Commissioner of Higher Education Announces Dave Gibson as new Associate Commissioner for Economic Development

Dr. Sheila Stearns, Montana’s Commissioner of Higher Education, announced
today that she has selected David Gibson to fill the new position of Associate
Commissioner for Economic Development in her office. Mr. Gibson is currently
the State’s Chief Business Officer and heads the Governor’s Office of Economic
Opportunity, a position he has held for more than three years under Governor
Judy Martz.

During Gibson’s tenure, the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity has
focused the state’s economic development efforts on growing Montana’s existing
business clusters and ensuring the state can provide the basic ingredients for a
growing economy: skilled workers, capital, and access to technology. "All
businesses in all industries need access to these resources in order to provide
good paying jobs in a very competitive economy," Gibson said. "Our university
system must continue to be an integral partner in successfully growing our
economy," Gibson added, "particularly in the areas of technology and workforce
skills." Because of this, Gibson noted, he has spent thousands of hours during
the past few years helping build stronger partnerships with the university
system. "This new position in the Commissioner’s Office is a strong commitment
by the university system to help grow our state’s economy," he said.

The position of Associate Commissioner for Economic Development was approved by
the Montana Board of Regents in September of this year. "This position reflects
the university system’s commitment to growing our state’s businesses. We have a
huge stake in seeing Montana prosper and we are going to dedicate the resources
necessary to be even better partners in economic development," said Dr. Stearns.
"Dave and I have worked hard together this past year on the initiative "Shared
Leadership for a Stronger Montana Economy." I am pleased that we will be able
to continue our work on this priority of the Board of Regents."

John Mercer, Chairman of the Board of Regents, also noted Gibson’s work on
behalf of economic development, and its connection to the University System:
"We are fortunate to attract an individual with Dave Gibson’s experience. Given
the many opportunities available to him, it confirms that Dave recognizes the
success of our state depends on the success of the increased efforts of the
Montana University System to work with others to improve Montana’s economy."

Gibson, Stearns, and Mercer all emphasized that this move by Gibson would
further strengthen the good relationship between the Governor’s Office and the
university system.

"Montana’s future depends on strong partnerships between all branches of
government, business and labor, and education at every level–Shared Leadership.
We look forward to the Schweitzer Administration joining the Shared Leadership
team, as we all work to grow the Montana economy," Mercer said.

Gibson will assume the new position on January 3, 2005.

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Gibson selected to fill higher ed economic post

By CHARLES S. JOHNSON of the Missoulian State Bureau

http://missoulian.com/articles/2004/12/02/news/local/news05.txt

HELENA – David Gibson, currently the state’s chief business officer, was selected Wednesday to fill the new position of associate commissioner for economic development in the Montana university system, Higher Education Commissioner Sheila Stearns said.

Gibson has headed the governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity for more than three years under Gov. Judy Martz. He will assume his new job on Jan. 3 at his same salary of about $98,500 a year.

Gibson, 42, had said he was willing to stay on in his current post under Gov.-elect Brian Schweitzer but hadn’t heard yet whether he would remain.

"I do think this is going to work out well," Gibson said in a phone interview Wednesday night. "It’s in everybody’s interest that we get everything settled quick. We’re wasting a lot of time on speculation and rumor."

Gibson said he is excited about his newly created position.

"I think we can do some good things," he said. "I know that the Schweitzer team agreed this (creating the new job) is a good move for the state. We’ll all be working for the good of the state. No one branch can do it alone."

Schweitzer, who is traveling to Washington, D.C., was unavailable for comment.

The governor-elect’s spokeswoman, Sarah Elliott, said Schweitzer had informal conversations with Gibson about retaining the chief business officer’s job, but hadn’t made a decision.

The state Board of Regents approved creation of the position of associate commissioner for economic development in September.

"This position reflects the university system’s commitment to growing our state’s business," Stearns said. "We have a huge stake in seeing Montana prosper, and we are going to dedicate the resources necessary to be even better partners in economic development."

Stearns said she and Gibson have worked hard this past year on the "Shared Leadership for a Stronger Montana Economy" initiative. She’s pleased they will be able to continue their work on this priority of the Board of Regents.

A Kalispell native, Gibson has a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from Harvard University and a master’s degree in business administration in finance and operations from Dartmouth College. He had held a number of positions for Weyerhaeuser Co., the last one being president and general manager of Dynetherm Inc., an independent business unit, in Mobile, Ala., before accepting the job as the state’s first chief business officer.

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Gibson move to higher-ed office is good one

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041203/OPINION01/412030304/1014/NEWS01

Dave Gibson’s move from the governor’s office of economic development to a new, similar position in the Montana university system is a winning proposition for the state.

Even among critics of the Martz administration, one official in the administration attracted widespread praise, and that was Gibson.

Further, placing an economic development expert in the office of the commissioner of Higher Education Sheila Stearns is the right move for the university system. All the better that the expert is Gibson, 42.

A native of Kalispell with degrees from Harvard and Dartmouth, Gibson was in charge of a Weyerhaeuser Corp. subsidiary in Alabama in 2001 when he was picked by Martz to head the newly created economic development function in her office.

His operating budget was slashed almost from the beginning, yet he was able to maintain a high profile and play an important role in the state’s economic development efforts.

He accompanied local officials to St. Louis last winter to recruit Centene’s new 250-person operation to the Great Falls area, and he has helped write legislation aimed at creating higher-paying jobs in the state.

John Kramer, president of Great Falls Development Authority, didn’t know details of Gibson’s new job during a session with the Tribune editorial board Thursday, but he said he would miss the 42-year-old go-getter in the governor’s office.

"The guy really did, for the resources that he had, a very effective job," Kramer said. Gibson had very little operating budget, "so for him to be involved aggressively, he couldn’t," Kramer said, "but when we needed him, I was always pleased with the result."

We have long believed that the key to economic development — above and beyond venture capital, tax incentives, development corporations, positive attitudes and so on — is education.

That means maintaining and improving K-12 schools, and it means doing the same for the quality and availability of higher education.

It’s true of the flagship universities, to be sure, but it maybe even more important for the smaller units, most especially the colleges of technology.

They are the vocational education centers with the flexibility to provide customized training for specialized businesses.

For example, the availability and willingness of MSU-Great Falls College of Technology played a key role in recruiting Centene.

Attaching Gibson to Stearns’ office should ensure that similar things continue to happen.

Just as important, it sends the message that Montana is serious about business and industrial growth and the "Shared Leadership" economic development campaign that was authorized by the Board of Regents two years ago.