Angie Dvorak, vice president of research and economic development for the University of Southern Mississippi, is becoming president of the university's research foundation.

Former NASA Administrator Richard Truly, now head of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, announced his plans to retire in November.

University of Southern Mississippi Research Foundation President Angie Dvorak was named president of the Area Development Partnership. Dvorak currently serves on the organization’s executive committee.

Unofficial results posted today on the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) website reveals political control of at least 10 of the country's 99 state legislative chambers (Nebraska has a unicameral legislature resulting in the odd total for the country) changed parties in yesterday's election.

Fred Kocher has been elected president of the New Hampshire High Technology Council, which advocates technology-based businesses in New Hampshire.

In a move to integrate technology and traditional learning, New Hampshire Governor Craig Benson introduced on Tuesday a four-year pilot program to bring laptop computers into classrooms. The program, Technology Promoting Student Excellence, is intended to provide wireless connectivity to all 7th-grade students and teachers from selected schools.

With the sustained depth of the recession, the IT crash, the rapid growth in unemployment and the speculative office construction craze of the late 1990s, one would expect office vacancies to climb and property lease rates to edge down in many cities. Following this thought further might suggest, with cheaper office space available, the need for publicly supported low-rent technology incubator space would decrease.

Colorado State Representative Tim Fritz is resigning his seat to become director of Colorado's Office of Aerospace and Aeronautics.

John Hansen is the new Secretary of Technology for the State of Colorado. Hansen retains his position as Chief Technology Officer as well.

The Economic Development Administration (EDA) recently announced the recipients of its 2003 Excellence in Economic Development Awards. A total of eight award-winners were named across seven broad award categories. Those pocketing awards in Innovation and Technology-led Economic Development, respectively, are described below.

Innovation

The Mississippi Technology Alliance has released a second annual index focusing on the process of innovation, the links between innovation and technology-based economic development, and activities that government, academia and the private sector provide to support innovation and economic development.

Colorado Governor Bill Owens has appointed Paul Ray as the state's first director of biosciences.

Earlier this week, Colorado Chief Technology Officer John Hansen released a statewide plan to develop biotechnology and life sciences industry sectors in Colorado. Colorado's Place in the Sun: A Bioscience Future provides analysis, direction and recommended actions for three key sector areas — workforce development, business development, and research development.

Community buy-in to building a technology-based economy is vital for TBED success. Establishing a strong private sector commitment to science and technology can make a significant difference, particularly as elected officials are deciding what to cut or trim from the budget. TBED organizations use different approaches to get the buy-in. In states such as Massachusetts (see story in this Digest), the top-down direction from the Governor could provide the group critical access.

Sean O'Kane, a hotel manager from Manchester, N.H., has been confirmed as the new commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development.

Pam Inmann is the new executive director of the Western Governors Association.

Brian Vogt is the new director of the Office of Economic Development and International Trade in the Colorado Office of the Governor.

The creation and subsidization of CAPCOs, certified capital corporations intended to encourage venture capital (VC) investment, is one of the more controversial policies some states have adopted to encourage the growth of tech-based economies. With substantial revisions to Colorado's short CAPCO experiment this month, questions are raised once again for other states that either have passed or are considering various approaches to increasing the availability of risk capital for new tech firms.

George Bald, Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development, has announced his resignation to become executive director of the Pease Development Authority.

Brian Vogt has been appointed director of Colorado's Office of Economic Development and International Trade.

As the nation's economy shifts to knowledge- and technology-based industries, Mississippi's colleges and universities must provide expertise and leadership to attract new jobs and build a stable state economy, members of a special committee told the state House of Representatives last week.