Indiana K-12 Education

Congratulations to David Johnson, President & CEO of the BioCrossroads life sciences initiative, who was appointed by the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Board of Directors as CICP's new President & CEO this afternoon:

BioCrossroads President David Johnson is named President & CEO of Central Indiana Corporate Partnership

Johnson will succeed Mark Miles at helm of regional CEO alliance; will continue to lead CICP’s BioCrossroads life sciences initiative

(INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., December 18, 2012) The Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) announced today that BioCrossroads CEO David Johnson will succeed Mark Miles as its President & CEO.  CICP is a coalition of the CEOs of major private employers and university presidents focused on the long-term economic vitality of the region and state.  Johnson was an original organizer of BioCrossroads, the life sciences initiative founded by CICP in 2002, and has served as its President & CEO since 2005; in this role, he also serves as a member of the CICP Executive Committee.

The CICP Board of Directors selected Johnson by acclamation at its meeting this afternoon to succeed Mark Miles, who recently ended his five-year tenure with the influential economic development group to take on the post of CEO of Hulman & Company.

“We didn’t have to look far afield to find there is no better prepared or qualified candidate to take the reins at CICP than David Johnson,” said Denny Oklak, Chairman of Duke Realty and co-chair of CICP.  “David helped create and has led CICP’s first industry initiative [BioCrossroads], knows the organization intimately through his participation on our Executive Committee, and is well-respected by the business community, policymakers and opinion leaders alike for his tenure at BioCrossroads as well as an illustrious legal career and many civic endeavors.”

At BioCrossroads, Johnson has been responsible for raising more than $140 million in dedicated venture capital for Indiana life sciences start-up companies and roughly $100 million in philanthropic funding focused on strategic initiatives in science and technology education, health informatics, and most recently OrthoWorx, a regional partnership to grow the orthopedics sector in and around Warsaw, Indiana.  He will continue in his role as President & CEO of BioCrossroads along with his new duties at CICP.

“David has made BioCrossroads a national model for how private industry, academia, research institutions and the public sector can work together to capitalize on an industry cluster and promote real economic growth,” noted Jo Ann Gora, President of Ball State University and co-chair of CICP.  “BioCrossroads paved the way for the many successes of CICP’s other initiatives – Conexus Indiana, TechPoint, and the Energy Systems Network – and David has been there every step of the way. 

“He has been a valuable partner to Mark [Miles] and the rest of the CICP team, and he is uniquely qualified to follow him as President & CEO.”

In taking the helm at CICP, Johnson will oversee a growing portfolio of initiatives focused on workforce development, entrepreneurship, innovation and business climate with a continued emphasis on key economic sectors – the life sciences, advanced manufacturing and logistics, information technology and energy.  CICP is also a leading advocate for regional mass transit and an increasingly active voice on issues like K-12 education reform.

“The collective influence and insight of CICP’s members make it a real catalyst for economic progress,” said Johnson.  “I’m honored to be chosen to lead the group and welcome the challenge of building on the momentum generated by Mark Miles, who brought so much energy and an innovative spirit to the role.”

According to Johnson, the need for a CEO-led group like CICP has only grown since the organization was founded in 1998.

“In 2001, CICP put forward a blueprint for economic development that still guides policymakers today, and over the last decade built the infrastructure for initiatives like BioCrossroads, Conexus, TechPoint and the Energy Systems Network to energize our major industries,” Johnson continued.  “Today we still face major challenges – educating Hoosiers for tomorrow’s careers, creating more high-skill jobs in Indiana, building an entrepreneurial business climate – and we need an organization with the credibility and clout to tackle our most daunting issues.”

Prior to his time as President of BioCrossroads, Johnson was a partner with the Indianapolis-based law firm Baker & Daniels (now Faegre Baker Daniels) with a practice that included public finance, major public-private investment projects and economic development transactions.  He serves on the Purdue Research Foundation board, the IU Research & Technology Corporation External Advisory Committee, and the Notre Dame Graduate Studies and Research Council.  He is also a member of the Indianapolis Charter School Board.

He is a graduate of Harvard University (where he was a Rhodes Scholar) and Harvard Law; he served on the staff of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee before embarking on his legal career.

Johnson will assume his new responsibilities with CICP effective immediately.

