SSTI Digest

Pennsylvania Gov.

To attract and grow high technology businesses and streamline its economic development efforts, a task force created in 2007 to study economic competitiveness in Arkansas recommends the state remove its constitutional prohibition on state equity investments in private companies and co-locate its three economic development agencies.

The final report of the Task Force for the 21st Century released its recommendations to Gov. Mike Beebe and the legislature last month, which complement the 2008 Accelerate Arkansas strategic plan.

The outcome of Tuesday's election resulted in several wins and some defeats for TBED among the more than 150 ballot measures presented to voters across the nation. Outlined below are the unofficial election results of select ballot measures from each state's respective election office and local media reports as of Wednesday, Nov. 5. More detailed information on the measures is provided in last week's issue of the Digest, which is available at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/2008/102908.htm#election.

Arkansas
Voters approved 63 percent to 37 percent a constitutional amendment authorizing the General Assembly to establish, operate and regulate state lotteries to fund scholarships and grants for residents enrolled in two- and four-year colleges and universities in the state. Voters also approved a measure to shift the state's budgeting from a two-year cycle to an annual cycle.

With an increased need to compete globally, the need for a highly educated workforce has taken center stage in a number of states. But with the continuing issue of college affordability, states are looking at new ways to increase the number of college graduates within their borders.

In Arkansas and Ohio, recent examples of increasing college attendance are focused on efforts to expand scholarship opportunities for students. A legislatively charged task force in Arkansas recommends the state spend $95 million over the next six years to meet the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) average percentage of citizens holding a bachelor's degree. In Ohio, the state is awarding $8.5 million to colleges and nonprofit agencies with the goal of leveraging more than $90 million towards efforts to increase college participation. Details of the state plans are outlined below. 

• Tony Armstrong, Indiana University executive director for engagement, has been chosen as the Indiana University Research and Technology Corporations new president and CEO.
• Jeff Costantine will retire this fiscal year as president of the Nashville Technology Council. The board of directors has begun the search for a new president.
• Joseph G. Danek stepped down as executive director of the EPSCoR/IDeA Foundation. He will continue work at the foundation as its senior advisor and will also remain senior vice president of the Implementation Group, a Washington consulting firm. James B. Hoehn, a senior associate at the foundation, became its executive director. 

Entrepreneurship education courses continue to appear across the country. A large-scale commitment was announced recently, as eight Arkansas two-year colleges will offer degrees and certificates in entrepreneurship this fall. The broad availability is expected to help create a culture of entrepreneurship that extends from regions capitalizing in the emerging fields of bioscience and nanotechnology research to the rural pockets of the state in need of high-paying jobs.
 
Last month, the curriculum was approved by the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board, prompting eight of the state’s 22 community and technical colleges to join a consortium with two additional schools seeking approval in October to begin implementing the curriculum. The degree option is for an Applied Associates Degree in Business Management or a stand-alone certificate in Entrepreneurship.
 

Last week, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced that the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority (ASTA) would receive $9 million through the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) to enhance the state's research capabilities. The new funds will be used to support a broad range of activities, from attracting world-class scholars to fostering entrepreneurship, in select technology areas.

 

The program, dubbed the Arkansas Advancing and Supporting Science, Engineering and Technology (ASSET) Initiative, will provide additional research funding to three of the state's university campuses: the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. These schools will receive financial support to establish two new research centers and to promote interdisciplinary and multi-institutional research in promising fields.

 

The Arkansas Department of Economic Development has been renamed the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.