Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer announced Friday a $1 million state investment in a northern Arizona business incubator partnership that will further support research-intensive ventures and small business opportunities in the region, ultimately leading to more local high-wage jobs.
Russ Yelton, NACET president and CEO, said the funds will allow the center to build on an already successful partnership that has created 103 new full-time jobs with average salaries over $85,000 over the past year and has seen 29 invention disclosures, 23 patent applications and three patents issued over the last two years. “We are truly poised for rapid expansion,” he said.The Northern Arizona University/Northern Arizona Center for Emerging Technologies partnership was established two years ago to support the creation of successful science- and technology-based companies in northern Arizona. The new funding will be used to advance the center’s existing projects, increase the number of new projects, cultivate spin-off opportunities, provide research opportunities to undergraduates and mentor graduate researchers in start-up business efforts in a true “grow your own” talent initiative.
NAU President John Haeger thanked Brewer for her leadership in supporting the partnership and said the funding will help develop the next wave of Arizona’s economy by jump-starting innovative ideas and supporting the pipeline to bring additional research into the market.
“Investments like this in non-metropolitan regions have a very obvious and transforming effect on the economy and we thank Gov. Brewer for rewarding this public private partnership,” Haeger said.