Most of the nation's governors use the winter months to publicly lay out their agendas, visions and budget requests for the coming year. The text of State of the State Addresses, Budget Messages and, to a lesser extent, Inaugural Addresses, often reveals each governor's legislative priorities and new initiatives to be pursued over the coming months.

Former New Mexico Gov. Garrey Carruthers (1987-1990) has been named vice provost for economic development at New Mexico State University.

The Louisiana Emerging Technologies Center announced Arthur Cooper will serve as its first executive director.

Don Hutchinson is the new director of the Mayor's Office of Economic Development for the city of New Orleans.

Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco has appointed Michael Olivier to serve as Secretary of Louisiana Economic Development. Olivier was president and CEO of the Harrison County Development Commission in Gulfport, Miss., for 17 years.

Jim Petell is the first director of technology transfer and commercialization for the University of North Dakota.

Two years following its creation, the Louisiana Technology Fund has $2.3 million to help the early-stage technology companies for which it was intended, the Baton Rouge-based Advocate reported earlier this month. The fund stems from 2002 legislation that revived Louisiana's Certified Capital Companies (CAPCOs) program.

While the federal government supports fuel cell research, nearly every state across the country has taken a more active role in advancing the development and commercialization of fuel cell and renewable energy technologies, according to two recent reports from the North Carolina State University Solar Center. A web-based directory of more than 875 state and federal initiatives managed by the center helps prove that point.

In an effort to increase the economic impact of the state's university-based research, Gov. John Hoeven has included $50 million in his 2005-07 budget request to create Centers of Excellence on each of the North Dakota 's college campuses.

Norma Grace, vice chancellor for technology and economic development at the University of New Orleans, has been elected as the 2004-05 president of the Association of University Research Parks.

Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco appointed state bond commisssion director Sharon Perez to serve as undersecretary for the Louisiana Department of Economic Development, and Secretary Michael Olivier named Dane Revette director of the agency's energy cluster.

Securing the multi-year funding needed to properly ramp up technology-based economic development (TBED) initiatives can be difficult in states with annual budget cycles and tight revenue streams. Fortunately, there is one federal agency that provides financial assistance increasingly toward local and regional projects matching the interests of the nation's TBED community.

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Larry Willard, president of the University of New Mexico Board of Regents, is leaving the position to become chairman of the New Mexico Economic Development Corp.

Increased funding for equity investments and a new university-industry R&D partnership program are among the pieces of legislation New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson signed this week, greatly expanding New Mexico's portfolio of programs to grow a tech-based economy. Most of the initiatives were included in the economic development agenda Gov. Richardson outlined during his first State of the State address in January. They are:

An update to Louisiana: Vision 2020, a strategic plan to improve the Louisiana economy, calls for creating more quality jobs in the state's high growth sectors. First released by the Louisiana Economic Development Council in 1998, the newly revised plan also stresses the need to place increased importance on early childhood education, teacher quality and math and reading performance among high school students as keys to boosting student achievement.

George Swift is the first executive director for the new Southwest Louisiana Partnership for Economic Development.

North Dakota Governor John Hoeven dedicated the lion's share of his State of the State Address to promoting a vision of economic growth for the state based entirely on technology-based economic development. The proposals centered on more than a dozen new university-based Centers of Excellence and new tax credits.

Deborah Fleischaker has been appointed deputy secretary for the New Mexico Department of Economic Development.

To promote biotech in Baton Rouge, a new study sponsored by Capital Region Competitive Strategy (CapStrategy) recommends constructing an "idea pipeline" to better commercialize the intellectual property and research generated in the region's universities, hospitals and research institutes. CapStrategy, a nonprofit, cluster-based economic development initiative, operates under the Chamber of Greater Baton Rouge and represents nine parishes in the region.

The Association of University Research Parks has recognized Sandia National Laboratories for the 2003 Excellence in Technology Transfer Award. Over the past five years, Sandia has participated in 183 new cooperative research and development agreements with industry partners to jointly develop technology that is incorporated into commercial products.

Randy Burge has announced his resignation as director of the New Mexico Department of Economic Development's Office of Science and Technology. Mike Orshan will serve as acting director beginning Sept. 29.

With a combined annual research budget totaling $4.8 billion, New Mexico's 12 largest research facilities signed a Memorandum of Agreement on May 30 to help turn intellectual property into jobs for New Mexicans. Members of the newly formed New Mexico Technology Research Corridor (TRC) include:

Sylvia Goodman is leaving her position as director of technology and innovation at Louisiana Economic Development.

Noreen Scott, former economic development division director for the New Mexico Department of Economic Development, is the executive director for the Rio Rancho Economic Development Corp.