CNBC has released its annual Top States for Business rankings – while Indiana ranks a fairly pedestrian 21^st on the overall list, the sub-category rankings are more interesting, giving several reasons for optimism and at least one looming cause for concern.

The state continues to score high in costs of doing business, ranking 9^th among states (up from 13^th in 2009), and we continue to rank among the top handful of states (6^th) in transportation infrastructure, anchoring our strong logistics sector.

We made significant progress in access to capital, moving from the bottom third of states (36^th) in 2009 to the middle of the pack (26^th) this year.  This blog has covered Indiana’s progress in making venture capital available to promising start-up firms – the state has bucked national trends by growing equity investment over the last two years, even as the national venture market contracted during the recession.  We made a tremendous jump from 41^st to 20^th in venture capital investment per capita from 2008 to 2009.

We moved up five spots in the ‘Economy’ category (mainly a measure of economic diversity and success in attracting corporate headquarters) and stayed about the same in Cost of Living (a perpetual strength) and Technology/Innovation.

Our biggest challenge continues to be found in the Workforce arena, where we slipped ten spots from last year’s rankings, from 31^st to 42^nd.  CNBC considers the educational attainment of the workforce, union membership, available workers and the placement success of vocational training programs in arriving at this category.  While the exact conglomeration of data can be argued, the broader point cannot – certainly Indiana faces a shortfall in educated workers that must be addressed.

CICP’s initiatives are working against this daunting task – Conexus Indiana is collaborating with higher education partners to create ‘industry-approved’ training programs in manufacturing and logistics, and marketing these programs to young Hoosiers as the path to high-tech careers.  The BioCrossroads life sciences initiative has partnered with Purdue University, Notre Dame and others on programs like the I-STEM Network, a resource to improve math, science and technology education at the K-12 level, as well as expanding access to Advanced Placement coursework to ease the transition from high school to college.

It will take these efforts and the focused attention of policymakers, educators, corporate and civic leaders to climb the ranks of educated states.  But in today’s knowledge-based economy, no other area is as important in predicting our future economic success.

Read more about the CNBC rankings and view the state listing here.

Many corporate and community leaders have noticed a disturbing tendency lately from Indiana’s education establishment – an inclination to make excuses rather than aim higher when it comes to student achievement.

Earlier this year, a simple but compelling reform was proposed in the Indiana General Assembly – Hoosier schools should focus more resources and attention on early reading education, and be required to teach every student to read by the end of third grade. 

Volumes of academic research showed that if students aren’t reading proficiently by the end of third grade, their chances of ever catching up to their peers plummet.  The odds of graduating high school, much less going on to college, drop dramatically as well – their futures are put in jeopardy.

The premise of reform was simple: Make reading education the top priority of the early grades, and if students aren’t reading at grade level at the end of third grade, get them special help and make sure they can read before promoting them to the fourth. 

We were dismayed by the reaction from the teachers unions and many administrators.  Some protested, incredibly, that holding students back hurt them more than being illiterate.  They demanded more funding, arguing that it was unfair to expect schools to teach kids to read within their existing budgets (more than $10,000 per pupil on average, statewide).

Eventually, the Indiana Department of Education was authorized to study the need for reading reform, and is crafting a plan to end social promotion without reading proficiency.  But the reflexive opposition against such a common-sense approach to improving accountability and learning was disturbing.

We had a similar feeling reading the reactions to the Indiana Department of Education’s recently-expressed goal that at least 25% of Hoosier high schoolers should pass at least one Advanced Placement exam, better preparing them for college studies.  The DOE asserts that the 25% goal, while ambitious, is based on PSAT tests that show at least a third of students have the ability to excel in AP coursework if they apply themselves. 

Instead of embracing the goal, some educators again turned to excuses.  Editorials arguing that AP curricula would have to be watered down in order to allow one of every four students to pass were published by the Indianapolis Star.  Others said that only higher-income students in suburban schools could hope to pass AP exams in such numbers – an especially unconscionable message, since education is the surest route out of poverty for underprivileged students.  (CICP Board member Steve Burns responded to these arguments with his own editorial.)

Taking in these arguments while recalling the third grade reading debate could evoke only one response – “Here we go again.”

