SSTI Digest

As the authors of the recent Swedish report, The Internationalization of Corporate R&D, pointed out, industrial R&D may increasingly be found concentrated around public and private research institutions with strong research capabilities related to the specific corporation's interests. As companies become increasing global in their structure, so, too, will the location of the research expertise that they draw on. State investments to strengthen university R&D capacity and expertise, then, could be a logical approach for regions to remain or become significant players for the knowledge economy. Fortunately, that's a fundamental approach for many state TBED strategies.

Proponents for a higher skilled workforce may be concerned with troubling new statistics regarding high school graduation rates. A new report from the EPE (Editorial Projects in Education) Research Center and Education Week shows that more than 30 percent of the nations ninth-graders fail to go on to graduate from public high schools. The report, Diplomas Count: An Essential Guide to Graduation Policy and Rates, details data on 2002-03 public high school graduation rates for all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the 50 largest school districts in the nation. The graduation rates were calculated by using the Cumulative Promotion Index (CPI), which estimates the probability that a student in the ninth grade will complete high school on time with a regular diploma. The CPI rate depicts a four-step process a student must take in order to graduate: The first three steps include the completion of one grade to the next (i.e. 9-10, 10-11, 11-12) and the final step is the completion of grade 12 to graduation.

Complete descriptions of the position openings described below are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

Ernest Andrade, director of the Charleston Digital Corridor, announced he is stepping down as a city council member, effective Aug. 30. Thomas Bowles was named science advisor to New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, succeeding a number of fellow Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists serving the governor. Lori Clark is the new coordinator of agency relations and research park initiatives at Northern Illinois University. Joey Dean was named vice president of economic development for the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce and as executive director of the Metro Little Rock Alliance. Dean succeeds Jay Chesshir, the chamber's newly named president and CEO, in both positions.

Ernest Andrade, director of the Charleston Digital Corridor, announced he is stepping down as a city council member, effective Aug. 30.

Thomas Bowles was named science advisor to New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, succeeding a number of fellow Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists serving the governor.

Lori Clark is the new coordinator of agency relations and research park initiatives at Northern Illinois University.

Joey Dean was named vice president of economic development for the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce and as executive director of the Metro Little Rock Alliance. Dean succeeds Jay Chesshir, the chamber's newly named president and CEO, in both positions.

President Bush has nominated Charles McQueary to be director of operational test and evaluation at the Department of Defense. The president also has nominated Nathaniel Wienecke to be assistant secretary of commerce for legislative and intergovernmental affairs.

The Clovis, Calif.-based Central Valley Business Incubator selected Craig Scharton as its new chief executive, replacing outgoing chief executive Glenn Patch.

Donald Siegel has accepted a position as professor of entrepreneurship and associate dean with the University of California at Riverside's A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management.

Nearly $300 Million Tagged for TBED It took moving into a special session and negotiating a late deal between lawmakers and Gov. Brad Henry last week for the Oklahoma legislature to pass several bills related to the state's budget for fiscal year 2007, which begins this weekend. The final product includes several of the governor's top priorities for the state's portfolio of technology-based economic development initiatives, including $150 million for the new EDGE Research Endowment to support research, $95 million for research infrastructure improvements at the state's universities, and a 75 percent increase for the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST). The budget also cuts the state's top marginal income tax from 6.25 percent to 5.25 percent by 2010.