SSTI Digest

The Chronicle of Higher Education annually provides in its Almanac an accessible state-by-state snapshot of a variety of statistics useful in measuring the magnitude and health of higher education. The 2002-2003 Almanac of Higher Education, released recently in print and online, is no exception. For example, figures are provided for college enrollment trends, demographics, faculty pay, tuition and fees, state appropriations, expenditures, R&D, state spending on student aid, and federal funds for academic research. For more meaningful comparisons across large and small states, data is often standardized using other selected statistics such as population or gross state product. Previous Useful Stats articles in the SSTI Weekly Digest have, for example, presented academic R&D expenditures on a per capita basis (see the April 18, 2003 issue of the Digest). To tie university research activity to a perhaps more relevant measure, SSTI has prepared a table drawing from the past two Chronicle almanacs that standardizes academic R&D expenditures by total enrollment (undergraduate, graduate…

Yes, only 10 open seats remain for SSTI’s 7th Annual Conference, Building Tech-based Economies: From Policy to Practice. With nearly three weeks remaining before the October 21-22 event in Seattle, SSTI anticipates it will have to close registration in the coming days based on the phenomenal response to this year’s great slate of 24 breakout sessions, great plenary sessions and wonderful location. If you are planning to attend, we encourage you to register as soon as possible. SSTI won’t take much of the credit for the rapid sell out, however. As returning SSTI conferees know, it’s the dynamic exchange SSTI’s conference enables among peers from across the country and several continents that makes each conference such a rewarding experience. This year promises to be no different as 300 leaders of state, local and university tech-based economic development registrants will be participating from at least 44 states. With several sessions dedicated to roundtable discussions, ample time for questions in nearly every session, long networking breaks, and a great hosted reception, conferees can’t help…

Appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have emerged out of the conference committee for consideration and final approval by Congress — one of three budget bills likely to be passed before the fiscal year ends next Tuesday. Demonstrating anything can happen during the conference between the two chambers, the final budget for the Science and Technology Directorate came out higher than either the Senate or House had approved in separate versions of the DHS appropriations bill. The Directorate, responsible for DHS research activities, is poised to receive $918 million, $7 million above the House level and $52 million above the Senate budget. The majority of the change, however, is relocating nearly $40 million in administration and management expenses to fall within the Directorate. The University Program and Homeland Security Fellowships Program received $70 million, $60 million more than the Administration requested. The Association of American Universities (AAU) reports the amount is $15 million above the House level and $35 million above the Senate's. [Editor's…

The President wants $87 billion for the war in Iraq. Congress is looking at a month-long continuing resolution for the budget since final approval on most appropriation bills is at least that far in the future. Meanwhile, the persistence of the recession, the restructuring of U.S. manufacturing due in part to globalization, and the continued hemorrhaging of tax revenues has led several governors, state legislatures and community leaders to begin rethinking their economic development strategies. The past few months have seen a spate of state and local news on summits, plans and new groups for reorganizing, revamping, recreating or re-energizing public-private economic development efforts.  Below are examples of some of the approaches. E.D. Getting Higher Priority from North Carolina Legislature The North Carolina legislature has established a bi-partisan Joint Select Committee on Economic Growth and Development to reinvigorate the state's economic development activities. According to The Raleigh News & Observer, the 20-member committee will consider proposals such as an…

Study Hints at Why TBED Is Good National Investment Much can be made about the spillover benefits of having a strong research university or cluster of similar technology companies locally. As a result many research institutions and technology-based economic development (TBED) professionals support the creation of endowed chairs and centers of excellence to lure top researchers, hoping for long-term economic benefits from the investment. The heightened interest that most states and universities have placed on becoming a biotech leader, for example, has many policy analysts expecting the end result will simply be to increase the asking price of the top life science researchers. But does this TBED strategy result in the same net loss or zero gain on the macro level that is encountered from the traditional economic development recruitment approach commonly referred to as smokestack chasing? Put another way, is all lost when a key researcher or inventor moves outside the local community? New research published through the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) suggests not…

