SSTI Digest

Robert Cresanti has been appointed to serve as chief privacy officer for the Department of Commerce, concurrent with his responsibilities as under secretary for technology.

Lew Ebert announced he is leaving the Kansas Chamber of Commerce to become president and CEO of North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry.

Science Foundation Arizona, a new nonprofit organization, has named Bill Harris as its director.

The Greater Phoenix Economic Council recently hired Jim Hudson as vice president of strategy.

Louisiana State University appointed Brooks Keel as its new vice chancellor for research and economic development.

The Open Technology Business Center, a Beaverton, Ore.-based incubator, has named Steve Morris as its third executive director.

Steven Preston was sworn in July 10 as administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, succeeding Hector Barreto.

Mark Wdowik was named vice president of technology transfer for the Colorado State University Research Foundation.

Ned Weinshenker has been appointed to a restructured position as vice president for strategic ventures and economic development at Utah State University.

In last week's Useful Stats article, we incorrectly reported that South Dakota ranked last among states experiencing a public high school graduation rate less than the national average for the 2002-03 school year; in fact, the state ranked 19th. South Carolina had the lowest graduation rate for that year. We regret the error.

Preliminary findings from the Commission on the Future of Higher Education fault U.S. colleges and universities with wasteful spending and a reluctance to create innovative approaches to 21st century education. A recent document released by the commission calls for major changes in financial aid, higher education funding, K-12 outreach, and educational assessment. When Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings launched the commission in September 2005, it was charged with developing a comprehensive strategy for postsecondary education that would make the most of national investment in higher ed. A series of shorter reports released earlier this year by Commission Chair Charles Miller made it clear that the commission's recommendations would require a major overhaul of financial aid programs and higher ed spending. The latest release is an early draft of the commission's final report, a version which still lacks conclusions but has already drawn public opposition from higher ed groups and several commission members.

Maine Gov. Mark Baldacci has unveiled a new handbook intended to help communities to capitalize upon their cultural resources to spur economic growth. Maine's Creative Economy Community Handbook: Maine State Government Resources for Communities offers advice for community leaders interested in building a creative and dynamic workforce. The guidelines it gives for designing a strategic plan could benefit communities across the country interested in similar initiatives. The handbook is the result of two years of work by Maines Creative Economy Steering Committee following a 2004 conference on the future of the state economy. The study was requested after it was reported that the creative economy was generating $6.6 billion annually in cultural tourism dollars. The committee has drawn upon the work of Richard Florida, who has theorized that networks of educated and entrepreneurial citizens lead to dynamic local economies.