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Study Hints at Why TBED Is Good National Investment

More than 700 of America's institutions of higher education couldn't claim to be vegetarian based on the record amount of pork they ate from the 2003 federal budget, according to the cover story of this week's Chronicle of Higher Education. The dollar value of college earmarks reached a record $2.013 billion in the current fiscal year's budget, 10 percent more than the previous high mark of $1.837 billion captured in FY 2002.

Sloan Foundation exec says no

At several intervals during the past 50 years, various reports have argued that the U.S. was or would soon be confronted with a shortage of scientists and engineers in various fields. If a crisis did arise, it could play havoc on local and state technology-based economic development efforts dependent on a technologically skilled workforce for innovation and growth. But is there a real risk?

SSTI's 7th Annual Conference, to be held in Seattle on Oct. 21-22, is now less than one month away. If you are planning to join 300 of your colleagues from more than 40 states at Building Tech-based Economies: From Policy to Practice, here are a few tips to save your organization a little money:

The Association of American Universities (AAU) seeks qualified candidates to fill the position of director of federal relations.

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) promoted Michael Werner to the new position as chief of policy. Formerly, Werner served as BIO's vice president for bioethics.

Scott Doron has been promoted to director for the Southern Technology Council, the advisory council on innovation and technology policy issues for the Southern Growth Policies Board.

Tony Jeff is the new executive director of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership of Mississippi.

Scott Doron has been promoted to director for the Southern Technology Council, the advisory council on innovation and technology policy issues for the Southern Growth Policies Board.

Tony Jeff is the new executive director of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership of Mississippi.

Robert McMahan has been named North Carolina's Science Advisor. In addition to advising the Governor on science and technology matters, McMahan will oversee the support staff for the North Carolina Board of Science and Technology. The advisor position will report to the secretary of the Department of Commerce.

Gov. Jim Doyle last week unveiled his plan to jumpstart the Wisconsin economy. The plan, "Grow Wisconsin," calls for a series of executive actions, private sector partnerships and legislative steps to create high-wage jobs and achieve other goals. Some of the tech-based economic development items outlined in "Grow Wisconsin" are:

Gov. Mitt Romney outlined a legislative package on Monday totaling $125 million designed to create more jobs. Many elements of the package target the science and technology communities.

Investments in science and technology (S&T) – from higher education to industry research and development (R&D) – are the decisive factors in creating a sustainable economic future, a new study finds.

Gaining an understanding of the real and potential economic impact of government investments in research and development (R&D) has suffered for decades from a lack of rigorous but broadly applicable methodologies for the assessment. To advance the field toward a more appropriate degree of uniformity, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently released a primer on economic impact analysis of government R&D programs.

An educated workforce is one of the elements required for a knowledge economy, but not all of the critical jobs require a Ph.D. or even a B.A. Few would dispute, though, the importance of successfully completing high school.

Seats Available for Developing Angel Organizations, Financing TBED Workshops

Randy Burge has announced his resignation as director of the New Mexico Department of Economic Development's Office of Science and Technology. Mike Orshan will serve as acting director beginning Sept. 29.

Randy Burge has announced his resignation as director of the New Mexico Department of Economic Development's Office of Science and Technology. Mike Orshan will serve as acting director beginning Sept. 29.

Donald Jakeway will be the new president and CEO for the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

Joseph James is the new chief operating officer for the South Carolina Department of Commerce.

The Florida Venture Forum named Robin Kovaleski as the first executive director for the organization.

Former U.S. Congresswoman Connie Morella has been sworn in as the US Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

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.

Numbers Remain Below 2003 Levels

Graduate applications from international students increased 11 percent from 2005 to 2006, the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) recently reported. This growth follows a two-year cumulative decline of 32 percent.

While many states will lay out strategic plans with quantifiable goals to measure success, South Dakota in 2003 was one of the first SSTI noticed to use a specific target for its gross state product (GSP) as one of the measures. According to the latest annual review, South Dakota officials feel they are making significant strides in its goal of adding $10 billion to its GSP by 2010.