INDIANAPOLIS – Amid the year-end dichotomy of an exploding IT industry and jittery recession fears, the year 2007 in Indiana represented a standout 12 months. In no particular order, here is the best and the worst from 2007 in Hoosierland.

Best: Leading international scientists take the helm at three major Indiana institutions.

Former NASA chief scientist France A. Córdova left the warm climes of California to become Purdue University’s first woman president. Fortuitously transplanted from down under, longtime Hoosier technology champion Michael McRobbie became Indiana University’s 18th president.

Also, internationally renowned chemist John Lecheiter – whose credentials include serving on the visiting committee at the Harvard Business School and developing numerous world-class pharmaceutical products – was named to succeed current Eli Lilly CEO Sidney Taurel.

Worst: Indiana Democrats take unfounded shot at Hoosier entrepreneur for 21st Century Fund awards.

Failing apparently to recall how Indiana technology champion Scott Jones nearly single-handedly jump-started Hoosier technology growth during the Democratic Bayh and O’Bannon administrations, the Indiana Democratic party inexplicably smacked Jones in a political blog.

Jones – whose companies have injected multiple millions of dollars into the Indiana economy and has personally helped fund both Democratic and Republican initiatives out of his own pocket – was falsely said to receive $4 million in hard-won awards for Indiana-based Precise Path Robotics and search engine ChaCha in exchange for supporting Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (a Republican).

Given the difficult peer-review process for 21st Century Fund awards (not to mention the claw-back provisions if the award companies don’t perform), that one had technology insiders scratching their heads for days.

Best: Caught up in a voter rebellion against property taxes, Indiana responded with a best-in-class effort directed at reorganizing state and local government across the board.

Whether or not it survives the political firestorm within the upcoming short session of the Indiana General Assembly, the bipartisan recommendations of the commission led by former Indiana Gov. Joe Kernan (a Democrat) and Indiana Supreme Court chief justice Randall Shepard deserve intense review and consideration.

For a state previously known as supremely risk-adverse, such a proposal heralds in a new age.

Worst: An unprecedented backlash by voters turned out previously invulnerable and experienced incumbents across Indiana (including top slots in Indianapolis).

Earlier this summer, few would have predicted that popular Indianapolis mayor Bart Peterson (a two-term Democrat with numerous major achievements) would be defeated a few months later by a virtual unknown but savvy Republican: former U.S. Marine Col. Greg Ballard.

Echoing the 1978 Proposition 13 uprising in California, voters of all political persuasions expressed their extreme dissatisfaction with property tax increases and voted out numerous incumbents (including powerful members of the Indianapolis City-County Council).

Best: An Indiana patent income exemption sets a high mark for entrepreneurs.

Though the phrase “truly unique” may not reflect the best English grammar, it fits here. Encouraged by TechPoint CEO Jim Jay, Ice Miller’s Mark Shublak and others, the Democratic-controlled House within the Indiana General Assembly passed milestone legislation to create a truly innovative (and – yes – truly unique) income exemption.

This applies to up to $5 million a year in what amounts to pure hard cash for entrepreneurs developing and commercializing patents within the boundaries of the Hoosier state. You can bet that state legislators across America are giving this one a close look for their own growth agendas.

Worst: AT&T diverting Indiana workers from expanding rural DSL broadband to hooking up lucrative technology for its U-verse video offering.

Officials in Hendricks County in central Indiana growled and snarled earlier in 2007 about an apparent slowdown in expected broadband expansion.

AT&T, which is a major beneficiary of Indiana’s sweeping telecom reform legislation, had apparently diverted technicians to focus on installing its highly competitive U-verse video service instead of fulfilling its local promises to expand twisted-pair DSL Internet service in the county.

Best: A blowout year for Hoosier biotech and life sciences confirms Indiana’s growth position.

Based on remarkable and innovative growth within Hoosierland in 2007, biotech entrepreneurs and national venture capitalists alike sat up and took a hard look at what’s going down in Hoosierland these days.

From a winning BioCrossroads game to triple-digit growth at AIT Laboratories to a multi-player win with Medco (take a bow all of you at the IEDC, the Indy Partnership and the Indianapolis office of CB Richard Ellis for a speedy job well done much to the chagrin of folks in Kentucky), Hoosier biotech growth added significantly to its already powerful national position.

Also, don’t forget the study released in December showing Indiana in the national top 10 for medical technology from the Advanced Medical Technology Association.

Worst: Honda hiring practices for new plant limit broad economic impact.

In 2006, the Wall Street Journal lauded the efforts of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) in a major come-from-behind win to land a high-tech, $500 million manufacturing facility in southern Indiana.

In 2007, the Wall Street Journal covered the frustration of Indiana legislators and prospective workers regarding how Honda imposed a geographic restriction on new hires from only 20 out of 92 counties in Indiana. The Wall Street Journal said: “Honda’s unusual hiring restriction highlights an often-overlooked aspect of the United Auto Workers union’s declining power.”

