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Legislation to be reconciled by a conference committee of the Minnesota State Legislature next week includes language creating a $15 million fund to support industry-university research collaborations. The North Star Research Coalition, a non-profit, tax-exempt corporation, would be established by the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota to administer the one-time appropriation. 

“[I]f this nation is to succeed in the new century, the covenant between our insitutions and the public they serve must be renewed and again made binding.” So begins Renewing the Covenant: Learning, Discovery, and Engagement in a New Age and Different World, the sixth and final report of the Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Universities.

The South Atlantic region leads the nation in doctoral scientist and engineer employment rates, according to Characteristics of Doctoral Scientists and Engineers in the United States: 1997 (NSF 00-308), prepared by the National Science Foundation (NSF). NSF completed an in-depth demographic and employment study of doctoral scientists and engineers taken from the 1997 Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR).

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has several solicitations open currently. Four opportunities of particular interest to the S&T community are highlighted below. These and additional funding opportunities from NSF can be found on a web page that conveniently lists the solicitations by deadline: http://www.nsf.gov/home/deadline/deadline.htm 

The Washington Technology Center has released its first annual Index of Innovation and Technology. The report examines 34 performance indicators in six broad areas: Innovation, Competitiveness, Growth, Financial Capacity, Human Potential, Quality of Life, and Internet Infrastructure. For each indicator, Washington is compared to several other states or to national averages. 

Reliably measuring performance in federal programs, particularly programs involving state-federal partnership is difficult, according to the U. S. General Accounting Office (GAO).

article prepared by Kay Etzler, SBIR Specialist for the North Carolina Small Business Technology Development Center

Arizona 

The Ways & Means Committee of the Arizona House of Representatives has passed a bill to eliminate $250 million in sales tax exemptions for a number of products and services, including telecommunications equipment and solar devices. If the bill passes, proceeds would be used to raise teachers' salaries. 

President Clinton has nominated Arthur C. Campbell as Assistant Secretary for Economic Development at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Mr. Campbell, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, currently serves as the Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development at the United States Department of Agriculture. 

President Clinton has nominated Arthur C. Campbell as Assistant Secretary for Economic Development at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Mr. Campbell, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, currently serves as the Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development at the United States Department of Agriculture.