SSTI Digest

John Nauseef has been appointed CEO of Dayton Development Coalition, filling the position to be vacated by Ron White when he resigns at the end of the year.

Jesse Jones is the new CEO of Ohio's IT Alliance. Jones formerly was chief technology officer of the City of Columbus.

There are less than 100 of our readers - now approaching a total of 100,000 - that may be able to look into their electronic mailboxes and even eight-year-old paper files to see that this issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest is our 400th. What began in March 1996 as a two-page weekly fax to key science and technology leaders in most states has evolved into the one of the most widely read e-news sources for the tech-based economic development community in the U.S. The addition of the funding supplement to the Digest in January 2001 made the publication a powerful and popular tool for encouraging research, innovation and entrepreneurship by increasing local access to and awareness of federal and foundation research and economic development grant opportunities.

Baiju Shah is the new president of the Cleveland's BioEnterprise Corp., succeeding Matt Jennings.

Includes $24M for Biomedical Research, $50M for Wright Centers Ohio has a biennial budget process so the fiscal year 2005 budget for technology-based economic development (TBED) activities could have been set in stone back in June 2003. With the passage of three bills this spring, however, the state legislature has committed an additional $103 million for its Third Frontier Project for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2004. The new funds are a staple to the FY 2005 appropriations for other TBED programs such as Ohio's Thomas Edison Program, its SBIR efforts and coal research office.

The state's Third Frontier portfolio includes the Biomedical Research and Technology Transfer, the Wright Centers of Innovation, Wright Projects, and the Third Frontier Action Fund.

For just over eight years, the SSTI Weekly Digest has come to you every Friday...first it was by fax, then by e-mail.  Starting with this issue, the Digest makes a change and will be distributed each Monday.  We believe this change will help you get your week started right...and will give the SSTI staff something to do on the weekend.

SSTI welcomes Rhiannon Mehring to its staff as a research associate.

The Wright Center for Innovation for Advanced Data Management and Analysis named Charles Walsh as its first president.

The Fund for Our Economic Future, a new collaboration of Northeast Ohio private, community and corporate foundations to support regional economic development, has secured more than $22 million in commitments and is expected to grow to $30 million. Launched last week, the fund is believed to be the largest and most comprehensive philanthropic collaboration of its kind in the U.S.

Numerous participants are collectively providing the fund's initial $22 million. A select number of Northeast Ohio nonprofit organizations capable of strengthening the regional economy figure to benefit from the fund. By concentrating its resources on a small number of programs and pursuing them as part of an overall plan, the fund is expected to impact Northeast Ohio's economic revitalization more significantly than any other organized philanthropic grantmaking initiative to date.

Tony Brown, director of the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund at the U.S. Treasury Department, announced his resignation effective Feb. 27, to become chief executive officer of the Uptown Consortium in Cincinnati.

Ohio State University has appointed Vicki Butland to serve as interim president and chief executive officer for the Science and Technology Campus Corp.

Ohio’s IT Alliance (OITA) invites applications and nominations for the position of President and Chief Executive Officer. OITA's mission as a statewide public/private partnership is to drive the growth and improve the competitiveness of Ohio through the development and support of its information technology industry. The new President will enhance OITA’s role as the key public/private catalyst for industry growth and success. The successful candidate must: demonstrate a strong public presence with the ability to lead through influence; have compelling analytic and strategic problem solving and planning abilities; evidence successful leadership in an IT enterprise or function in both strategy and operating roles; demonstrate a successful track record in sales/marketing, business development, operations, and fund raising in technology based companies or related organization; and possess familiarity/experience with technology based economic development.