Increased funding for research centers, a laptop program, and investments in higher education were highlighted in South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds' fiscal year 2007 budget address last month.

Last month, voters in Arkansas narrowly rejected a major bond proposal targeting technology and capital upgrades in higher education and actively supported by Gov. Mike Huckabee, leaving many to wonder what went wrong.

It is no coincidence that every article in this issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest touched on some aspect of higher education's role in promoting economic growth. Knowledge-based economies driven by innovation require strong and successful institutions of higher learning. Those same types of economies, particularly when applied on a global scale, present unique challenges to sustaining educational and research excellence with academia based on older models of financing and leadership.

The Association of American Universities named Robert Berdahl as the association's new president.

The North Carolina Biotechnology Center selected John Chaffee and Randall Johnson as directors of the center's new eastern and southeastern regional offices.

The Association of American Universities named Robert Berdahl as the association's new president.

The North Carolina Biotechnology Center selected John Chaffee and Randall Johnson as directors of the center's new eastern and southeastern regional offices.

Virginia Gov.-elect Tim Kaine named Aneesh Chopra as his administration's secretary of technology.

South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds announced that Jim Hagen will resign as secretary of the Department of Tourism and State Development, effective Jan. 17.

David Hollister announced he will leave his position as director of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth on Feb. 3, to head Prima Civitas, a newly formed nonprofit agency promoting economic development.

Bill Mahoney is the new president of the South Carolina Research Authority.

Guin Robinson is the new director of the newly created Talladega office of the Alabama Technology Network.

Phillip Singerman resigned as executive director of the Maryland Technology Development Corp.. Renee Winsky will serve as interim executive director until a permanent replacement is named.

Georgia Tech announced that Dr. Jeffrey Skolnick will join its faculty this spring as the Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Computational Systems Biology.

The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development appointed Benjamin Wu as the assistant secretary for the Capital Region and senior advisor for technology policy.

Only 13 days left to register early for SSTI's 9th Annual Conference!

Save $100 by Registering Before Sept. 20, 2005.

With the passage of the state's biennial budget, North Carolina's small businesses are now eligible for follow-on support from the state for research projects funded under the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.

Two initiatives aimed at closing the digital divide, particularly among low-income Americans, were announced earlier this month.

The bottom line for all regional economic development initiatives should be improving the quality of life for the area's residents. A new report from the Census Bureau — revealing the increased percentage of the U.S. population living in poverty and median household income remaining flat again, after two years of decline — provides a not-too-subtle reminder for the technology-based economic development (TBED) field.

Ban on Outside Consulting with Industry Remains in Force

Many of the readers are new to the Digest since last year's conference, so we're getting questions about how SSTI's upcoming 9th annual conference, to be held in Atlanta on Oct. 19-21, differs from other events.

The easiest way to answer that is to let the conference speak for itself — through the comments we received from past participants:

Following the 1998 Master Tobacco Settlement Agreement, states across the country set out to dedicate significant amounts of funding from their share of the settlement to support research and other TBED programs.

On Monday, Sept. 26, 2005, the Economic Development Administration will host a one-hour telecast, to discuss the final report of the Strengthening America’s Communities Advisory Committee.

For more information on the positions below, visit SSTI's online Job Corner at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

Carrie Hines, presently with the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, will serve as the first executive director of the American Small Manufacturing Coalition.

The U.S. Senate has confirmed William Alan Jeffrey as the new director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the U.S. Department of Commerce.