North Carolina Launches $85 Million Biotech Initiative
Golden LEAF, the statewide foundation established in 1999 to use one-half of the state's tobacco settlement for the long-term economic advancement of North Carolina, has announced an $85.4 million economic stimulus package it believes will significantly improve North Carolina's economy and make the state a leader in the biosciences industry. Foundation officials anticipate the public investment stimulating at least $350 million in new private and federal funding biotech activity in the state.
Job Corner: Carolina Center for Competitive Economies Seeks Associate Director for Research
The Carolina Center for Competitive Economies (C3E) at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, invites applications for the position of Associate Director for Research.
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The president of the Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corp, Alan DeLisle, is leaving to become director of the Office of Economic and Employment Development in Durham, N.C.
STC Identifies Leading Universities in Economic Development Efforts
Georgia Tech topped the nation in its efforts to help state and local agencies with economic development, according to a study released by the Southern Growth Policies Board's Southern Technology Council (STC).
Conducted by Louis Tornatzky and Paul Waugaman, senior fellows at STC, Innovation U.: New University Roles in a Knowledge Economy offers comprehensive case descriptions of how national research universities operate in the following areas:
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Carol Ann Dykes is the new president of the National Association of Management and Technical Assistance Centers.
North Carolina Creates Rural Entrepreneurship Institute
Coupling manufacturing's sharp employment drop with the perennial struggles of a rural economy and the current economic downturn can cause massive struggles for many of the country's sparsely populated areas. The closure or significant downsizing of one manufacturing plant can be terminal for a small, rural town.
Report Highlights Principles to Guide North Carolina’s New Economy
At a time when North Carolina is experiencing record-setting layoffs, the dot-com bubble has burst, and traditional industries are undergoing critical changes, North Carolina needs a cohesive, bipartisan economic development strategy that embraces the dynamics underlying the new economy, according to a new report issued by the Institute for Emerging Issues.
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Jane Patterson leaves the North Carolina Governor's Office this week to become the Director of the Rural Internet Access Authority, a new state authority.
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Margie Boccieri has announced she is leaving the North Carolina Governor's Office to join Southeast Interactive Technology Funds, a Research Triangle Park venture capital firm, as its Vice President of Business Development and Strategy.
Resources Focus on Innovative Practices at Rural Community Colleges
Regional Technology Strategies, Inc. (RTS), a national nonprofit workforce and economic development group based in Carrboro, N.C., has published Cultivating Successful Rural Economies: Benchmark Practices at Community Colleges.
Army to Create $125 Million Nano Center
The Army Research Office (ARO) recently created an initiative – a University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) to be known as the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies – to develop nanometer-scale science and technology solutions for soldiers.
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Dr. Raymond Taylor has joined the Southern Growth Policies Board leadership team as senior fellow and director of the organization's Council on the New Economy Workforce.
Venture Capital Fund for North Carolina Research Campus Doubles to $200M
The venture capital fund investing in biotechnology companies that locate to the North Carolina Research Campus is doubling its holdings to $200 million. This substantial increase is a result of a donation provided by David Murdock, the billionaire businessman and owner of Castle and Cooke Inc. who also provided the initial $100 million to start the fund. The venture capital fund is an integral component of the $1.5 billion biotechnology hub being constructed in Kannapolis, N.C.
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Mark Rudin, the interim vice president for research and graduate dean at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, will become the vice president for research at Boise State University, effective Jan. 1.
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The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University announced that Jon Fjeld is the executive director of its recently unveiled Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
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Joan Myers, president and CEO of Raleigh-based N.C. Technology Association, is the 2005-2007 president for the Council of Regional Information Technology Associations (CRITA).
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Ronnie Bryant, president and chief operating officer for the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, is leaving to become president and CEO of the 16-county Charlotte Regional Partnership in North Carolina.
Southern Growth Outlines Steps to Rural Prosperity
Building high-quality communities is the underpinning of long-term economic development, suggests new Southern Growth Policies Board research.
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David Archer is the new managing director for Nevada's Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology.
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The Greensboro, N.C.-based Nussbaum Center for Entrepreneurship has a new president, Michael Hentschel.
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Dan Lynch was named president of the Greensboro Economic Development Partnership.
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Bob Shriver recently resigned as director of the Nevada Commission on Economic Development. Tim Rubald, the commission's director of business development, has been named interim director.
Task Force Created to Attract VC to Southern Region
The South represents 20 percent of the nation's economic activity but attracts only 9 percent of the total U.S. venture capital invested. In an effort to bring those numbers closer together, the Southern Growth Policies Board recently announced the creation of a multi-state task force dubbed VentureSouth. Virginia Gov.
Index Reveals South Lags Overall U.S. Workforce
As low-skill, labor intensive jobs are increasingly replaced by technology or outsourced in the emerging knowledge-based economy, a two-tiered labor market has emerged, thus presenting a challenge for workers to either work cheaper or work smarter, says a new report from the Southern Growth Policies Board. Only one of those options is appealing for those trying to improve your standard of living.
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Diane Duff, former director of economic development and commerce for the National Governors Association, is the new executive director of the Southern Governors' Association.