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The new chairman for the Georgia Medical Center Authority is former State Senator Randy Hall.

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.

The new head of the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City is Jeffrey Kaczmarek, effective Sept. 6. Kaczmarek currently is senior vice president for community development with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

Former Massachusetts State Senator Peter Larkin is the senior vice president and chief operating officer for the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council.

Chris Marschner is the new president of the Maryland Business Incubation Association (MBIA).

Ten foundations have joined forces to create an eight-year $100 million New Economy Initiative for southeastern Michigan, with a goal of transitioning the region’s economy toward more knowledge-intensive industries. Three foundations, Ford, Kellogg and Kresge – each created from the personal fortunes made by some of the founders from the state’s historic economic bases – have contributed $25 million toward the effort. Additional support ranging from $1.5 million to $10 million is being provided by seven other community foundations.

Earlier this month, the U.S. House of Representatives approved patent reform legislation that would represent the most significant reform of the U.S. patent system since the Bayh-Dole Act. The Patent Reform Act of 2007 (HR 1908) would move the U.S. to a first-to-file patent system rather than the first-to-invent system that has long made the U.S. an international outlier in intellectual property (IP) protection.

Public universities in most states compete with other state priorities for appropriations each year or two-year budget cycle. With the state’s fiscal year ending Sept. 30, no new budget passed by the legislature and a projected state revenue deficit of more than $1.5 billion for 2008, universities in Michigan may feel greater pressure to assert their importance to the state’s economy.

Virginia could capitalize on its strong energy R&D foundation of universities, federal laboratories and businesses through coordination among research activities and by creating a consistent funding stream for federal R&D funding and technology commercialization, finds a new state energy plan released last week.

 

As with every public policy or program to promote economic development, TBED initiatives can fall victim to critics’ concerns regarding the value of these approaches if performance measurement is not an integral component of your efforts. Fair assessment of impact, though, remains a thorny issue for many TBED strategies because of the early stage of investment (e.g. support for university research, entrepreneurship education or even seed capital).

 

Each year, Southern Growth Policies Board honors Southern initiatives that are improving the quality of life in the region through its Innovator Awards. The Awards are presented annually to one organization in each of Southern Growth’s member states ­ Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

Rebecca Bagley is the new Deputy Secretary for Technology Investment in the PA Dept. of Community and Economic Development.

Rebecca Bagley is the new Deputy Secretary for Technology Investment in the PA Dept. of Community and Economic Development.

Former University of Washington President Lee Huntsman is the first director of Washington's Life Sciences Discovery Fund.

John Shields, president of the Alabama Technology Network since 1996, stepped down June 30. Mike Bailey is the new president.