SSTI Digest

Peter Hermann was selected as the N.C. Technology Association's new CEO. Hermann replaces Joan Myers, who took a position with a software company.

The Idaho communities of Greenleaf, Homedale, Grand View, Marsing, Melba, Parma and Wilder have formed the Western Alliance for Economic Development.

Complete descriptions of these opportunities and others are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm. Following its corporate mission of "turning knowledge into practice," RTI International is launching an initiative aimed at eliminating underdevelopment and unlocking opportunity in economic growth centers throughout the U.S. and worldwide. For this initiative, RTI seeks to immediately fill two important positions: (1) a program manager for innovation-based economic development who will play a key role in leading this initiative with other professionals across RTI and (2) an economic development analyst who will design, manage, and support technology-based economic development research and implementation projects. Each position has its own set of responsibilities and qualifications.

Complete descriptions of these opportunities and others are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm. The Office of Extension, Engagement and Economic Development at North Carolina State University (NCSU) is seeking someone for the position of director of the NC Economic Development Partnership. This position will have primary responsibility for building alliances for economic development and connecting the unique strengths of NCSU to appropriate agencies and industry clusters. These alliances include a significant partnership the North Carolina Department of Commerce. An M.A.or M.S. degree in an appropriate discipline and three years of experience in economic development program delivery in extension, outreach or public service, or a combination of suitable educational background and professional certification in economic development are required.

Tom Clarkson was named the new director of Wake Forest University's Babcock Demon Incubator, replacing Paul Briggs.

Tom Clarkson is the new chief executive officer of Wake Forest University's Babcock Demon incubator. Clarkson replaces Paul Briggs, who retired.

Joan Myers resigned as president and chief executive of the North Carolina Technology Association to join the global public policy division at a local software company. Myers' resignation is effective Aug. 21.

After running on a month-long stopgap budget, North Carolina lawmakers reached a $20.7 billion budget agreement for fiscal year 2007-08 earlier this week that includes funding for major research initiatives, public and higher education, and TBED-related items.   Under the budget agreement signed Tuesday by Gov. Mike Easley, University of North Carolina (UNC)-Chapel Hill is slated to receive $25 million this year, $40 million next year and a recurring $50 million in future years to expand cancer research. Funding for the initiative comes from a 10 percent increase on tobacco products other than cigarettes, $21.2 million in general fund revenue over the biennium, and $8 million from the Tobacco Trust Fund each year.  

E. Norris Tolson is officially the president and CEO of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, having served as interim CEO since January.

North Carolina does not, at first glance, seem to be a venture capital underperformer. In 2006, venture capitalists invested close to $510 million in North Carolina, almost $60 million of which was invested in seed and early-stage businesses, according to the Pricewaterhouse Coopers Moneytree Survey of VC investment. However, while the state ranks 12th in seed/early-stage investment, many in the state perceive the lack of seed funding to be a major obstacle to economic growth. Earlier this year, a survey conducted by the Wilmington-based Council on Entrepreneurial Development (CED) revealed that access to capital, particularly to seed-stage equity investment, was one of the top concerns of entrepreneurs in the state.  

Building on past reports calling for higher levels of educational achievement in the South, the 2007 Southern Growth Polices Board Report outlines a three-pronged strategy to aid the southern region in attaining its goal of building a globally competitive workforce. The annual Report on the Future of the South, released earlier this month, labels its new approach "Convene-Connect-Commit," addressing the process in detail. The report condenses information from many sources to illustrate the status of the Southern workforce. The authors reveal that, in 1980, 16 percent of the nation’s population 25 years and older had attained a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 14 percent in the South. However, in 2000, these numbers had risen to 24 percent for the nation and 20 percent for the South. While the percentage of degree attainment is rising, the gap is widening.

Several U.S. states have introduced plans in attempts to take the early lead in the country's emerging biofuels industry. For example, in 2006, the Washington legislature approved the initial components of the state's Bioenergy Program. Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen also has proposed a $73 million investment in biofuels research over the next five years though a new Biofuels Initiative at the University of Tennessee, and the Oklahoma legislature is mulling a $40 million Bioenergy Center to coordinate state research.