In business, you motivate employees by setting high standards and challenging them to succeed.  You don’t embrace a philosophy of pessimism by setting the bar continually lower.  Schools aren’t businesses, but the same principle applies:  Students will live up to – or down to – the expectations we set for them.

Indiana ranks among the least-educated states in the nation, with fewer college graduates per capita than most states and a high school graduate rate mired in the middle of the pack.  In today’s knowledge-based economy, this is the most daunting challenge faced by Hoosiers.

To confront it, we first need a common understanding between educators, policymakers, families, civic and corporate leaders alike – we have to set our sights higher if we want to inspire real progress.  On issues like reading and Advanced Placement exams, we have a choice between making excuses and demanding excellence .  We must speak with one voice for the latter.

There is the occasional sign of progress.  The Indiana State Teachers Association recently embraced performance-based teacher compensation as part of the Department of Education’s application for a federal Teacher Incentive Fund grant.

But it still seems as if we have a long way to go towards making Indiana’s educational culture one that embraces accountability, higher standards and student learning above all.  Good teachers embrace this approach – we need more of them speaking out, and policies that empower them.

Plotting a post-Rust Belt future for the Midwest

Carol D’Amico

What is the future of Midwest cities that have been heavily dependent on the automotive industry?  That was the issue we discussed at a White House symposium last week held at the U.S. Department of Labor in conjunction with the Brookings Institution, a Washington DC think tank.  Representatives from Ohio, Michigan and Indiana attended to discuss our common challenges as we seek to revitalize an economic base that’s traditionally reliant on automotive manufacturing.

A few observations from the day:  First of all, we should be very proud that our region still makes things for a living.  As one participant remarked, we have been and still are innovators.  Things we can't live without were invented in the Midwest - cars, refrigeration, air conditioning, and the bar code among countless others.  The Midwestern work ethic combined with our propensity to “tinker” and seek continuous improvement have helped us build a rich manufacturing heritage.  These traits can  continue to serve us well if we are smart about it.

What also struck me is we have common aspirations to diversify our dependence on the automotive industry and to be the leader in life sciences, alternative energy, logistics and bio agriculture.  We discussed common problems like difficulty in funding of start-up companies and the bias lenders have against manufacturing (too often dismissed as an industry stuck in the past, even as it invests more than any other U.S. economic sector in R&D innovation).  And perhaps the biggest issue of all, the challenge of up-skilling an older, entrenched workforce and shaking off our “rust belt” image to attract young talent to our landlocked states.

For that day we were in solidarity, confronting these common challenges and brainstorming solutions.  But outside the DC conference room,  we are fierce competitors when it comes to attracting new jobs and investment to our states.  It isn’t realistic to think that each of us can  be the leader of the new industries.  One of us is going to be better at it than the others.  So what will it take to stand out in this crowded field and how competitive is Indiana in the race?

First, the basics.  Indiana boasts a pro-growth tax climate.  Central geography and strong infrastructure.  Aggressive and well thought-out economic development efforts.  Enlightened and energized leadership.  All areas in which we excel.

We’ve also already made significant progress towards diversifying our manufacturing sector.  According to an analysis by Ball State University’s Bureau of Business Research, Indiana’s automotive and auto parts manufacturing industry employs more than 110,000 Hoosiers.  This is a tremendous number, but it represents just 16% of the state’s total manufacturing jobs.  Indiana also boasts strength in high-growth areas like pharma and medical device manufacturing, aerospace, HVAC and others.  And even within the automotive sector, we’re positioning ourselves as leaders in more cutting-edge areas like vehicle electrification.

Our Achilles heel in this race is the quality of our workforce.  A recent report that was done showed that we have 108,812 adults of workforce age who have less than a ninth grade education; another 273, 086 have less than a high school diploma.  This year over half the recipients of unemployment insurance lacked a high school diploma.  Unlike the old days, there are no good paying jobs for those adults.  Another 1,125,166 adults have only a high school diploma and no college.  These adults too have limited opportunities in the new economy we aspire to build. 

Until we get serious about addressing this issue our ability as a state to be the economic development leader among the Midwest states is problematic.  And it isn’t just the Midwest states that we compete with – it is all other states and the industrialized world. 

