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James Souby, executive director of the Western Governors' Association for the past 13 years, is resigning to become president and CEO of a new private think tank.

With a $310 million commitment passed by the state legislature and as much as $200 million in additional support from the county government, the California-based Scripps Research Institute has agreed to locate its first branch or satellite office in northwest Palm Beach County, Fla. In return for the financial support, Scripps is to work toward employing as many as 545 workers on the site by 2011.

In 2010, the end of Gov. Mike Round's second term – should South Dakota voters choose to grant him one – residents of the state will have several precise ways to measure whether or not he delivered on his economic development goals. Gov. Round's 2010 Initiative, released Oct. 15 at Mount Rushmore, is built on a few, very specific and quantifiable goals in tourism revenues, entrepreneurship, and R&D. They include:

America has fallen alarmingly behind other industrialized countries in access to and participation in college, which encompasses most education and training beyond high school, according to a study recently released by the Education Commission of the States (ECS).

Does it matter whether a start-up takes money from a large venture firm or a small venture firm? According to the just-released VentureOne Deal Terms Report, the answer is a resounding yes.

Arkansas Tech Council in Formative Stages

Editor's Note: Because there are so many great conferences of potential interest to the technology-based economic development community, SSTI typically limits announcements to the calendar page on our website. The timely nature of two upcoming events leads us to a rare break with our editorial policy.

At the same time civic and corporate leaders around the country are calling for more high school students to pursue a college education, and specifically science, technology and math degrees, the student's share of the cost for higher education is climbing to record highs.

SBDCs slated for $23 Million Increase; FAST Restored

Probably everyone involved in tech-based economic development (TBED) can name at least one research building, innovation center or tech park named after a significant contributor to the project. And has become commonplace individual components of the structure have been named for individual donors: a wing, the auditorium, the foyer, the artwork, the chairs in the board room.

Universities play a central role in supporting regional technology-based economic development and only one small federal grant program focuses each funding cycle toward new models for improving university-centered collaborative innovation strategies. The Partnership for Innovations (PFI) Program within the National Science Foundation (NSF) opened a new round of competition last week, offering funding of up to $600,000 for 10-15 successful proposals.

In SSTI's second look at the Geographic Area Statistics: 2004 from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Manufactures, SSTI highlights more of the report's key findings, including data on employment, payroll, and average pay per employee.

In December, SSTI invited those involved in and interested in tech-based economic development to consider becoming a member of SSTI. Membership is growing so fast  that we are proud to announce already reaching the 100th member milestone for our Affiliates and Supporters! Special Recognition goes to our 99th member Northwestern University, Office of the President; 100th member Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, BioBusiness Center; and our 101st member CincyTechUSA.

Indiana Governor Joe Kernan has nominated Katherine Lyon Davis to serve as Lieutenant Governor. Among her past positions, Davis served as manager of Indiana's 21st Century Research and Technology Fund in 1999.

Julian Manly Earls is the new director of the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.

Bill Shipp, president of Bechtel BWXT Idaho and lab director of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, is retiring effective Oct. 25. Paul Divjak will be his replacement.

Team Northeast Ohio has picked Texan Robert Farley for its first executive director.

Holmes Foster, chairman of the Iowa Values Fund, has announced his resignation.

Tony Jeff has been selected to serve as executive director of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership of Mississippi.

Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney appointed Kathy Kottarodis to serve as the state’s first small business advocate. Kottarodis had been director of small business and entrepreneurship within the state’s office of business and technology.

Dan Lohymeyer has stepped down as president of Ohio's IT Alliance.

Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology has promoted Dan Mills to vice president for regional operations.

The new executive director of the Center for Regional Economic Issues is Edward Morrison.

Paul Ray has left his position as director of the Colorado Office of Life Sciences and Biotechnology.

The Modernization Forum seeks qualified candidates to serve as a project manager for a one-year position. The manager will plan, staff and facilitate research involving focus groups, phone and mail surveys, and secondary resources related to small manufacturing and the economy. The manager will work in collaboration with contracting organization as part of a highly qualified research team.