John Merrill will serve as executive director for the Greensboro Center for Innovative Development, a joint millennium campus and research park between University of North Carolina Greensboro and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

Wanted: all managers in private-sector research and development (R&D) facilities. The Southern Growth Policies Board is conducting a nationwide survey to gain insight into drivers and policies of industrial R&D. The survey attempts to illuminate university-company relationships.

The North Carolina Solar Center promoted Steve Kalland to the position of executive director.

Community colleges can play an important part in shaping the workforce in the science and technology (S&T) sector. For example, with the growth in biotech, there is an increasing need for technicians in the biotech field and workers are finding that they can prepare for these jobs rather quickly in community colleges. Technicians in biotech manufacturing facilities generally have two-year specialized training or an associate degree from a technical or community college, according to the U.S.

West Virginia University’s plan to develop strong research capabilities in a number of focused areas, creating hundreds of new jobs, may be completed in half the time originally anticipated. Gov. Bob Wise announced last week a $24.4 million funding package to jump-start the implementation of new research facilities and laboratories on the WVU campus.

Implementation of the Global Grid Exchange, a state-sponsored open public computing grid in West Virginia, is underway. Hewlett Packard will provide the infrastructure technology that will power the grid, an initiative of the West Virginia High Technology Consortium (WVHTC) Foundation.

Earlier this month, Gov. Ernie Fletcher announced Darrell Brock and Jim Host as new co-chairmen of ConnectKentucky. Brock, commissioner of the governor's Office for Local Development, and Commerce Cabinet Secretary Host joined existing chairman John Hall, retired chairman and CEO of Ashland Inc.

David Winwood is the new director of North Carolina State University's Centennial Campus.

Carol Ann Dykes is the new president of the National Association of Management and Technical Assistance Centers.

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.

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.

The President wants $87 billion for the war in Iraq. Congress is looking at a month-long continuing resolution for the budget since final approval on most appropriation bills is at least that far in the future. Meanwhile, the persistence of the recession, the restructuring of U.S. manufacturing due in part to globalization, and the continued hemorrhaging of tax revenues has led several governors, state legislatures and community leaders to begin rethinking their economic development strategies.

Scott Doron has been promoted to director for the Southern Technology Council, the advisory council on innovation and technology policy issues for the Southern Growth Policies Board.

Robert McMahan has been named North Carolina's Science Advisor. In addition to advising the Governor on science and technology matters, McMahan will oversee the support staff for the North Carolina Board of Science and Technology. The advisor position will report to the secretary of the Department of Commerce.

Gwyn Riddick recently was named director of the new Piedmont Triad office of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.

In its second attempt to distribute $225 million across the state to local economic development projects, after a lawsuit successfully challenged the initial selection process, the West Virginia Development office is poised to award nearly $47.5 million to directly benefit several technology-specific initiatives.

North Carolina took another step toward improving technology-based economic opportunity for its citizens when Gov. Michael Easley signed into law House Bill 1194 earlier this month. The bill creates the e-NC Authority, which will continue the work of the existing Rural Internet Access Authority for three more years, beginning January 2004.

More workers in North Carolina will be trained for jobs in biotechnology, thanks to the Golden LEAF Foundation's recent $60 million commitment to the emerging industry. In all, $64.5 million is going toward a training initiative, with North Carolina's biotech industry expected to contribute $4.5 million.

Tom Clarkson was named the new director of Wake Forest University's Babcock Demon Incubator, replacing Paul Briggs.