be creation of a stable, quality job market.

A true brain drain is the emigration of trained and talented individuals away from cities, countries or authorities. The causes are varied, but can include persecution, conflicts or wars, health hazards, or a complete lack of opportunity. The destruction of Byzantine is largely considered to be the one of the first true “brain drains” in recorded human history. Scholars of Rome’s historical tradition—those who catalogued achievements in art, literature, technology, and architecture—fled Byzantine in the Dark Ages and contributed to the Italian Renaissance. Without their knowledge, the Italian Renaissance would not have been possible.