South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford announced that his budget for fiscal year 2007-08 will include a request for $2 million to bring high-speed Internet access to rural parts of the state. This allocation from the state’s Capital Reserve Fund would be used to create a Rural Broadband fund to increase broadband penetration in underserved communities and is designed to boost economic development by providing Internet access to students, businesses and entrepreneurs.

 

Business community advocacy for public investments in technology-based economic development (TBED) may make the difference between legislators appropriating programs $1 million or $100 million.

Angie Dvorak, vice president of research and economic development for the University of Southern Mississippi, is becoming president of the university's research foundation.

Joe James, director of the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness, has resigned his position with the S.C. Department of Commerce.

SSTI congratulates Tom Persons, president and CEO of the South Carolina Technology Alliance, for receiving the Individual Achievement Award from the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce.

Thomas Persons Sr., president and CEO of the South Carolina Technology Alliance, was appointed to the newly created South Carolina Venture Capital Authority.

A new economic development council formed in South Carolina has been charged with two objectives: help reshape the state’s economy and raise its per-capita income. Members of the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness, a group of business, academia, government and economic development leaders, were announced earlier this month.

The South Carolina Technology Alliance calls it the most significant victory for South Carolina's research universities and tech entrepreneurs in the last 50 years. An idle exaggeration? Probably not.

The Trent Lott National Center of Excellence for Economic Development & Entrepreneurship is pleased to announce its inaugural Excellence in Technology Based Economic Development Research award will be made to Dr. Edward Feser on Oct. 19, 2007, at the SSTI 11th Annual Conference in Baltimore.

 

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

Tony Jeff is the new executive director of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership of Mississippi.

Joseph James is the new chief operating officer for the South Carolina Department of Commerce.

Gary Schneider is the new chairman of the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce (S.C.).

University of Southern Mississippi Research Foundation President Angie Dvorak was named president of the Area Development Partnership. Dvorak currently serves on the organization’s executive committee.

South Carolina Research Authority president Larry Druffel has announced he will retire next year.

As the nation's economy shifts to knowledge- and technology-based industries, Mississippi's colleges and universities must provide expertise and leadership to attract new jobs and build a stable state economy, members of a special committee told the state House of Representatives last week.

In last week's Tech Talkin' Govs II article, we inadvertently listed Mark Warner as the Governor of South Carolina. Gov. Warner leads the Commonwealth of Virginia. Mark Sanford is Governor of South Carolina. SSTI regrets the error.

Leland Speed has been named the new executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority.

Andy Taggart has been appointed president and chief executive officer of the Mississippi Technology Alliance.

With $90 million already secured in state and private support, a 400-acre automotive research campus to be developed by Clemson University promises to make South Carolina a hub of the nation's automotive and motorsports industry.

South Carolina's three major research universities were awarded a total of $30 million this week to establish the state's first six centers of excellence, according to The State, a Columbia, S.C.-based newspaper.

Community buy-in to building a technology-based economy is vital for TBED success. Establishing a strong private sector commitment to science and technology can make a significant difference, particularly as elected officials are deciding what to cut or trim from the budget. TBED organizations use different approaches to get the buy-in. In states such as Massachusetts (see story in this Digest), the top-down direction from the Governor could provide the group critical access.

The Greenville Spartanburg Anderson Technology Council has named Philip Yanov executive director.

The Mississippi Technology Alliance has released a second annual index focusing on the process of innovation, the links between innovation and technology-based economic development, and activities that government, academia and the private sector provide to support innovation and economic development.

The South Carolina Women's Business Center has opened its doors and already has 30 customers, the South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (SCMEP) recently announced. Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., the Women's Business Center will focus on serving only manufacturing facilities in 2003 but will add services to other types of businesses in 2004.