Maine Task Force Recommends State-Purchased Computers for Students
In a follow-up to Maine Governor Angus King’s call for every 7th grader to have a laptop computer that they would use in school and could take home, the Task Force on the Maine Learning Technology Endowment has recommended that every student and teacher in the 7th through 12th grades be provided with computers that would be wireless and portable. The computers could be used in the classroom and, pending school district permission, be taken home.
Tech Talkin' Govs IV: State of the State and Budget Addresses
Editor's Note: This is the fourth installment of excerpts from recent speeches and budget proposals demonstrating the priority governors are placing on tech-based economic development and math & science education.
Business First Stop Will Assist Appalachian Entrepreneurs in Three-State Region
A new resource for tech-based businesses in rural Ohio, Eastern Kentucky, and West Virginia was launched last week. The Appalachian Regional Entrepreneurship Initiative (AREI) is expanding its efforts to support growth of a technology-based entrepreneurial economy in Appalachia Ohio and neighboring states through a new website, http://www.bizfirststop.com
MaineScience.Org Provides Portal to State's S&T Community
The Maine Science and Technology Foundation has launched http://www.mainescience.org -- a single website clearinghouse for businesses, researchers, educators, students and the public looking for information on science and technology in Maine. Under the headings of Quest, Brainpower, Happenings, and Commerce, the site:
Colorado Exploring Incentives for Math and Science Teachers
Colorado leaders want to encourage more college students to go into science and teaching and two recent proposals, coming from Governor Bill Owens and the state's Commission on Higher Education, are designed to do just that.
People
Kentucky Governor Paul Patton has appointed Bill Brundage to the serve as the state's first Commissioner for the New Economy. Dr. Brundage will oversee the new Kentucky Innovations Commission, which is attached to the Governor's Office and tasked to oversee the state's $55 million New Economy initiative.
Maine's Public R&D Investments to be Evaluated
The Maine Science & Technology Foundation (MSTF) has issued a request for proposals to conduct an "Initial Evaluation of Maine's Public Investments in Research and Development." The study, to be completed by July 1, 2001, will provide baseline data for the first comprehensive evaluation MSTF is required by law to prepare for the state legislature and Governor by July, 2006. Subsequent comprehensive evaluations are to be completed every five years. The effort will:
Dual Enrollment Has Little Effect on Postsecondary Matriculation in Kentucky, Study Finds
Increasingly states are making it easier for high school students to participate in college courses while still attending high school. The goal of dual enrollment is to encourage more students to attend college, giving them a leg up on a degree. A new report by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education suggests the efforts are not working in Kentucky.
Maine Issues S&T Report Card
The Maine Science & Technology Foundation (MSTF) has released the 1998 Maine Science and Technology Report Card, a first look at the state’s performance across twenty science and technology related indicators. MSTF will use the report’s findings to develop benchmarks for the next revision of the state’s biennial strategic science and technology plan, due out this fall.
PEOPLE
Dr. Phillips Bradford the Executive Director of the Colorado Advanced Technology Institute has resigned his position. Lenie Roos-Gabridge has been appointed Interim Chief Operating Officer. Bradford’s resignation is the latest in an unprecedented turnover of state technology-based economic development officials. In the last year alone, the leaders of 14 states’ technology efforts have left their positions.
MAINE RESIDENTS TO VOTE ON BOND ISSUE
Mainers will vote on Election Day on a research and development bond issue that if passed would allocate $20 million to improve the Maine economy by supporting innovative research and development in the fields of biotechnology, computers and other information technology, aquiculture and marine technology, forestry and agriculture, and advanced materials.
If passed, funding from the bond issue would be allocated to the following:
Maine 7th Graders to Get Laptops
To strengthen Maine’s ability to compete in a knowledge-based economy, Governor Angus King proposed last year that the state create a $65 million endowment that would annually purchase and place a laptop in the hands of every seventh grade student in the state. A one-time $50 million state appropriation was to be matched by $15 million in private contributions. Interest off the endowment would have allowed every 7th-12th grader to own a laptop PC by 2007.
People
Lu Cordova is the new President of the Colorado Technology Incubator.
People
The Center for Environmental Enterprise (CEE) in South Portland, Maine announced the hiring of a new executive director. John Ferland assumed leadership of CEE in late April.
TBED Tidbits
$10M Donation Funds Johns Hopkins Biomed Facility, Research Park
Position Available
The Maine Science and Technology Foundation seeks a high energy President and CEO who will work with a diverse, gubernatorially appointed Board of Directors and provide leadership to the staff in the areas of strategic planning, policy development, program oversight, finance and administration, and public outreach. MSTF is a state chartered, industry-led not-for-profit organization that stimulates science and technology-driven economic growth in the state of Maine.
Kentucky Innovation Act Calls for $53 Million S&T Investment
Kentucky Governor Paul Patton and House Speaker Jody Richardson have announced a new technology bill to help Kentucky develop an innovation-driven economy. House Bill 572, the Kentucky Innovation Act, is a result of the Science and Technology Strategy designed by the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation in August, 1999 (see September 3, 1999 SSTI Weekly Digest (http://www.ssti.org/Digest/1999/090399.htm).
Western Governors Create High Technology Council
The 18 governors who comprise the Western Governors’ Association (WGA) have agreed to create a Western High Technology Council to serve as a strategic alliance among states, technology firms and universities to advance the region's common interests in the technology-driven and knowledge-based New Economy. Hawaii Governor Ben Cayetano, WGA Chairman, proposed the idea at the WGA winter meeting held in Las Vegas during December.
Colorado S&T Commission Created
Colorado Governor Bill Owen has appointed 55 technology executives and public officials to serve on the Governor’s Commission on Science and Technology. The Commission’s purpose is to issue a set of recommendations by late-2000 focused on enhancing Colorado's business climate and creating the technological infrastructure necessary to foster statewide growth of the high technology industry.
Specifically, the group is tasked to:
People
Maine Governor Angus King appointed Dr. Janet Yancey-Warona to serve as the Director for the new Maine Technology Institute.
Impact of 1999 State Election Results on S&T
In this off-year election, there were only a few races that are significant to the S&T community.
Democrat Paul Patton, incumbent Governor of Kentucky, easily won re-election over three contenders. Patton becomes the first Kentucky Governor to be elected to a second term since 1800.
Kentucky Completes S&T Strategic Plan
The Kentucky Science and Technology Corp. (KSTC) has released Kentucky's Science and Technology Strategy, a plan outlining ten specific recommendations in four strategic areas to guide the Commonwealth's future R&D investments. If implemented, the recommendations are expected to have significant impact in just a few years.
Positions Available
Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership is seeking an Executive Director, who will oversee a staff of approximately 20 and a budget of more than $3 million. The successful candidate will be able to create a vision for the growing organization, the leadership skills to achieve that vision, and a strong interest in the growth and success of manufacturing. Applications are due August 9.