SSTI Digest

Minnesota’s economic future may well be rooted in its historic leadership in agricultural production, according to a new report prepared by Battelle, Agbioscience as a Development Driver: Minnesota Agbioscience Strategy. The report includes an assessment of Minnesota’s key capacities and opportunities in agricultural research and a suggested strategy for the state with a specific focus on growing the state’s agricultural bioscience (agbioscience) research infastructure. After interviewing more than 100 researchers and research administrators, the authors identified four agbioscience research platform areas to target:

Recent court decisions regarding high-speed Internet competition and net neutrality have put U.S. broadband competitiveness on uncertain terrain. Despite two decades of publically supported high-speed data infrastructure efforts, many rural areas still lack access and even densely populated areas remain underserved.  New statewide efforts in Kentucky, Minnesota and Iowa have been announced to improve broadband services and boost economic competitiveness. In addition, Google has announced that it will expand its ultra-fast fiber services to nine more cities across the country.

Several common themes surrounding higher education have emerged as governors across the country unveil investment priorities for the upcoming fiscal year or biennium. In many states, governors have proposed more funding to increase affordability by freezing tuition or creating new scholarship funds. Support for expanding research capacity, technology-related infrastructure and job training in high-demand industries are some of the proposed measures aimed at competitiveness.

The second installment of SSTI’s Tech Talkin’ Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont and Virginia.

Ted McAleer has resigned as executive director of USTAR. Also Gary Herbert has announced the appointment of former Lt. Gov. Greg Bell as chair of the USTAR Governing Authority. Bell, now president and CEO of the Utah Hospital Association, takes the place of outgoing chair Dinesh Patel.

Martha Connolly has been named director of bioentrepreneurship, a new program supported by the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech) and the A. James Clark School of Engineering.

Matthew Nemerson, president of the Connecticut Technology Council for the past decade announced he has taken a new position as Mayor Toni Harps’ economic development director in New Haven.

Following a national economic development trend toward regionalism, governors in Iowa and Nebraska announced a partnership to provide more investment and talent opportunities for area businesses, and increased exposure for the region. Under the multi-county collaboration, Advance Southwest Iowa will join the Greater Omaha Economic Development Partnership. The group plans to implement a five-year regional economic development program focused on establishing a recognized brand and image for the region, growing and recruiting businesses, and retaining a trained workforce. The partnership is funded by public and private investors throughout the region, according to a news release.  

President Obama launched the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Steering Committee “2.0.” Former SSTI board member Luis Proenza, president of The University of Akron is part of the steering committee chaired by Andrew Liveris, president, chairman, and CEO of the Dow Chemical Company, and Rafael Reif, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Mark Kittrell has been appointed the president of the Iowa Innovation Corporation.

OK Gov. Mary Fallin has named Secretary of State Larry Parman as director of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce and secretary of commerce. Both positions require Senate confirmation.

A continued trend toward improved fiscal conditions gave rise to targeted and riskier investments in research for several states this legislative session. In particular, lawmakers dedicated funds for life sciences research and for initiatives aimed at commercialization through partnerships with higher education and the private sector. Other states dedicated additional funds to expand promising research and technology-focused initiatives already underway.

Gov. Lincoln Chafee has nominated Deputy Director William Parsons to lead the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation.

Gov. Rick Perry has appointed J. Bruce Bugg, Jr. as president and chairman of the Texas Economic Development Corp.

Gov.-elect Steve Bullock tapped Meg O'Leary to be the Montana Commerce Department director.

Thomas McDonnell, a Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation trustee since 2003 and board chairman since 2006, has been elected CEO of the foundation.

Blake Perry has been appointed as the interim president of the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority.

Caren Franzini, the CEO of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, stepped down after leading the agency for 21 years. Michele Brown, Gov. Chris Christie's appointments counsel, will take over as CEO.

Karen Merrick has joined the Iowa Innovation Corporation as CEO. Merrick previously had been with the Iowa Economic Development Authority.

Thomas Dann, the founder and managing director at CastleHaven Advisors, a Washington, D.C., private-equity firm, was named managing director of the Maryland Venture Fund.

Baiju Shah, the president and CEO of BioEnteprise, is leaving to become the CEO of BioMotiv, a drug development company that spun out of University Hospitals.

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad announced the first major initiative of the Governor's STEM Advisory Council, a public-private partnership of six regional STEM network hubs to promote STEM education and economic development. Each of the hubs will be housed at one of the state's universities or community colleges, and will coordinate local programs with businesses, nonprofits and other institutions in their regions. The six winning hub applications are available online and lay out the hubs' individual approaches to elevating the quality of STEM education and matching efforts with the needs of local employers.

SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series has returned for its 12th annual edition. The series highlights new and expanded TBED proposals from governors' State of the State, Budget and Inaugural addresses across the nation. The first installment includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Georgia, Iowa, New York, Kentucky, South Dakota, Vermont, and Virginia. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, State of the State Address, Jan. 10, 2012 "... I want to announce two ambitious goals. Georgians deserve a world-class, public medical university, and it will be a priority of this administration to have a medical college among the top 50 nationally. ... "... Also within this push, the Georgia Health Sciences University will seek to become the state's second National Cancer Institute designated Cancer Center ... This designation would mean greater access to research dollars and enhance our ability to recruit top cancer specialists. "... To support this goal of a second Georgia-based Cancer Center, my budget proposal includes an investment of $5 million. ... "...