There are no easy fixes – this was the primary takeaway from  our event last week.  We need a more robust adult education system; a more effective K-12 system; colleges focused on graduating more adults within a reasonable period of time; and a modern, government-supported workforce development system instead of the antique we operate under today built in 1945 for a very different economy and era.  Indiana’s progress towards these goals will define our competitive advantage in manufacturing for generations to come. 

D’Amico is Senior Advisor to Conexus Indiana, the state’s advanced manufacturing and logistics initiative.

Featured today on Inside Indiana Business:

Hoosier students must graduate high school ready to succeed

Mark Miles

Last week, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education began providing a valuable new tool for Indiana high schools – specific reports that show how many of each school’s graduating class went on to college, where they enrolled, and how many required remedial math or English classes once they made it to campus.

I’m guessing that many, if not most, school districts are in for a rude awakening when they receive these reports.  Statewide data show that more than a quarter of all recent Hoosier high school graduates needed at least one remedial class as college freshmen.  Two-thirds of all community college students needed remediation.  We aren’t preparing our students at the K-12 level to succeed in higher education.

This creates a domino effect that eventually takes a steep toll on our economic competitiveness.  It places another burden on our higher education system, forcing these institutions to teach material that should have been mastered in high school.  The students who receive remediation start out behind and struggle to catch up – less than ten percent graduate from a four-year college program in six years or achieve a two-year degree within three.

These trends contribute to our generally dismal educational track record.  Just a third of Hoosier adults hold at least a two-year degree.  Indiana is mired in the middle of the pack in associates degrees awarded per capita, and we’re one of the least-educated states in the nation as measured by four-year college graduates in our adult population.

 In today’s economy, failing to complete some education beyond high school is tantamount to surrendering to a life of low wages, high unemployment and missed opportunities.  The days when a high school diploma served as a ticket to a good job at the local factory are long gone.  Indiana’s fastest-growing industries, like the life sciences and technology fields, demand a highly-skilled workforce.  In manufacturing, traditional assembly line jobs have disappeared at a dizzying pace, while new jobs (in areas like electric vehicles and aerospace) require advanced training.

At the macro level, a weakening workforce discourages new business investment in Indiana, as growing companies look to states and regions with strong human capital to locate and expand.

So what are some ways that can better prepare our young people to carry on their education after high school?

Many of our strategic economic initiatives are already working to address this issue.  BioCrossroads’ I-STEM initiative provides resources for K-12 teachers to better educate their students in the STEM disciplines – science, technology, engineering and math. 

Conexus Indiana is working to develop a high school curriculum that will prepare students to take advantage of high-tech careers in advanced manufacturing and logistics, leading them seamlessly into technical training and associate’s degree programs.  Conexus is also working with ‘champions’ (teachers and counselors) in 28 area high schools to promote careers in these industries to students, emphasizing technical education and the need for training beyond high school.

TechPoint has focused on alternative school models, sponsoring the New Tech High program at Arsenal Tech through its Foundation.  The New Tech program integrates technology and 21^st century learning strategies into the state curriculum, and is getting results.  Currently, the New Tech students’ passing rate for the Indiana Graduation Qualifying Exam is twice that of any other open-entry program on Arsenal’s Tech’s campus of 2,700 students.

We also have to recognize that the issues that hinder students from graduating from high school ready for college begin long before ninth grade.  During the legislative session, CICP was part of an effort to refocus our schools on early reading education, including a policy ending social promotion from 3^rd to 4^th grade unless students can read at grade level.  This is consistent with the Indiana Department of Education and State Board of Education, both of which have made reading education the top priority. 

It’s clear that students who have serious problems with reading early on continue to struggle throughout their academic careers – many drop out before graduating from high school, and their chances of completing a college degree are nearly nonexistent.  Making sure that these students get the extra attention they need starting in the critical K-3 years is an approach that will eventually lead to graduating classes more prepared to tackle post-secondary coursework.  Ultimately, the General Assembly empowered the Indiana Department of Education to enact this critical reform as part of a broader strategy for improving reading achievement.

There’s no ‘silver bullet’ strategy that will make every high school graduate ready for college or post-secondary training on day one.  But the data being generated by the Commission for Higher Education show that this is a challenge that demands our attention, part of the ‘big picture’ effort to raise our educational attainment and build a stronger workforce.  Being ready to continue one’s education after high school means being ready to succeed in our knowledge-based economy, and to be a valuable contributor to Indiana’s economic success.