More than 700 of America's institutions of higher education couldn't claim to be vegetarian based on the record amount of pork they ate from the 2003 federal budget, according to the cover story of this week's Chronicle of Higher Education. The dollar value of college earmarks reached a record $2.013 billion in the current fiscal year's budget, 10 percent more than the previous high mark of $1.837 billion captured in FY 2002. The Chronicle reports the siphoned wealth was spread to 7 percent more schools in FY 2003 through 19 percent more earmarks. Earmarks for Congress's pet projects have exploded over the past three years — at the same time the federal budget has faced expanding deficits and Congress has called for universities to control spending. Academic pork has doubled since the $1.04 billion posted in FY 2000, while the number of individual earmarks has grown 2.5 times higher from 777 to 1,964. The research component of the FY 2003 academic earmarks totaled $1.445 billion, the Chronicle found, equaling 8 percent of the total FY 2001 federal obligations for academic research (…

Sloan Foundation exec says no At several intervals during the past 50 years, various reports have argued that the U.S. was or would soon be confronted with a shortage of scientists and engineers in various fields. If a crisis did arise, it could play havoc on local and state technology-based economic development efforts dependent on a technologically skilled workforce for innovation and growth. But is there a real risk? Michael Teitelbaum, program director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, says no. He believes that this perception is mistaken for a multitude of reasons and suggests even policy solutions aimed to correct the alleged problem are misguided. Do We Need More Scientists?, an article in the Fall 2003 issue of Public Interest, summarizes Teitelbaum's conclusions and recommendations on what he perceives are more appropriate policies for encouraging scientific discovery and innovation. Teiltelbaum draws on a 1998 study by the US General Accounting Office and an early 2003 report from the RAND Institute to support his position. The GAO issued a critical assessment…

SSTI's 7th Annual Conference, to be held in Seattle on Oct. 21-22, is now less than one month away. If you are planning to join 300 of your colleagues from more than 40 states at Building Tech-based Economies: From Policy to Practice, here are a few tips to save your organization a little money: Registration for the conference before the early discount period ends on Sept. 30. Book your flight early. Airline prices will begin to climb soon as your travel dates draw near. United is offering a discount for the conference. Details on our conference website: http://www.ssti.org/conference03.htm [expired] But we strongly encourage you to register for the conference first to make sure there is still room (we're on track to sell out). Since the room block at the Seattle Marriott Waterfront is full, try getting your hotel room at the Edgewater Hotel <http://www.edgewaterhotel.com/>. It's the closest accommodations to the conference site, it's very nice, and it's right on the water! If you book through Expedia.com, you'll save approximately $30/night. Register for the…

The Association of American Universities (AAU) seeks qualified candidates to fill the position of director of federal relations. Reporting to the AAU president, the position supervises the federal relations activities of the association staff, including AAU's efforts to promote investments in basic research and graduate education in NIH, NSF, NASA, the Departments of Defense, Education, Energy, and Homeland Security, as well as student aid in the Department of Education and humanities investments made by NEH. The director is specifically responsible for AAU’s NIH advocacy, including engaging with Congress and the Executive Branch on the NIH budget and on biomedical research policy issues. He or she will work closely with biomedical research advocacy partners, appropriations subcommittee staff, and university officials to accomplish biomedical research funding and policy objectives. In addition, the position shares responsibility for indirect cost and other research policy issues, including merit review, technology transfer and misconduct in science. Supervising federal relations…

Scott Doron has been promoted to director for the Southern Technology Council, the advisory council on innovation and technology policy issues for the Southern Growth Policies Board. Tony Jeff is the new executive director of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership of Mississippi. Robert McMahan has been named North Carolina's Science Advisor. In addition to advising the Governor on science and technology matters, McMahan will oversee the support staff for the North Carolina Board of Science and Technology. The advisor position will report to the secretary of the Department of Commerce. The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) promoted Michael Werner to the new position as chief of policy. Formerly, Werner served as BIO's vice president for bioethics.

Scott Doron has been promoted to director for the Southern Technology Council, the advisory council on innovation and technology policy issues for the Southern Growth Policies Board.

Tony Jeff is the new executive director of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership of Mississippi.