SSTI Digest

Governors in the Southern states were presented with findings from a new report on the growing gap in middle-skill jobs and urged to adopt a three-part policy framework for reversing the trend during the Southern Governors' Association annual meeting last week in Asheville, NC. The report found that middle-skill jobs account for 51 percent of the region's jobs today, but only about 43 percent of the region's workers are currently trained at this level. Read more...

The U.S. stands at "moment of truth" regarding its manufacturing sector, according to a new study by Booz & Co. and the University of Michigan's Tauber Institute for Global Operations, Manufacturing's Wake-up Call. If neglected, the sector's output could fall by half in the coming years. If "a series of identifiable smart actions and choices" are made, U.S. manufacturing could produce 95 percent of all product consumed by the nation. The study points out three significant findings regarding the current and future state of U.S. industrial competiveness and provides recommendations to achieve a manufacturing-driven U.S. economy. Read more...

Educational attainment rates in the U.S. rose in both 2007 and 2008, after falling in 2005 and 2006, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey. Despite the mid-decade dip, the overall trend over the past few decades has been toward higher rates of attainment at the high school, Bachelor's and advanced degree levels. As of 2008, about 85 percent of the U.S. population had completed high school, up from 80.4 percent in 2000 and 75.2 in 1990. About 27.7 percent of U.S. residents had a Bachelor's degree or higher in 2008 and about 10.2 percent had received an advanced degree. Read more...

The Rhode Island Science and Technology Advisory Council seeks to hire a program manager to oversee activities of the RI Research Alliance. The ideal applicant understands and appreciates the need for supporting economic growth and job creation through strengthening Rhode Island's collaborative research platform and is familiar with federal and private funding streams and how to build and assemble coalitions in order to be more competitive for large multi-institutional grants.

As state and federal funding for higher education dwindles and the workforce needs of the new economy continue to shift, state and university officials are reevaluating how higher education is funded, its return on investment for the state, and how universities can better drive economic growth. Recent examples in New York, Ohio and Texas demonstrate how states are implementing new policies to adapt to the changing times.

New York
Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently signed into law the NYSUNY 2020 legislation, an initiative the governor says will both help New York's public universities become a leading catalyst for regionally-focused economic development and stabilize tuition. The new law allows the four university centers located in Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, and Stony Brook to apply for challenge grants of $35 million each to expand facilities and enhance research-focused programs. A total $140 million is available through the program, including $80 million in capital funding authorized under the new law and $60 million in existing SUNY funds.

Speaking during a Rural Economic Forum at Northeast Iowa Community College in Peosta, IA, President Obama announced several new initiatives to promote economic growth in rural areas, including two new capital programs. The Small Business Administration (SBA) will partner with USDA to double its current rate of investment in rural small businesses to $350 million over the next five years. This will be accomplished through SBA's Impact Investment Fund. SBA and USDA also will launch a series of rural private equity and venture capital conferences nationwide to help connect private equity and venture capital investors with rural startups, according to a White House press release. Read the announcement...

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe and the state's Workforce Cabinet announced a $2.7 million pilot program — STEM Works — focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education in high schools. STEM Works will be made up of two components. The first component will focus on overhauling the state's STEM curriculum at the high school level to better prepare high school graduates to pursue college degrees in STEM disciplines. The second component — UTeach — will attempt to attract qualified college graduates to become STEM educators.

The U.S. Department of Treasury has released details on its latest funding approvals from the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). Eleven states, and Washington, D.C., are slated to receive a portion of the $360 million that will be used to expand state small business lending and capital programs. In order to qualify, states must demonstrate that their relevant programs will generate at least $10 in new private lending for every $1 in federal funding. As such, Treasury expects the funding to generate more than $3.6 billion in additional small business lending and to create new private sector jobs.

The Department of Agriculture, the Department of Energy and the Navy will invest up to $510 million during the next three years to produce advanced drop-in biofuels to power military and commercial transportation. To accelerate the production of these advanced bio-based jet and diesel fuels, the federal agencies in partnership with the private sector will work to jointly construct or retrofit several drop-in biofuel plants and refineries. The joint plan calls for a substantial cost share commitment from private industry partners — of at least a one-to-one match. The biofuels initiative will be steered by the White House Biofuels Interagency Work Group and Rural Council. Read the press release...

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced that it will award $74 million total for the creation of four interdisciplinary research and education centers as part of the third generation of NSF Engineering Research Centers. In addition to their primary focus on commercialization and education, these centers will emphasize innovation, entrepreneurship, small business collaboration, and international partnerships. For the first time, two of the ERCs will be co-funded by the Department of Energy. One, led by Arizona State University, will investigate quantum energy and sustainable solar technologies. A second at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville will develop more reliable and efficient electricity transmission networks. The other two ERCs will focus on research into urban water infrastructure and mind-machine interface at Stanford University and the University of Washington, respectively.

E. William (Bill) Colglazier, recently retired executive officer of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Research Council, has been selected the Science and Technology Advisor to Secretary of State Hilary Clinton.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott named Doug Darling to head up the newly formed Department of Economic Opportunity. He also named Cynthia, Lorenzo, who had been interim director, to head up the Agency for Workforce Innovation.

Steve Jenkins has left his position as senior vice president for economic development at Go Topeka.

Denyse Ferguson has been named vice president of economic development at the Cincinnati USA Partnership, the chamber's economic development arm. Ferguson previously served as the president and CEO of the Lansing Area Economic Partnership, Inc. (Leap, Inc.) in Michigan.