Mark Miles is the President & CEO of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership.

I wanted to draw your attention to this insightful column by former Cummins Vice-Chairman Joe Loughrey, who chairs CICP’s Conexus Indiana and Energy Systems Network initiatives.  Loughrey emphasizes the need for a proactive focus on workforce development to maintain Indiana’s competitive edge in ‘green economy’ areas like vehicle electrification (as highlighted by the U.S. Department of Energy's visit to Indianapolis-based EnerDel last week). 

A version of this piece appeared in today’s Star, here.

Keep focus on tomorrow’s workforce

Joe Loughrey

Last week, a delegation from the U.S. Department of Energy visited Central Indiana to finalize a $118 million grant to Indianapolis-based EnerDel, the only current U.S. manufacturer of lithium ion batteries for hybrid and plug-in electric vehicles.

Leveraging this grant and private investment, EnerDel is creating more than 1,400 new jobs in Central Indiana, building a new manufacturing facility in Greenfield.  It’s a major economic success story for the region.

EnerDel is just part of a growing ‘green vehicle’ industry in the state.  Last year, Think North America chose Elkhart as the site of the first U.S. factory for its line of electric cars.  In Anderson, Bright Automotive is also engineering state-of-the-art plug-in hybrids.  Established Indiana manufacturers like Cummins, Remy, Delphi and Allison Transmission are also major producers of hybrid components.

We can be proud that Indiana is a leader in putting electric vehicles on the road, helping our environment and making the U.S. less dependent on foreign oil.  Taking advantage of the growing market for plug-ins and hybrids is also good for Indiana’s economy.  But we do face a longer-term challenge to sustaining and strengthening this leadership position in the green economy – educating the next generation of employees for this fast-growing, rapidly-evolving industry.

The factories that produce hybrids and plug-ins are increasingly high-tech, just like the cars themselves.  These vehicles feature microcontrollers and other advanced technologies, along with the standard automotive electronics – installing, testing and troubleshooting these components takes a skilled workforce, with technical training beyond high school or two-year associates degrees.

It’s not just the green automotive industry that requires more educated employees.  There are very few ‘low skill’ jobs left in manufacturing in general today.  In a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (‘A Leaner, More Skilled U.S. Manufacturing Workforce’), economists divided manufacturing jobs into low-, medium- and high-skill and observed that between 1982 and 2002, high-skill manufacturing occupations grew 37% while low- and medium-skill jobs declined 24% and 18% respectively.

Indiana boasts a rich reservoir of engineering talent and a strong manufacturing workforce – it’s a key competitive advantage that allowed us to attract companies like EnerDel, and why other clean technologies firms are looking to locate and expand in the state.  But to maintain this edge, we have to ensure that our workforce pipeline stays strong, with young workers getting the right degrees and certifications to take advantage of advanced manufacturing careers in electric vehicles and other high-tech fields. 

Initiatives like Conexus Indiana are hard at work bringing private industry and higher education together to create up-to-date manufacturing training programs, and marketing these career paths to young people through its ‘Dream It. Do It.’ campaign.  Purdue and Ivy Tech Community College received a $6 million federal stimulus grant to create specific degree and technical programs for electric vehicles, and the state’s Department of Workforce Development is also focused on green job training.  At the K-12 level, it’s critical that technical education programs are spared from budget cuts to get students on the right track early on.

These efforts have to be a top priority for policymakers, educators and manufacturers alike.  Pursuing economic development without a parallel focus on education will ultimately frustrate the ambitions of both the companies that can’t find skilled workers to fulfill their growth plans and the Hoosiers who find themselves unqualified for better jobs. 

Announcements like EnerDel’s are great news for Indiana’s economy; a steady supply of talented workers has been a catalyst for this success.  But we also have to keep a proactive focus on tomorrow’s workforce to keep the momentum going.  Looking ahead, degrees and certificates awarded are economic development metrics just like jobs and investment – the path towards a green advanced manufacturing economy for Indiana starts in the classroom.

Loughrey is the retired Vice-Chairman of Cummins, and chairs the Conexus Indiana and Energy Systems Network initiatives for the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership.

