American business leaders rue the lack of home-grown skilled workers. This is a problem governors and legislators have been acknowledging for years. However, a recent report from The Thomas B. Fordham Institute indicates that many states continue to ignore the need for strong science curriculums as a means of producing workers for an increasingly high-tech economy.
“American science performance is lagging as the economy becomes increasingly high tech, but our current science standards are doing little to solve the problem. Reviewers evaluated science standards for every state for this report and their findings were deeply troubling: The majority of states earned Ds or Fs for their standards in this crucial subject, with only six jurisdictions receiving As.”
Here’s another quote from the report that cuts right to the chase:
“The results of this rigorous analysis paint a fresh—but still bleak—picture. A majority of the states’ standards remain mediocre to awful. In fact, the average grade across all states is—once again—a thoroughly undistinguished C. (In fact, it’s a low C.) In twenty-seven jurisdictions, the science standards earn a D or below.”
If you have an hour and a half to kill it would be worthwhile to watch this presentation of the report’s findings:
The 2011 BIO International Convention brought together over 15,000 leaders from industry, government and academia who are working to solve some of the sector’s biggest challenges. Last year’s event was a highly successful meeting with representation from all fifty states and 65 nations involved in innovation and manufacturing of life science technologies for the marketplace. We were honored to host governors from 11 U.S. states as they promote their bioscience economic development endeavors.
Here’s a little video we put together featuring Governors’ participation at the 2011 convention:
Governors at the 2011 BIO International Convention:
State legislatures throughout the country are back in session – or soon will be. That means it is time for governors to deliver their annual state of the state addresses. In fact, several have already happened.
Just in the last week, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon and West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomlin made reference to the biotech industry as an important part of their economic development strategy. As the economy continues to slowly chug upward, job creation will undoubtedly continue to be a watchword for lawmakers.
Governor Nixon presented his State of the State address last night, in which he outlined his Missouri Works strategy, a comprehensive study to create career opportunities. An important component of his strategy is to train more workers for high-tech careers and jump start job-creation in science and technology.
Governor Nixon stated, “One pillar of Missouri Works is to accelerate investment in high-growth industries like science and technology. With more than 1,000 agribusiness, life science and biotech companies, Missouri is already home to some of the brightest minds and innovators in the world. With the passage last year of the Missouri Science and Innovation Reinvestment Act, we are poised for rapid progress. As part of Missouri Works, my budget includes $4 million in seed capital to invest in attracting the very best science talent to Missouri. By speeding the flow of innovations out of the lab and into the marketplace, we’re growing these industries today and creating the high-tech jobs of tomorrow.”
Special thanks to MO BIO for the heads-up on Governor’s Nixon’s above statement.
Gov. Jay Nixon delivers the State of the State address at the State Capitol in Jefferson City, Missouri on January 17, 2012.
“We must also continue to bridge the gap between our education system, its research components and the potential for new business development with, job creation. One of the best examples of the fusion of these three areas can be found in Morgantown at Protea Biosciences. Protea was launched as a spin-off from West Virginia University in 2001. It was largely financed by a loan from West Virginia Jobs Investment Trust. Protea was recently recognized as one of the Top Ten Innovative Technology Companies in the world for the life sciences.
Governor Earl Ray Tomblin delivers his 2012 State of the State Address at the State Capital in Charleston, West Virginia on January 11, 2012.
This recognition was for the development of a first of its kind imaging technology that allows for real-time imaging of live cells. The result is that Protea, a start-up company nurtured here in West Virginia, will revolutionize the precision and speed by which cancer is diagnosed and monitored.
Protea represents in every way what I know West Virginia can produce with smart partnerships between our colleges, universities and the private sector.”
Last week the Council of State Bioscience Associations (CSBA) held its annual retreat in Austin, TX, where 42 different state-based bioscience advocacy organization gathered to discuss legislative and regulatory best practices that support bioscience industry development.
More than 90 invited participants engaged in discussions covering the topics of economic development initiatives, upcoming federal and state legislative industry priorities, and advocacy campaigns in the digital era.
BIO’s State Government Relations team would like to once again extend our gratitude to Tom Kowalski of the Texas Healthcare & Bioscience Institute. Tom has been a longtime participant in the CSBA, previously serving as the board chair, and he is a current board member. In addition to being an invaluable resource to other members within the council, he was a gracious host at this year’s retreat. Thank you, Tom!
In addition to Pete Pellerito’s role as the Interim Vice President of State Government Relations and Alliance Development at BIO, he is presently the executive director of the CSBA. Pete has been a mainstay and principal advisor through the 15 year history of the association. Pete has also been an important element of the CSBA’s growth through his participation in the creation of numerous state bioscience associations.
We are pleased to have these distinguished state trade association leaders from across the nation come together to collaborate and share insights on vital economic development and regulatory matters facing our industry. These groups are recognized by BIO as affiliate organizations in their respective states. We look forward to the council’s continued engagement as we keep our industry vibrant and competitive in an increasingly global economy.
American business leaders rue the lack of home-grown skilled workers. This is a problem governors and legislators have been acknowledging for years. However, a recent report from The Thomas B. Fordham Institute indicates that many states continue to ignore the need for strong science curriculums as a means of producing workers for an increasingly high-tech economy.
