SSTI Digest

The Hershey Center for Applied Research announced that Laura Butcher will serve as its first executive director, effective Jan. 3.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty shifted Ward Einess from his position as acting director of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development to commissioner of the state Department of Revenue. No replacement has been named for Einess.

Al Frink resigned as the U.S. Department of Commerce's assistant secretary for manufacturing and services. Frink will serve through January 2007.

Bruce Johnson, formerly Ohio's lieutenant governor and development director, was named president and CEO of the Inter-University Council of Ohio.

Tiffany McVeety stepped down from her post as director of the Northwest Women's Business Center to become a business banker for Shoreline Bank. Rebecca Villareal replaces McVeety.

Mark Rudin, the interim vice president for research and graduate dean at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, will become the vice president for research at Boise State University, effective Jan. 1.

Peggy Schaffer left Maine's Office of Innovation to become chief of staff of the Maine Senate Majority Office.

Marvin Strong, Jr. announced he will resign as secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, effective Jan. 31.

Due to the Christmas and New Year's Day holidays, the next issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest will be published during the week of Jan. 8, 2007. Publication of the Funding Supplement also will resume in January, following this week's issue (Dec. 18, due out by Thursday). Just a reminder, the Supplement is reserved for SSTI sponsors, affiliates and supporters. If you are not in one of these SSTI member groupings, but would like to be, sign up your organization today to begin your subscription to the Supplement. More information, including benefits and a link to a secure registration form, is available at http://www.ssti.org/benefits.htm.

Congress isn't the only place looking at dramatic changes in January. With 11 governors and hundreds of state legislators taking office for the first time, tech-based economic developers across the country are presented with both opportunity and challenge. A change in state leadership often presents the opportunity for positive changes in direction of outdated economic development policies and programs. Sometimes, however, governors feel the need to make changes just for the sake of giving their administration something to hang its hat on – to make the state's economic development strategy the governor's own.

A handy resource for bringing new staff, board members and legislators quickly up to speed on TBED, A Resource Guide for Technology-based Economic Development targets a primary audience of existing practitioners looking to implement new or update older programs. SSTI compiled the book's recommendations after conducting extensive interviews with dozens of the countries leading TBED experts. Some TBED leaders will be familiar with many of the programs and policies highlighted in the guide, but most will find much to learn from the candid advice offered by their peers. The resource guide provides a starting point for transferring the collective wisdom of top TBED professionals from the past two decades to current practitioners. Each of the three main sections can serve separately or together as required reading before your next staff meeting, retreat or brainstorming session to help refine your approaches to transforming regional economies.

Both the Bush Administration and incoming Congressional Democrat leadership plan to put higher education under the spotlight in 2007, stressing issues of accessibility and cost containment. While their approaches to the problems will be different, both sides agree universities will play even greater roles in maintaining U.S. economic leadership in the 21st century than they have in the past. Accessibility and affordability are only two of the issues before the nation's universities and colleges. Increasingly, institutions of higher education are called on to support economic vitality through research and technology commercialization. States, local governments, foundations and business organizations are among those pushing academia in this direction through various TBED programs and policies.