It’s no secret that U.S. students are falling behind their international peers when it comes to math and science.  The latest Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) test scores shows our students performing below average among other industrialized countries in both math and science – indeed, our average scores rank us 24^th out of 25 industrial (OECD) nations.

Today, the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) math scores show progress has stalled nationally and here in Indiana – another bad sign.

But here in Indiana, our BioCrossroads initiative is tackling the need to improve science, math and technology education through its I-STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Network, a resource for K-12 teachers designed to raise the level of STEM education in Indiana.  I-STEM, which brings together higher education institutions with private and philanthropic partners, offers curriculum ideas, professional development opportunities and other resources for educators.

Today, the Lilly Endowment announced its continues support for I-STEM – valuable aid in the battle to boost student achievement in these critical disciplines.  More details:

Investing in the future: $2 million Lilly Endowment grant to CICP Foundation will support Indiana Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (I-STEM) Resource Network I-STEM's services provide rigorous and quality professional development programs  --  more than 6,000 teachers and counting

INDIANAPOLIS, October 15, 2009- The Indiana Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (I-STEM) Resource Network announced today that a $2 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Foundation will support the I-STEM Resource Network. The initiative was established in 2007 and partially funded by a $3.4 million grant from the Endowment.

The Network is a statewide consortium of 18 Indiana higher education institutions dedicated to measurably improving K-12 student achievement in the STEM disciplines.  Over the last two years, the Network has focused on providing research-based professional development for current Indiana math teachers to help meet statewide academic standards. More than 6,000 teachers, who work with more than 150,000 K-12 students throughout Indiana, have participated in I-STEM professional development programs.

"Lilly Endowment is pleased to support the I-STEM Network, which impressively marshals the intellectual resources of Indiana colleges and universities," said Sara B. Cobb, the Endowment's vice president for education. "This unprecedented collaboration should significantly help

K-12 teachers enhance the impact of their teaching in these STEM disciplines so critical to our state's future," added Cobb.

 While programs are being developed across all STEM disciplines, the I-STEM Resource Network has focused on statewide programs in mathematics, including coursework for middle level mathematics teachers and the development of the Indiana Algebra Readiness Initiative, a series of conferences and workshops led by nationally-recognized experts, to help teachers prepare students for success in algebra.

Algebra is a "gateway" course  and a focus for the teacher training because it is a critical building block for the more advanced mathematics courses. Math educators agree that learning algebra is absolutely critical if a student has any aspirations for a career in the life sciences.

"More than ever, algebra teachers need a variety of resources to help all students in Indiana improve their algebra skills. The Network provides those resources," said Bill Reed, past president of the Indiana Council of Teachers of Mathematics and algebra and calculus teacher at Hamilton Southeastern High School in Fishers. "It is imperative for teachers to continue to improve their knowledge and methodologies for teaching algebra."

"By providing Indiana's current teachers with easy access to rigorous and quality professional development opportunities in the STEM disciplines, I-STEM has provided the foundation for strategic, systemic change in STEM education in Indiana," said Anne Shane, vice president of BioCrossroads and one of the founders of the Network. Improving achievement in science and math will maximize students' opportunities to succeed in the future life sciences workforce. To nurture and help build this life science sector  is one of BioCrossroads' key initiatives.

 "Research shows that the most important factor in accelerating student achievement is teacher quality. The I-STEM Network provides access to professional development that allows teachers to brush up on their subject matter expertise in math and science that they need to be more effective in the classroom," said Tony Bennett, Ph. D., Indiana superintendent of public instruction.  "The programs are also a powerful tool to develop our future workforce and to encourage students to enroll in the STEM disciplines in postsecondary education." The Indiana Department of Education has been instrumental in the development of I-STEM.

Besides providing professional development tied to Indiana's academic standards, STEM Resource Centers at each partnering institution in the Network have been providing grassroots education opportunities for teachers in their regions and throughout the state.

The Math Matters program in Southeastern Indiana is a joint project that Indiana University-Bloomington's School of Education and a team from the Lilly Endowment-funded initiative in the region, Economic Opportunities

2015 (EcO15),  have  instituted to bring project-based learning into math instruction.

K-6 Teacher Science Institutes have been held at St. Mary's College and Integrated Math-Science Workshops (MS2) for teachers in grades 5-9 were organized at Notre Dame. 

