For just over eight years, the SSTI Weekly Digest has come to you every Friday...first it was by fax, then by e-mail.  Starting with this issue, the Digest makes a change and will be distributed each Monday.  We believe this change will help you get your week started right...and will give the SSTI staff something to do on the weekend.

SSTI welcomes Rhiannon Mehring to its staff as a research associate.

The Wright Center for Innovation for Advanced Data Management and Analysis named Charles Walsh as its first president.

The Fund for Our Economic Future, a new collaboration of Northeast Ohio private, community and corporate foundations to support regional economic development, has secured more than $22 million in commitments and is expected to grow to $30 million. Launched last week, the fund is believed to be the largest and most comprehensive philanthropic collaboration of its kind in the U.S.

Tony Brown, director of the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund at the U.S. Treasury Department, announced his resignation effective Feb. 27, to become chief executive officer of the Uptown Consortium in Cincinnati.

Ohio State University has appointed Vicki Butland to serve as interim president and chief executive officer for the Science and Technology Campus Corp.

Ohio’s IT Alliance (OITA) invites applications and nominations for the position of President and Chief Executive Officer. OITA's mission as a statewide public/private partnership is to drive the growth and improve the competitiveness of Ohio through the development and support of its information technology industry. The new President will enhance OITA’s role as the key public/private catalyst for industry growth and success.

Last Thursday, Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed bills to aid Michigan’s tool and die industry and to promote new venture capital investment in the state’s high-tech industries.

In what may be the first gift of its kind, a $5 million cash donation has been made to a technology transfer office to endow the commercialization of new health technologies. The Cleveland Clinic announced receipt of the donation from John Ferchill, a Northeast Ohio real estate developer, in mid-December.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation has named Sandy Ring to the new position of vice president for economic development policy.

The SSTI Weekly Digest will resume publication on January 9. We hope all our readers have a safe, prosperous, and happy 2004.

Lizabeth Ardisana was elected Chairperson of the Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, becoming the first woman to hold the position in the state.

Case Western Reserve University is seeking an executive director of The Power Partnership for Ohio, one of the new Wright Centers of Innovation funded in part by a $18 million grant from the State of Ohio.

By a narrow margin, Ohio voters on Tuesday rejected a constitutional amendment that would have permitted the state to issue up to $500 million in bonds over 10 years to fund technology-based economic development projects. Defeated 51 percent to 49 percent, Issue 1 would have made up the final component of Gov. Bob Taft's proposed 10-year, $1.6 billion Third Frontier project. The remaining $1.1 billion is unaffected by Tuesday's vote.

Looking to launch a biotech initiative? Getting into commercializing university research? Are tight budgets leading to more rigorous program evaluation?

Julian Manly Earls is the new director of the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.

Team Northeast Ohio has picked Texan Robert Farley for its first executive director.

Dan Lohymeyer has stepped down as president of Ohio's IT Alliance.

The new executive director of the Center for Regional Economic Issues is Edward Morrison.

The Modernization Forum seeks qualified candidates to serve as a project manager for a one-year position. The manager will plan, staff and facilitate research involving focus groups, phone and mail surveys, and secondary resources related to small manufacturing and the economy. The manager will work in collaboration with contracting organization as part of a highly qualified research team.

Donald Jakeway will be the new president and CEO for the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

Thomas Anderson is the new director of the Automation Alley Technology Center in Michigan.

The National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) honored six top incubation programs, graduates and clients at its 17th International Conference on Incubation, held May 18-21 in Richmond, Va. Award winners are highlighted below:

A Note from the Editor

With more than 20 new governors and hundreds of newly elected state legislators, mayors and city council members across the country, many states and communities are seeing fresh faces in key positions that will influence the shape and direction of tech-based economic development policy, funding and program implementation. SSTI encourages its readership to get issues of the SSTI Weekly Digest in their hands to help bring your new partners into the larger tech-based ED community as soon as possible.