The board of directors of Mid-America Manufacturing Technology Center (MAMTC) has appointed Lavon Winkler as its new president and CEO.

A minimum $500 million 10-year investment to encourage biotech and entrepreneurship may soon become a reality for Kansas. With Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' approval of the Kansas Economic Growth Act, Kansas will set in motion a variety of new programs to encourage research, innovation and technology commercialization.

One of the hottest political topics this year is the outsourcing of U.S. jobs to other countries. A Google search on "outsourcing" returns about 4.8 million pages. Reports from Gartner, Forrester Research, McKinsey & Company, AeA, and the Institute for International Economics, among others, have looked at the topic and fed the interest.

Ten foundations have joined forces to create an eight-year $100 million New Economy Initiative for southeastern Michigan, with a goal of transitioning the region’s economy toward more knowledge-intensive industries. Three foundations, Ford, Kellogg and Kresge – each created from the personal fortunes made by some of the founders from the state’s historic economic bases – have contributed $25 million toward the effort. Additional support ranging from $1.5 million to $10 million is being provided by seven other community foundations.

Public universities in most states compete with other state priorities for appropriations each year or two-year budget cycle. With the state’s fiscal year ending Sept. 30, no new budget passed by the legislature and a projected state revenue deficit of more than $1.5 billion for 2008, universities in Michigan may feel greater pressure to assert their importance to the state’s economy.

More information on these opportunities and others is available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

It only seems natural that SSTI celebrate the premiere professional development event for the nation's tech-based economic development community in 2009 in a state that, for 20 years, has pioneered innovative approaches to transform regional economies -­ Kansas. SSTI's 13th annual conference and pre-conference workshops will be held at the Sheraton Overland Park Hotel on Oct. 20-22, 2009.

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.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius made public on Wednesday the details of a statewide economic revitalization plan designed to stimulate and strengthen the Kansas economy. Included in the plan are several items that could help boost tech-based economic development (TBED) in the state:

Donald Jakeway will be the new president and CEO for the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

The Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation (KTEC), the state's lead corporation to promote advanced technology economic development, has developed a new investment program to help early-stage technology companies get the capital boost they need.

Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm has vowed to enlist her fellow governors in the fight to maintain the nation’s vital manufacturing industry. At a recent meeting of automotive industry executives and experts in Traverse City, Mich., Granholm used her keynote speech to call for actions that will stave off the loss of manufacturing jobs in the U.S.

The Great Lakes Entrepreneur's Quest has hired Arthur DeMonte as its first executive director. DeMonte was global director of the e-Business Technology Center at Dow Chemical.

Prompted by confusion over the dual rulings in the University of Michigan affirmative action cases last year, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering have released a new report to clarify the legalities and offer options for implementing and sustaining diversity programs within science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

Kenneth Lynn has been appointed president of KCCatalyst. Lynn formerly was a consultant to biotechnology companies assisting in technology acquisition, strategic planning, and commercial development.

During the recent past, heavy loss of manufacturing jobs has created considerable economic upheaval in several states, particularly the industrial heartland of the country where manufacturing represents more of a state's private payrolls than the national average. Michigan, alone, lost 18 percent of its manufacturing-related jobs from 2000 to 2003, a staggering 163,000 mostly high-wage jobs. Still, the manufacturing sector comprises 17 percent of the total jobs in the Great Lakes state.

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius named Howard Fricke to serve as secretary of the state's Commerce Department.

Flanked by the Kansas Senate President and House Speaker, Republican legislators unveiled on Tuesday a two-pronged agenda to encourage entrepreneurship and biotechnology across the state. The plan calls for the state to invest at least $500 million over the next 10 years through a variety of new programs to encourage research, innovation and technology commercialization.

Last Thursday, Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed bills to aid Michigan’s tool and die industry and to promote new venture capital investment in the state’s high-tech industries.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation has named Sandy Ring to the new position of vice president for economic development policy.

Lizabeth Ardisana was elected Chairperson of the Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, becoming the first woman to hold the position in the state.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm unveiled her fiscal year 2009 budget last week, proposing to refinance a portion of the state’s general obligation and taxable tobacco bonds and reduce spending across nearly all state departments in order to finance new proposals without raising taxes.

 

The first director of the new Automation Alley Technology Center will be Thomas Anderson.

Thomas Anderson is the new director of the Automation Alley Technology Center in Michigan.

Tim Witsman recently resigned as president of the Wichita Area Chamber of Commerce to pursue other opportunities in the community. Witsman headed the area's lead economic development agency for 15 years.