Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius named Howard Fricke to serve as secretary of the state's Commerce Department.

Wanted: all managers in private-sector research and development (R&D) facilities. The Southern Growth Policies Board is conducting a nationwide survey to gain insight into drivers and policies of industrial R&D. The survey attempts to illuminate university-company relationships.

John Merrill will serve as executive director for the Greensboro Center for Innovative Development, a joint millennium campus and research park between University of North Carolina Greensboro and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

Evan Barrett was named chief business officer of The Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity in Montana.

David Gibson, chief business officer of The Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity in Montana, has accepted a new position as associate commissioner for economic development. Beginning Jan. 3, Gibson will serve under Commissioner of Higher Education Sheila Stearns.

Montana Gov.-elect Brian Schweitzer tapped Tony Preite to serve as director of the state Department of Commerce. Priete is currently director of the office of commercialization and economic development outreach at the University of Montana and is a former regional director for the Colorado office of the Economic Development Administration.

Kenneth Lynn has been appointed president of KCCatalyst. Lynn formerly was a consultant to biotechnology companies assisting in technology acquisition, strategic planning, and commercial development.

Earlier this month, Gov. Ernie Fletcher announced Darrell Brock and Jim Host as new co-chairmen of ConnectKentucky. Brock, commissioner of the governor's Office for Local Development, and Commerce Cabinet Secretary Host joined existing chairman John Hall, retired chairman and CEO of Ashland Inc.

David Winwood is the new director of North Carolina State University's Centennial Campus.

Gwyn Riddick recently was named director of the new Piedmont Triad office of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.

North Carolina took another step toward improving technology-based economic opportunity for its citizens when Gov. Michael Easley signed into law House Bill 1194 earlier this month. The bill creates the e-NC Authority, which will continue the work of the existing Rural Internet Access Authority for three more years, beginning January 2004.

The Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation (KTEC), the state's lead corporation to promote advanced technology economic development, has developed a new investment program to help early-stage technology companies get the capital boost they need.

More workers in North Carolina will be trained for jobs in biotechnology, thanks to the Golden LEAF Foundation's recent $60 million commitment to the emerging industry. In all, $64.5 million is going toward a training initiative, with North Carolina's biotech industry expected to contribute $4.5 million.

After months of analyzing data and hundreds of interviews, organizers of western North Carolina's Future Forward economic development strategy only await the study's approval by local governments. Future Forward is aimed at improving economic development conditions for 12 counties in the Western Piedmont and Mountains of North Carolina located in the 10th and 11th Congressional Districts — Alexander, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Iredell, Lincoln, Rutherford, Avery, Mitchell, Watauga, Wilkes and McDowell counties.

Two of SSTI's sister organizations for promoting technology-based economic development (TBED) had items of potential interest to the readers of the SSTI Weekly Digest in their e-newsletters this week. The highlights below include links for more information.

The Southern Growth Policies Board has released a toolkit to help communities understand the knowledge economy and how new economic forces affect quality of life and economic development. Seeing the Future: The Knowledge Economy seeks to inform people about the knowledge, skills and resources needed to compete in today’s economy.

Lloyd Chestnut, vice president of research at the University of Montana is leaving to take the position as vice president for research and technology transfer at the University of North Texas.

A minimum $500 million 10-year investment to encourage biotech and entrepreneurship may soon become a reality for Kansas. With Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' approval of the Kansas Economic Growth Act, Kansas will set in motion a variety of new programs to encourage research, innovation and technology commercialization.

James Roberson, president of the Research Triangle Foundation for the past 16 years, is retiring at the end of May.