TBED People and Organizations

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell named George Cornelius, the immediate past president and CEO of Arkema Inc., as secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development.

Mark Crowell, head of economic development and technology transfer at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has been appointed vice president for business and technology development at the Scripps Research Institute.

Robert De Wit, a former Pfizer Inc. executive, has been appointed president and chief executive officer of the business incubator of Western Michigan University's Parkview Campus.

Michael Dockter has been hired as the new associate vice chancellor for research and technology transfer and chief research officer at Arkansas State University.

David Edgerly, who for the last two years has headed Maryland's Department of Business and Economic Development, will resign from his post.

Jim Fram, the president and chief executive of the Bartlesville Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Bartlesville Development Corporation, is resigning. He will leave Feb. 2 to become the senior vice president of economic development for the Tulsa Metro Chamber.

Nate Feltman, the outgoing State Secretary of Commerce and Chief Executive Director of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, is joining the law firm of Baker & Daniels LLP.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels announced the resignation of Mitch Roob as secretary of the Family and Social Services Administration to become Indiana's secretary of commerce and chief executive of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.

Saul Kaplan resigned as executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp. to work full-time at the nonprofit Business Innovation Factory as the founder and Chief Catalyst.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon named Linda Martinez his economic development director.

Sharell Mikesell has been named associate vice president directing the newly opened Industrial Liaison Office at the Ohio State University.

The Piedmont Triad Entrepreneurial Network suspended operations at the end of 2008.

James Smith, vice president for economic development at Bowling Green State University, will become the president of Northern State University.

Sharon Quisenberry has accepted the position of vice president for research and economic development at Iowa State University.

Pramod Vershney has been named director of the Center for Advanced Systems and Engineering at Syracuse University. Varshney succeeds Gina Lee-Glauser, who has returned to her role as the university's associate vice president for research.