PRISM and the Homework Hotline at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, both also funded by Lilly Endowment, continue to provide support to teachers and students looking for information on how to teach and learn STEM subjects.

"Teachers just don't have the time to search online for quality resources to aid in classroom instruction. PRISM has done the research for us," said Diedre Adams, a science and math teacher at West Vigo Middle School in Terre Haute who was a 2008 Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow at NASA.  "The lessons and information it provides are invaluable in helping STEM teachers supplement classroom materials, locate the latest research, and find new and fun ways to motivate students in science and math."

The Network is also involved in building a strategic plan for science education reform with the Indiana Department of Education.  The development of new professional development programs to be offered through the I-STEM Network for science teachers is in progress.

"In its short history, the I-STEM Network has made significant progress in providing Indiana's STEM teachers with new professional training opportunities, and this additional funding will build upon that foundation," said Bill Walker, executive director of the Network.

"Instructors bring new ideas and energy into these professional development classes. This is good for the teachers and their students."

Purdue University provides day-to-day management for the I-STEM Resource Network.  The participating institutions are: Ball State University, Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, IU Southeast, Marian University, Northwest Indiana Consortium for Teacher Education (Valparaiso University, Purdue Calumet, IU Northwest, Purdue North Central and Calumet College at St. Joseph), Purdue West Lafayette, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, University of Indianapolis, NISMEC (University of Notre Dame, St. Mary's College  and IU South Bend) and the University of Southern Indiana.

Warsaw, IN, September 23, 2009 – The future of Warsaw, Indiana, the orthopedics capital of the world, received a significant boost today: the single largest private foundation grant ever awarded in the region.

“Indiana is indeed fortunate to be home to this extraordinary cluster of orthopedic companies in the Warsaw community,” said N. Clay Robbins, president of the Endowment.  “We are pleased that a promising plan and framework have been developed, after many months of deliberation and good effort, to secure and enhance the region’s competitive appeal to the orthopedic industry now and in the future.

The OrthoWorx initiative was created out of a comprehensive Endowment-funded study conducted by BioCrossroads, Indiana’s public-private collaboration for investment, development and advancement of the state’s signature life sciences strengths.  Released Sept.10, the report, "Warsaw, Indiana: The Orthopedics Capital of the World  -- An overview, analysis and blueprint for future industry and community growth", explores the sector's current assets and challenges and sets forth a series of action-oriented recommendations designed to secure and advance the community's current position as home to nearly a third of the world's orthopedic device industry.

For example, within a talent and workforce development initiative, OrthoWorx will engage the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, Ivy Tech, Grace College and other higher education institutions, to help identify gaps in training and associate and baccalaureate degree programs. They will then work to develop new educational programs through state and federal grants and other sources of funding to fill such gaps. OrthoWorx also will explore ways to enrich and expand K-12 options in the region and develop further the research collaborations among orthopedic companies and Indiana’s research universities. It also will build relationships with the human resources, management and manufacturing departments of the various Warsaw-based orthopedics companies to ensure that companies can get the specifically trained workers they need.

“Much as BioCrossroads has become the supporting brand for Indiana's broad field of life sciences assets, OrthoWorx will become the voice that promotes the presence and potential of the Warsaw-based orthopedics industry and the community that supports it,” said David Johnson, president and CEO of BioCrossroads.  “As the epicenter of the orthopedics industry, Warsaw offers both a unique industry and a unique community. OrthoWorx will bridge the two to put the best strategic opportunities into action.”

“While many have contributed to the development of this plan, we are especially impressed by the leadership and dedication of the president of Grace College, Ron Manahan; the executive director of the Kosciusko County Community Foundation, Suzie Light; and the leaders of the orthopedic industry and BioCrossroads. Without their tireless efforts we would not be here today,” Robbins added.

Indianapolis, September 10, 2009 – Now generating more than $11 billion in annual revenues, the global orthopedics sector concentrated in Warsaw, Indiana, represents more than half the U. S. market share and more than one- third of the world’s market for developing orthopedic medical devices. 

How does an industry -- contained within a community -- continue to maintain its strong economic presence and position itself for future growth?  BioCrossroads, Indiana’s organization for investment, development and advancement of the state’s signature life sciences strengths, explores and outlines a series of action-oriented responses to this question in a new published report, Warsaw, Indiana: The Orthopedics Capital of the World  -- An overview, analysis and blueprint for future industry and community growth. 

