SSTI Digest

A $100 million initiative announced last week by the Lilly Endowment Inc. will help Indiana's colleges and universities attract and retain more faculty and students. The Lilly Endowment, a private philanthropic foundation based in Indianapolis, supports community, educational and religious causes.

A total of 37 institutions among Indiana's two- and four-year public and private schools will be encouraged to submit proposals for funding under the initiative. Purdue University and Ivy Tech State College are eligible for a combined $30 million of the $100 million pot. Another $26 million is allocated for Indiana University. Other schools such as Ball State University, Indiana Wesleyan University and the University of Notre Dame are eligible for $5 million or less.

BioCrossroads, the Central Indiana life sciences network, announced Chuck Schalliol is the organization's new chief executive officer and president.

Kristin Jones recently was hired as senior manager for life sciences under the Indy Partnership, an economic development organization for the Indianapolis region.

Steve Bryant has been named the project director for the Bloomington Life Sciences Partnership in Indiana.

Karl Koehler is returning to the Indiana 21st Century Research and Technology Fund to serve as its director.

TechPoint, Indiana's statewide technology council, has named Cameron Carter to serve as president and chief executive officer.

Congratulations to Del Schuh and his staff at the Indiana Business Modernization and Technology Corp. (BMT), honored as the Project of the Year in the Economic Development category from the National Association of Management and Technical Assistance Centers. The award, BMT's second in as many years from the group, was for a program entitled, "Moving from Distress to Commerce through Collaboration."

The first director for the new Indiana Venture Center will be Steve Beck.

Indiana Governor Joe Kernan has nominated Katherine Lyon Davis to serve as Lieutenant Governor. Among her past positions, Davis served as manager of Indiana's 21st Century Research and Technology Fund in 1999.

SSTI extends its sympathies to the family of Indiana Governor Frank O'Bannon. During his interrupted term in office, Gov. O'Bannon proved to be a strong friend of tech-based economic development efforts in the state.

Cameron Carter is serving as interim president and CEO of Indiana's TechPoint, following Donna Gastevich's resignation to spend more time with her family.

The Indiana Proteomics Consortium has changed its name to Inproteo.