Sandy Baruah has been selected to become the president and CEO of the Detroit Regional Chamber, effective March 15.

John Collar, the chief executive officer and president of the Colorado BioScience Association, resigned this week to pursue other business opportunities. Denise Brown has been selected serve as the organization's interim executive director while a search is conducted for Collar's replacement.

A plan to provide loans and specialized training to foster entrepreneurship recently was announced by Gov. Jennifer Granholm. The two-pronged, $43 million strategy consists of a loan partnership between credit unions and Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Centers with specialized training provided through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation's FastTrac NewVenture Program.

Ray Gilley resigned as chief executive of the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission after nine years on the job. Gilley was responsible for helping lure the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute to Central Florida.

Peter Ginsberg joined the North Carolina Biotechnology Center as vice president of Business & Technology Development.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the selection of 10 regional economic development and job creation efforts through a new pilot program, Innovative Economies, that supports small business participation in regional economic clusters. SBA's funding is designed to expand the opportunities and the role small businesses play in these regional collaborations. The awardees were selected from among 173 applicants. Awards went to organizations in: Alabama, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio and South Carolina.

Since 2006, Michigan's economic development programs designed to transition its economy from the traditional manufacturing-based economy to an economy driven by clusters of innovative manufacturers and service providershave led to more than 24,407 direct and indirect jobs created or retained, the creation of approximately 1,500 new companies and almost 900 patents.

Neal Wade will resign his position as director of the Alabama Development Office in November and has been named senior vice president of economic development for St. Joe, one of Florida's largest real estate development companies.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm today signed legislation creating Centers of Energy Excellence, a program designed to bring companies, academic institutions, and the state together to create jobs in alternative and advanced energy. The initiative, passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, is part of an overall job creation and economic stimulus package proposed by the governor in her State of the State address earlier this year (see the Jan.

A delegation of Automation Alley representatives recently traveled to the White House to receive the 2008 "E" Award for exporting. The Presidential 'E' Award was created by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to recognize persons, firms or organizations which contribute significantly to increase U.S. exports.
 

A consortium of Michigan’s 15 public universities recently announced a decade-long initiative to launch 200 new businesses in the state. The Michigan Initiative for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MIIE) plans to raise and distribute $75 million over the next seven years through grants for commercialization projects, university-industry partnerships and entrepreneurship education.

Last month, Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced legislative approval of two TBED priorities unveiled during her State of the State Address, a program supporting in-state entrepreneurs and continued investment in an initiative to train displaced workers. 

The outcome of Tuesday's election resulted in several wins and some defeats for TBED among the more than 150 ballot measures presented to voters across the nation. Outlined below are the unofficial election results of select ballot measures from each state's respective election office and local media reports as of Wednesday, Nov. 5.

The University of Utah (U of U) announced last month two significant investments in TBED supported by USTAR, the state-funded initiative to grow Utah's knowledge economy.

More than half of the country’s governors have delivered their state of the state addresses. Last week’s addresses tended to relate to the national election and the incoming administration, with some governors heralding the change and others pledging to try to reach a bipartisan understanding while standing firm on issues they believe in, like climate change in California. Although TBED issues may not have been at the forefront of the addresses, science, technology and especially innovation and higher education continue to receive attention. This week we zero in on comments delivered by governors in California, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana and Utah.

The Obama administration announced winners of the Advanced Manufacturing Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge on Tuesday. The challenge — publicized earlier this year — is one of the key initiatives of the interagency Taskforce for the Advancement of Regional Innovation Clusters and is sponsored by a partnership between the U.S. Department of Commerce, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Departments of Energy and Labor, and the Small Business Administration.

While election night's main focus was on the presidential race, the importance of ballot measures for states and metros is growing as public services and budgets are being severely trimmed. A recent article in The New Republic reports on a new trend where states are embracing ballot measures as a potential source of dedicated funds for targeted investments in regional economic growth and development.

Gov. Lincoln Chafee has nominated Deputy Director William Parsons to lead the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation.

Gov. Rick Perry has appointed J. Bruce Bugg, Jr. as president and chairman of the Texas Economic Development Corp.

Gov.-elect Steve Bullock tapped Meg O'Leary to be the Montana Commerce Department director.

As the outlook for general revenue funds improves in many states, governors are looking to boost investment in higher education and STEM as a means for growing the economy and enhancing the workforce. Universities' economic return to states can be quite impactful.

Spencer Eccles, executive director of the Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development, is departing state government to form a private investment company.

Travis Sheridan, currently the assistant vice president for innovation and entrepreneurship for the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, will become the new executive director of the Venture Café Foundation.

Recent announcements of new and emerging technology incubators range from Google's selection of Cape Town, South Africa to launch a pilot incubator supporting technology entrepreneurs that it hopes to replicate globally to Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley's plan to create a statewide business incubator focusing on workforce training. Select announcements from across the globe are highlighted below.