Speaker Harwell eyes campus science

Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell and Memphis-area State Rep. Mark White will study what might be impeding the commercialization of intellectual property spawned on campuses within Tennessee. This NewsBits installation has numerous other stories about economic development, new tech products, venture capital, that Chattanooga venture forum and more, right here.

Chamber announces N'ville economy uptick

The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce today announced, "Since July 2009, announced relocations and expansions in the Nashville area have accounted for 6,988 jobs, 4.7 million square feet of space and nearly $1.7 billion in capital investment." In a release this morning, the Chamber included a statement from Mayor Karl Dean regarding his commitment to generating more Green jobs. State ECD Commissioner applauded the Chamber and Partnership 2010. Chamber President Ralph Schulz said P2010's new strategic plan for the decade (2010) will be out in June. Metro ECD Director Alexia Poe was also represented in the release, applauding Middle Tennessee' strong foundation.

NV Chamber CEO's tough choices

In VNC's story on CEO Ralph Schulz and the Nashville Chamber, it's clear the organization is going to need fresh horses to stay in the race for new and expanding business. Read about it here.

Chamber's Schulz enthusiastic, but cautious re Marketing

During today's Owen Accelerator presentations, Chamber President Ralph Schulz made clear he wants to attract both entrepreneurs and investors to Music City, possibly by employing one or more of the themes and tactics laid-out today by Accelerator students. We want capitalists to know Nashville is a great place for investing in great ideas. However, Schulz also told VNC in a sidebar conversation he believes we have to be cautious to make sure that entrepreneurs know we're still putting together the institution we need to facilitate connecting entrepreneurs with resources, including capital. That new institution will be the Chamber's Entrepreneurship Center, which will first be virtual, and later bricks and mortar, if plans hold. Here's our story on this morning's presentations.