The fifth installment of the Tech Talkin' Govs series includes highlights from state of the state, budget and inaugural addresses from governors in Alabama, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Utah.

Lonnie Emard has been named interim director of the Consortium for Enterprise Systems Management, a recently formed collaboration of business, academic and economic development organizations intended to build information technology (IT) opportunities in South Carolina.

Texas leaders have fully embraced the importance that strongly supported top-tier research universities can serve for attracting and retaining high-wage technology companies and as drivers for future economic growth. With Tuesday’s passage of Proposition 4 by a solid 56.7 percent majority, it is evident the voting population of the Lone Star State gets it as well.

Kathy Collins has been appointed as the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Network (WEN) regional director in Madison. Previously, Collins worked as the technology and financial development manager in the Commerce Division of Business Development.

Ron Cox has been appointed as the assistant dean for economic development in the engineering college at Iowa State University. He retains his current position as director of CIRAS, the Center for Industrial Research and Service.

Providing access to startup capital, promoting biotechnology, and investing in the green economy to create and grow jobs are among the priorities of Gov. Pat Quinn's Illinois Economic Recovery Plan presented during a speech in December. The governor's plan would establish an Angel Investment Tax Credit program to allow investors making an early-stage investment in a technology startup to receive a capped credit against their Illinois tax bill.

Gov. Gary Herbert unveiled last month an $11.3 billion spending plan for FY11 that maintains level funding for higher education and slightly reduces funding for the Utah Science Technology and Research initiative (USTAR). The governor's FY11 budget plan addresses a $693 million shortfall, which is spread across FY10-11 and anticipates $34 million in state revenue growth during the next year.  Read more ...

The Piedmont Triad Research Park laid off Bill Dean, director of the park, and Nancy Johnson, marketing director. Park officials said that the park's project manager and executive assistant also were laid off.

Gov. Pat Quinn recently signed into law a six-year, $31 billion Jobs Now plan and smaller capital bill supporting science and technology research and commercialization and broadband deployment. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) will administer several of the grants.

Rebecca Blank, the acting U.S. secretary of Commerce, is expected to be the next chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison. The Board of Regents is scheduled to vote on the recommendation April 5.

Mark Lytle has been named the University System of Georgia's new vice chancellor for economic development.

Frederick Cartwright has been appointed the executive director of the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research.

The budget agreement reached by Texas lawmakers earlier this week includes $50 million in new funds to provide grants to technology companies for research and commercialization activities under the Emerging Technology Fund (ETF). A bill to address accountability and transparency of the fund was passed in the House, but later removed from the Senate calendar despite controversy surrounding the decision-making authority of the grants.

W. Steven Burke is the new president of Biofuels Center of North Carolina.

Seven emerging research universities in Texas would receive funding and incentives to help advance their status to nationally-recognized tier one schools following passage of HB 51, awaiting Gov. Rick Perry's signature.

Not all of the news coming out of governors' offices is bad for TBED strategies. For example, just in the past week, governors in Missouri, Ohio and Texas proposed increases in state investments for job creation in emerging fields, higher education scholarships, and technology commercialization and research programs. The following overview provides highlights of their recommendations for TBED proposals in the upcoming fiscal year or biennium.

Did your New Year's resolutions involve making a career change? If so and you've yet to fulfill that resolution, visit the SSTI Job Corner at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.



In addition to the new opportunities described below, the SSTI Job Corner has openings for these positions:

Chris Roybal announced he is stepping down as senior economic development advisor of the Utah Governor's Office to become president and chief operating officer of the Northwest Research Corp., effective Feb. 2.