SSTI Digest

John Weete, president and executive director of the West Virginia University Research Corp., was named executive director of the Auburn Research and Technology Foundation. Weete starts his new position Sept. 1.

Dr. Russ Lea has been named vice president for research at the University of South Alabama.

Alabama Gov. Bob Riley and lawmakers recently gave the state's Department of Education a substantial boost by increasing the budget for the Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative (AMSTI) by two-thirds for fiscal year 2008 – a leading example in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. Historically, Alabama has ranked low in educational attainment compared to the rest of the country. In 2005, Alabama ranked 47th in the nation in percentage of adults age 25 or older with a bachelor’s degree or higher (see the Nov. 27, 2006 Useful Stats table in the Digest). However, last week, Gov. Riley signed into law a record education budget, investing more funding than ever before in Alabama’s history. AMSTI, the Department of Education’s initiative to improve math and science teaching statewide, will receive $35.8 million, a significant increase from the FY07 appropriation of $22 million. Created in 2002 as a pilot program, the initiative is similar to one of the proposed goals within the America COMPETES Act, introduced in Congress in March. Schools in Alabama become official AMSTI…

Bill Johnson, formerly the director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, left his position to become the grassroots coordinator of Gov. Bob Riley's re-election campaign. Doni Ingram, who was the agency's assistant director, is now acting director.

The Birmingham News reports Michael Alder, executive director of the Biotechnology Association of Alabama, is leaving to become director of technology finance at Brigham Young University.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced the 13 recipients for one of the most anticipated new federal workforce programs to be launched in several years. The $195 million Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) program attempts to integrate human capital issues of talent and skill development into larger technology-based economic development strategies. While that in itself is seemingly unique for a federal initiative, WIRED also requires regional cooperation that crosses political jurisdictions and traditional organizational missions. Each of the 13 regions will receive approximately $15 million in funding over three years to support strategy development, regional network formulation and plan implementation: Coastal Maine (11 counties, including Augusta and Brunswick); Northeast Pennsylvania (nine counties, including Scranton, Allentown and Reading); Upstate New York (nine counties, including Rochester and Finger Lakes region); Piedmont Triad North Carolina (12 counties, including Greensboro and Winston-Salem); Central Michigan (13 counties,…

Guin Robinson is the new director of the newly created Talladega office of the Alabama Technology Network.

The bottom line for all regional economic development initiatives should be improving the quality of life for the area's residents. A new report from the Census Bureau — revealing the increased percentage of the U.S. population living in poverty and median household income remaining flat again, after two years of decline — provides a not-too-subtle reminder for the technology-based economic development (TBED) field. Also released on Tuesday, the Southern Growth Policies Board's new index provides a useful tool for southern communities to track quality of life measures as part of their regional economic development strategies. Released at the Southern Governor's Association meeting in Greensboro, Georgia, The Southern Community Index is a working plan to track the Southern states' progress in building healthy and vibrant communities as part of an integrated economic development strategy for the region. The Index includes 15 quality of life measures considered to be the building blocks of vibrant communities — from access to healthcare, homeownership rates, crime rates and employment rates to…

John Shields, president of the Alabama Technology Network since 1996, stepped down June 30. Mike Bailey is the new president.

Encouraging economic growth in rural America is the topic of a recent report, a new $500 million economic development investment program, and an upcoming conference worth further investigation. Capitalizing on Rural America Policy and funding priorities have not kept pace with the economic diversification underway in rural America, according to a study commissioned by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines. The study, Crafting a Competitive Future, provided the platform for a recent Washington, D.C. forum on rural development issues. It is divided into three major sections: a description of the economic and social drivers and trends affecting rural America; a summary of key federal programs among the 337 identified in the report to provide financial and technical assistance; and a discussion of several strategic options for capitalizing on rural America. The underlying conclusion of the report and…

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced $14.4 million in Technology Opportunities Program (TOP) grants to 27 organizations in 22 states and the District of Columbia. Historically, TOP has been one of the most competitive tech-based economic development grant programs offered by the federal government, and 2004 was no exception – 494 applications were received, requesting $277.1 million. This year's grantees represent a variety of nonprofit organizations and public institutions, including hospitals, K-12 schools, libraries, universities, public safety agencies, community technology providers, and city and county governments. Partnerships with the private sector and state and local organizations are required, leveraging the $14.4 million in federal funds with commitments in non-federal matching funds totaling $16.9 million. Examples of economic development related projects funded through this year's grant winners include: web-authoring jobs for people with disabilities; certification for aspiring telehealth…

Convergence Group Formed in Silicon Valley Joint Venture: Silicon Valley, the lead regional economic development organization for the well known valley, helped announce the formation of the Technology Convergence Consortium. Outlined in Joint Venture's Next Silicon Valley strategic plan, the new group's purpose will be to provide a forum enabling the valley's entrepreneurs to take advantage of the interdisciplinary nature of the fields of biotechnology and nanotechnology. Florida Losing Regional Tech Council Ten years since its creation, a regional nonprofit tech council serving the Orlando area will officially cease operations in October. Launched in 1995 as an initiative of Enterprise Florida, Central Florida Innovation Corporation's mission has been to create and build high wage, high growth potential companies in Central Florida. In recent years, CFIC has operated in a self-sufficient financial structure, without dependence on government grants or charitable contributions. Two Trade Associations Created in Georgia More than two years in…