New Governors Out of the Gate Fast On S&T
Two new Governors, Bob Wise of West Virginia and Wisconsin's Scott McCallum, have put tech-based economic development in the forefront of their respective economic agendas.
West Virginia
Technology/Economic Summits Yielding Results
What can policymakers and practitioners do if the statistics and other metrics indicate a state, region or locality is not well positioned for the technology-based economy, but the elected leaders and economic development professionals are plodding along with traditional approaches to job creation and development?
People
Jason Williamson is leaving his position as vice president of community development for the South Carolina Technology Alliance to become a founding partner in a new start-up tech firm.
South Carolina Governor, Legislature Spar Over State’s Investment
Capturing an overwhelming majority of the votes needed to override Gov. Mark Sanford’s veto, the South Carolina Legislature prevailed last week in its efforts to position the state as a leader in hydrogen technology.
People
Craig Heim was named licensing manager for start-up companies at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.
People & TBED Organizations
Jay Moskowitz was named the first president of Health Sciences South Carolina.
People
John Gee was named president and CEO of the Information Technology Association of Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Early-stage Capital Interventions Lead to Gains in 2006
Like many states, Wisconsin has struggled to attract consistent attention from the national venture capital industry. Capital can be especially difficult to obtain in the state, since entrepreneurs with limited resources are often unable to participate in the expensive and complicated process of presenting their cases to venture capital firms based on the coasts.
People and Organizational News
Phillip Z. Sobocinski has accepted a new position as Assistant Director of the new Office of Corporate Relations in the Office of the Chancellor, University of Wisconsin-Madison. The new initiative will be led by Charles Hoslet.
SC Commits $30M To University R&D...
South Carolina's three major research universities were awarded a total of $30 million this week to establish the state's first six centers of excellence, according to The State, a Columbia, S.C.-based newspaper.
People
The Greenville Spartanburg Anderson Technology Council has named Philip Yanov executive director.
People & TBED Organizations
President Bush announced he will nominate Assistant Secretary of Commerce Sandy Baruah to serve as the administrator of the Small Business Administration.
The Rensselaer County Regional Chamber of Commerce has created the Economic Development Partnership to help businesses relocate to or expand in the county.
South Carolina Legislature Overrides Veto, Endowed Chairs to Receive $30M Annually
Coming together for a special one-day session last week, the South Carolina Legislature voted to override a line-item veto issued by Gov. Mark Sanford concerning the funding of the state’s Endowed Chairs program, now called the S.C. Centers for Economic Excellence. The override raises the budget allocation for the program from $20 million to $30 million, which surpasses the original multi-year cap of $200 million set for the Endowed Chairs/Centers of Economic Excellence program, when enacted in 2002.
People & TBED Organizations
Steve Bazinet has been hired as executive director of the Maine Center for Enterprise Development.
Rahindra Bose is Ohio University's new vice president for research and creative activity and dean of the graduate college.
People
Jim Rice, with the Information Technology Association of Wisconsin, announced his departure as the organization’s first president.
People & TBED Organizations
Lori Broyles was appointed coordinator of the Women's Business Center in Oklahoma City.
Southern States Advance Several TBED Initiatives into 2009
Legislators in Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee recently approved spending plans for the upcoming fiscal year. Highlights of appropriations supporting TBED are included below.
Alabama
U. of Wisconsin Opens First Building of $600 Million Medical Research Project
As many stories in this issue of the Digest point out, academic institutions serve a critical role in performing R&D for the nation’s innovation pipeline. While most of the attention of national policymakers is directed toward the size of federal and industrial investments in R&D, the burden of financing the infrastructure to support much of that research activity falls on states and institutions of higher education. And that burden has a steep price tag.
Incubator RoundUp: Encouraging Entrepreneurship and Supporting Tech Commercialization
Technology-focused incubators are an important component to fostering entrepreneurial development in a region by nurturing businesses in the earliest stages of development and helping them grow into larger companies that employ high-wage workers and bring new technologies to the market. The following select announcements provide an overview of new incubators from across the nation, illustrating the vital role of entrepreneurial development in growing high-tech regional economies.
TBED People
John Hindman announced his resignation as secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.
Governor Rick Perry recently announced Alan Kirchhoff of Austin has been promoted to director of Texas Emerging Technology Fund (TETF). Kirchhoff replaces longtime Perry advisor and former TETF director Mark Ellison, who left the Governor's Office to become associate vice chancellor of economic development for the Texas A&M University System beginning Oct. 1, 2008.
Two New Initiatives Aim to ‘Innovate’ and ‘Accelerate’ Wisconsin
Gov. Jim Doyle announced two new initiatives focusing on investments in manufacturing R&D and increasing angel and venture capital investment to grow new businesses.
People
New Carolina, South Carolina's Council on Competitiveness, has formed the South Carolina Engineering Cluster. Lee Stogner will lead the cluster and its steering committee, which represents government, economic develoment, academia, engineering companies and professional societies aiming to promote engineering in South Carolina.
People & TBED Organizations
Colin Scanes is the new vice chancellor for research and economic development at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Scanes formerly was the chief economic development strategist at Mississippi State University.
Better Late than Never: Wisconsin Budget Supports Energy, TBED and University R&D
Nearly four months into the current fiscal year, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle signed into law the biennial 2007-09 budget last week, investing in renewable energy, university R&D and expanding tax credits to attract angel and venture capital investment.
Wisconsin Manufacturers Face Opportunities, Challenges
Wisconsin manufacturers must adapt to a fast-changing world in order to grow and succeed in the 21st century. That is the thrust of a recent study of the state’s industrial economy recently released by the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership (WMEP).