The report represents one of the most comprehensive studies ever conducted of Indiana’s outsized share of this remarkable industry, and it suggests a range of broadly supported steps that the industry, the community and the State can pursue to ensure this sector continues to thrive on Hoosier soil.

Initiated through a planning grant funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc., the BioCrossroads report reveals stunning statistics that highlight the growth of a sophisticated business sector and the community supporting it:

Kosciusko County has grown its Health & Biomedical employment base by 39 percent since 2001 compared with 15 percent for both Indiana and the U.S.

In 2007, the concentration of jobs in Kosciusko County in the medical devices and equipment category had a location quotient of 51.86, which is nearly 50 times that for the national average, [resulting in] a location quotient that is literally “off the charts.”*

When compared with the larger Metropolitan Statistical Areas analyzed nationally in the Battelle Technology Partnership Practice biennial state by state industry analysis for the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), the Warsaw, IN Micropolitan Area (population 12,500) would rank as the 15th largest regional employer in medical devices and equipment in the U.S.

“The Warsaw orthopedics community is one of the most robust and concentrated medical equipment development sectors in the world, and a world-class economic asset that powers growth for all of Indiana,”  said David Johnson, President and CEO of  BioCrossroads.  “The integration of all this research has resulted in a picture of an industry cluster in Warsaw, that is currently robust, respected and globally competitive.  While this orthopedics device sector has been tremendously successful to date, our research and the truly global scale of this sector’s reach make it very clear that global pressures now confronting our whole economy, including all our life sciences sectors, have sparked a broadly perceived need for a community and industry engagement strategy focused on education, talent recruitment and retention, workforce and community development to ensure sustainability. 

“We’re now in the process of developing a Warsaw-based, regionally focused organizational initiative that can better define and prioritize the challenges and opportunities, and then seek funding to bring the best and most responsive ideas to life,” Johnson added.

The report details seven initial focus areas for such an initiative to explore:

•             Branding and Awareness – promote the Warsaw community as the orthopedics capital of the world

•             Community Enhancement – develop and add specific, cultural and recreational amenities

•             Education – enhance options and opportunities for K-16 education

•             Talent and Workforce Development – further and focus the necessary collaboration among industry, government and education to identify future needs for this industry’s highly skilled management and workforce

•             Transportation and Logistics – analyze regional transportation challenges and develop specific options for improvement

•             Industry/Technical Support Enterprises – research market opportunities and business cases for specific enterprises that could provide valuable “business infrastructure” for Warsaw’s diversified orthopedics industry

•             College and Research University Engagement – promote and establish specific mechanisms and programs for collaboration among Indiana’s academic and research institutions and between academia and industry to promote innovation and enhance processes for research and development.

“The medical innovation coming out of Warsaw is some of the best in the world, so it’s critical that we have a plan for sustainability and growth.  With true and widespread business and community participation, BioCrossroads has created a roadmap to move us forward, and we are fortunate to have such an action-oriented champion for our community,” said Cheryl R. Blanchard, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer and Senior Vice President, Zimmer, Inc.  “Community and industry leaders are eager to become engaged in this effort and find the best ways to make a positive impact on our community.”

 “Warsaw’s economic vitality is driven by our orthopedics companies, not only for the success of the largest industry leaders, but also for the entrepreneurs and service companies that support this sector,” said David Findlay, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Administration, Lake City Bank.  “The work that BioCrossroads has done in developing this strategic framework will help our community progress, enhancing our assets and filling in our gaps.  I can readily report that there is a lot of energy surrounding this initiative.” 

The report is available on the BioCrossroads Web site:  www.biocrossroads.com

The BioCrossroads report draws heavily upon research by Battelle– both a 2001 study and an update to that work completed in 2009.  In addition, a community study, including a number of in-depth interviews and facilitated discussions with key business and community leaders in the Warsaw region, was conducted and facilitated by Mary Walshok, Ph.D., an international expert in community and economic growth, professor of Sociology at the University of California, San Diego, and a principal in Global CONNECT at UC-San Diego.  The report also includes specific recommendations for new types of enterprises and facilities developed by distinguished orthopedic surgeons.