Q&A with David M. Gipp, President, United Tribes Technical College (UTTC) - November 2011 Newsletter

November 2011 Newsletter

UTTC is a partner in the Upper Missouri Tribal Environmental Risk Mitigation project that recently received a $1.7 million award as part of the Obama Administration's $37 million Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge, a multi-agency competition to support the advancement of 20 high-growth, regional industry clusters.

David M. Gipp

David M. Gipp is president of United Tribes Technical College, an intertribal, post-secondary vocational technical college for American Indian students and their families in Bismarck, ND. Born at Fort Yates, ND, Gipp is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. His Hunkpapa Lakota name, Wicahpi Isnala, translates as Lone Star.

Spotlight: Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge

November 2011 Newsletter

Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge Winner New York Renewable Energy Cluster (NYREC): Carl Meyer, President/CEO, The Solar Energy Consortium; Judy Osburn, Grants Director , Orange County Community College (SUNY Orange); Enrique Rob Lunski, President, Gateway to Entrepreneurial Tomorrows, Inc.

Q: In developing the Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge, a key focus was to make federal funding more accessible by reducing the burden on applicants (e.g., allowing a single narrative capped at 50 pages to apply for EDA, ETA, and SBA funding). Is this something you found helpful?

Carl Meyer, President/CEO, The Solar Energy Consortium: Yes, the single narrative was very helpful. It allowed us to build consensus on what we were proposing. And it certainly saved some time.

Judy Osburn, Grants Director, SUNY Orange: After we got a better handle on the instructions, yes, it was very helpful.

Hot Topic

November 2011 Newsletter

EXCERPT: Over the past two years, Noonan said WESST Enterprise Center has created 136 new jobs in the Albuquerque area and generated $14.3 million in revenue. Nouveau, a women-owned cosmetics company, was acquired by a larger Dallas cosmetics company one year after joining the program. And IntelliCyt, a biotech company that's not women-owned, but is graduating from the WESST incubator next month, has doubled in size and is selling its products overseas. Click here to read CNN Money article.

Special Feature

November 2011 Newsletter

Building Stronger Economies through Technology: How EDA Helps

The dedication ceremony for the Ben Franklin TechVentures business incubator was held on October 20, 2011 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Historically, the economy of Pennsylvanias Lehigh Valley has been heavily reliant upon traditional manufacturing. The closure of two major employers, Bethlehem Steel Corp. and Mack Trucks, challenged Valley leaders to move to a more diversified, more technology oriented economy.