TAFT CONGRATULATES WHISMAN APPALACHIAN SCHOLAR
Ohio University Professor Appointed To National Post
COLUMBUS (November 22, 2002) - Governor Bob Taft today congratulated Ohio University Professor Mark Weinberg who was recently selected by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to serve as its Whisman Appalachian Scholar.
Dr. Weinberg will serve in the position for fiscal years 2003 and 2004. He will be engaged in research on the issues affecting the social and economic development of the Appalachian Region and will advise the Commission on strategies to link institutions of higher education to the Region's distressed counties.
"I congratulate Mark as he takes on this important role," Taft said. "I'm confident his work in Ohio's Appalachian Region has prepared him for this challenge, and will result in the cultivation of business and technology for all of Appalachia."
Weinberg currently is the director of the Voinovich Center for Leadership and Public Affairs at Ohio University in Athens. He has served as faculty director of the Institute for Local Government Administration and Rural Development (ILGARD) and the Ohio University Executive Leadership Institute (OUELI). Weinberg also leads the University's Appalachian New Economic Partnership initiative for the Ohio Board of Regents, a comprehensive strategy to develop talent, technology, and capital in Ohio Appalachia in order to strengthen the Region's competitiveness in the emerging knowledge based economy.
Created by the U.S. Congress, the Appalachian Regional Commission is a unique partnership between the federal government and the governors of the 13 Appalachian states designed to improve health, education and economic opportunities throughout the Region. Weinberg succeeds Dr. Jean Haskell of East Tennessee State University.
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Contact: Maria Smith or Gail Crawley, Ohio Department of Development, at 614-466-2609;
or
Joe Andrews, Governor's Office, at 614-644-0957.