Complete descriptions of these opportunities and others are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

Referring to his fiscal year 2008-09 budget recommendation as “back to basics,” Gov. Phil Bredesen proposed significant investments in research and workforce initiatives while vowing not to tap into reserves or raise taxes.

 

A complete description of this opportunities and others is available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

Gov. Phil Bredesen’s budget proposal for 2007-2008 includes more than $100 million in new funding for several new education and high-tech development initiatives and a strategy to spur the state’s alternative fuels industry.

 

The Tennessee Technology Development Corporation (TTDC), the lead organization in Tennessee for technology-based economic development, is seeking a president and chief executive officer (CEO). This position is responsible for the overall direction and management of TTDC and its programs, including resource development, finances, contracts, compliance reporting and operational policies. He or she will work with a 22-member board of directors to establish and successfully implement a work plan that fulfills the organization's mission.

July has been a tech-friendly month for Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner. On July 14, the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) named her "BIO Governor of the Year," recognizing her contributions toward growing the state's biotechnology industry, one of the strongest concentrations in the country. Further attesting to her grasp of biotech issues, Gov. Minner also serves as a co-chair of the National Governors Association Biotechnology Partnership.

A pilot program meant to spur entrepreneurship with community involvement is set to begin in Torrington, Wy., in the next two months. A joint venture between the Goshen County School District, Eastern Wyoming College, and Goshen County Economic Development, the project, Planned Approach to Community Entrepreneurship (PACE), is designed to facilitate small businesses and help them achieve higher success rates.

The first two installments of SSTI's annual look at how TBED will play in the 2006 legislative priorities of the governors can be found in the Digest archives on our website: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/digest.htm

Delaware

Michael Terry, president and CEO of EmergeMemphis, has announced he will resign at the end of the year.

Jeff Wadsworth has been named the next director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Wadsworth was a former deputy director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Fred Tompkins, professor and interim dean of the University of Tennessee (UT) College of Engineering, has been named interim executive director of the UT Research Foundation.

Chris Matthews is the president of the new Chattanooga Technology Council, which held its official kickoff event earlier this month.

As promised in her 2004 State of the State Address, Gov. Ruth Ann Minner released a New Economy Initiative last week that includes several new elements to encourage economic growth in Delaware. The $34 million package is expected to generate at least $16 million more in federal and private match. Many of the elements of the plan were recommended by the governor's Strategic Economic Council.

Eric Cromwell has been appointed to serve as Director of Technology for the Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development.

Tech-based economic development remains high on the agendas of the most of the governors who gave State of the State or Budget Addresses this week. Selected excerpts are provided below:

Bill Madia is leaving his position as director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory to oversee all Department of Energy business for Battelle Memorial Institute.

Andrew Kim is the new policy director for Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen.

Judy McKinney-Cherry is the new director of the Delaware Economic Development Office.

Caroline Young has been named executive director of the Tennessee Biotechnology Association and director of the Tennessee Technology Development Corporation's life science initiative.

John Wik, director of Delaware's economic development office, is resigning in September to pursue interests in the private sector.

The Senate unanimously confirmed Anne B. Pope of Tennessee as Federal Co-Chairwoman of the Appalachian Regional Commission. Pope currently serves as Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance.

John Bradley is the Tennessee Valley Authority's as its first chief of economic development. Bradley had been senior vice president of economic development at the Memphis Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Construction is underway for the Cool Springs Life Sciences Center (CSLSC), a $74 million biomedical research facility planned for Franklin, TN, 15 miles south of Nashville. When completed, the 10-acre center will be home to life sciences-focused R&D facilities for biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

Earlier this week, Governor Don Sundquist and the Tennessee Technology Development Corp. (TTDC) released the New Economy Strategy, a broad plan to improve the state's economic viability through science and technology. The strategy encompasses many new initiatives to complement TTDC's existing portfolio of tech-based economic development efforts.

Tennessee's Sullivan County took a big step toward reducing the presence of a brain drain when it approved a scholarship program for its high school graduates.