IU Kokomo will use the federal funds to add wet and dry laboratories to the KTC building’s second floor, depending on what center clients need, said Chancellor Ruth Person. “The appropriation means that IU Kokomo will be able to be a full participant in the incubator,” Person said. “We are really into this because we are about creating jobs for north central Indiana.”

The campus also will provide KTC clients with technical assistance, through such resources as the IU Industrial Research Liaison Program, the Indiana Small Business Development Collegiate Management Program and education customized to meet regional work force needs.

Partnering with local businesses and the Kokomo/Howard County Development Corporation, IU Kokomo and the Purdue University School of Technology at Kokomo have been involved in planning the KTC since 2000.

The funding is part of $63 million approved for 75 Indiana projects under a U.S. Senate bill passed Jan. 22.

“IU Kokomo plays a vital role in generating greater economic development in north central Indiana,” said U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh when announcing the awards. “The employment opportunities afforded by professional and technical jobs will help address the goal of retaining more Indiana college graduates and recruiting students and workers from other states.”

“We appreciate Sen. Bayh’s efforts to secure the federal funding,” said Fred Hakes, director of the IU Kokomo Division of Continuing Studies. “The campus has a lot of strategic niches to help business people, such as our MBA program, our Certificate in Contemporary Entrepreneurship and our annual Entrepreneurship and Technology Conference.

http://www.iuk.edu/external-relations/ocm/news/feb04/MillionFed.html