SSTI Digest

Geography: Delaware

Tackling the Digital Divide. . . and S&T Worker Preparedness

Activities to address the digital divide and the S&T workforce shortage have increased recently. The following are a sampling of efforts underway to understand and address the growing inequalities in technology access and assimilation.

$1 M from AT&T to Support Tech Capacity at Historically Black Colleges

AT&T has made a $1 million grant to support the development of technological expertise in 13 institutions of higher education in Virginia, North Carolina, Delaware, Maryland and West Virginia.

Delaware Creates Biotech Institute and Passes R&D Tax Credit

Delaware increased its commitment to technology businesses recently with two new initiatives: the creation of the Delaware Biotechnology Institute and the passage of a state research and development tax credit.

Delaware Biotechnology Institute

Governor Thomas R. Carper requested $10 million in his Fiscal Year 2000 budget for the new Delaware Biotechnology Institute. The effort is described as a virtual partnership of the Delaware Economic Development Office, Delaware State University, the University of Delaware, the Delaware Technical & Community College, and the private sector.

Two States Consider Paying Tech School Tuition

In what could be the beginning of a new trend in state economic development incentive/inducements, bills receiving bi-partisan support in the Michigan and Delaware state legislatures would address businesses= needs for more technically skilled workers by having the states pick up the students' tab for community college tuition and technical training.

PEOPLE

Sue Rhoades, formerly of Delaware, has taken a new position with Pennsylvania's Ben Franklin Partnership as State Coordinator. She will be working with the four regional Ben Franklin Technology Centers on a variety of statewide collaborative and strategic initiatives. The Delaware Economic Development Office (DEDO) is seeking a Manager of Technology Programs to fill Sue’s position. The DEDO is the state agency responsible for economic development in Delaware. The duties of this position include managing the state's Advanced Technology Centers program and acting as liaison to state-supported manufacturing extension, entrepreneurial development, and related technology-based economic development efforts. The position is based in Wilmington, DE. Interested applicants should send a resume to Harold Stafford, Administrative Director, DEDO,   99 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901-7305.

PEOPLE IN THE NEWS

NGA Leadership --- At its 1998 Annual Meeting in Milwaukee,  the National Governor’s Association (NGA) named its new leadership to steer the initiatives and agenda for the association.Delaware Governor THOMAS R. CARPER was named NGA’s chairman, and Utah Governor MICHAEL O. LEAVITT vice chairman. The positions are for a term of one year. At the meeting, the nation’s governors focused primarily on initiatives for the new millennium, and resolved to continue trying to fortify the federal-state partnership. The centerpiece of the August meeting was state innovations in technology which included 30 state technology exhibits. ASME/USIP FELLOW -- Susan Ipri Brown began her term as the United States Innovation Partnership (USIP) Fellow in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) on September 1. The fellowship is funded by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Ms. Brown most recently served as Science Research Analyst in the Michigan Legislative Science Bureau. In her new capacity as USIP Fellow in OSTP's Technology Division, Brown will support USIP activities aimed at enhancing state-federal cooperation and technology-based economic growth.. The fellowship was held most recently by Dr. John Ahlen of the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority.

Delaware Funds Two New Centers

The Delaware Economic Development Office recently announced the selection of two new Advanced Technology Centers (ATC). The Centers will focus on semiconductors and advanced optics.

National Governors' Association Has New Chairman

Ohio Governor George V. Voinovich, began his term as the National Governors' Association (NGA) Chairman at the association's annual meeting in Las Vegas this week. He succeeded Nevada Governor Bill Miller.

Delaware Selects Three Centers

The State of Delaware has selected its first three Advanced Technology Centers (ATCs), public/private partnerships designed to bolster the state's technology base and to create and retain quality high-tech jobs. The centers will receive $2.31 million from the state's 21st Century Fund for their first year of operation and are eligible for two more years of state funding given satisfactory performance.

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