Best: A robust manufacturing economy heading into 2008.

Indiana professionals like John Layden of PREVEL Consulting have been decrying the “sky-is-falling view” of manufacturing for years.

Based on recent commentary coupled with one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation (4.6 percent) and the recent rise in individual consumer income, people are starting to recognize that Indiana’s economy may not belong to the upper Paleozoic Era after all.

Traditionally cautious, Ball State University economists Michael Hicks and Gary Santoni are now bullish on Indiana in 2008. They predict the outright creation of 47,000 new jobs, a 3.8 percent wage growth, a lower inflation rate (2.6 percent) and a steady unemployment rate that matches or will be lower than the national average.

Worst: AM news giant WIBC moves to FM and all-jazz radio disappears in the capital city.

Once thundering across the statewide AM band as “Radio Indiana,” longtime news-format WIBC has taken up a new home at 93.1 on the FM dial locally as the once-dominant 1070 AM frequency is now occupied by an all-sports format fueled by ESPN (“The Fan” at WFIN-AM 1070).

Further and more poignant for your favorite Hoosier columnist who listened to KKGO in Los Angeles die a lingering death, the last all-jazz station in Indianapolis is no more. As the Hoosier state continues its transformation into a technology economy, the cerebral essence of jazz remains a necessity.

Given the recent milestone advances within Indiana, jazz can and must return to Hoosier airwaves before the end of the decade.

That’s it for 2007. Come back on Thursdays in 2008 for new advances and news of technology growth in Hoosierland. If you ignore the Hoosier state and you have anything to do with technology innovation, you do so at your own peril.

Michael Snyder is principal of The MEK Group, a marketing and business development consulting firm that provides communications-driven strategies to increase market share, enhance productivity and build distinctive brand awareness. Snyder can be reached at msnyder@themekgroup.com.
Click here for Snyder’s full biography.

Previous Columns in 2007:
Vontoo, ExactTarget Bearing Holiday Gifts For Major Indiana Investor (12/20/2007)
Nathan Feltman: 2007 Indiana Growth Blazes on Record-Setting Pace (12/13/2007)
Indiana Rapidly Moving Toward Technology-Based Economy (12/6/2007)
Purdue’s New President: Growth Plans Reaching For the Stars (11/29/2007)
Entrepreneurs Swamp Indiana; Milestone Tech Summit on Deck (11/18/2007)
Second-Annual Entrepreneur Week Starts in Indiana on Nov. 5 (11/1/2007)
BioCrossroadsLINX to Bond Critical Indiana Biotech Assets (10/25/2007)
Burrill, BioCrossroads Conference: Indiana Life Sciences Expansion on Deck (10/19/2007)
Convergence Drives Runaway Success For Hoosier Biotech (10/11/2007)
‘Deals Are Getting Done, Market is Open’ in Indiana, CBRE Says (10/5/2007)
Nanotechnology ‘Backbone of Development’ Expands With Grant (9/27/2007)
Big Changes Under Way For $6 Billion Defense Industry in Indiana (9/13/2007)
Indiana is ‘Undisputed Juggernaut in Attracting Japanese Investment’ (9/7/2007)
High-End IT Professionals: Indiana’s Exploding Tech Industry Needs You (8/30/2007)
Indiana Biodiesel Plant a ‘Strategic Centerpiece’ For French Fuel Giant (8/23/2007)
China: Half a Billion in Indiana Exports and Growing Exponentially (8/16/2007)
Indiana University: New $2 Billion Partner For Economic Development (8/9/2007)
Message From ad:tech Chicago: Ignore Consumer Voice at Your Peril (8/2/2007)
Indiana Gov. Daniels: WestGate to Be ‘Flagship’ of Tech, Engineering (7/26/2007)
Taxpayer Revolt: A Constitutional Convention For Indiana? (7/19/2007)
$100 Million Formula One Rolls Out of Indianapolis, Won’t Return in 2008 (7/12/2007)
State of Indiana’s Defense Business: $4.6 Billion and Growing (7/5/2007)
Purdue Simulation of World Trade Center Impact Could Improve Design, Safety (6/21/2007)
Nobel Prize Winners, Scholars Primed For ‘Premier Conference’ in Indianapolis (6/14/2007)
2012: Repeat of 1859 Solar ‘Super Storm’ Catastrophe? (6/7/2007)
Indianapolis 500: 220 Miles Per Hour on 100 Percent Fuel-Grade Ethanol (5/31/2007)
‘Baby Steps’ For Marcadia Biotech in Indiana Grow Into ‘Giant Leaps’ (5/22/2007)
Indiana Legislature Scores Big With Innovative Patent Tax Credit (5/10/2007)
IEDC to Showcase Hoosier ‘Best, Brightest’ at BIO 2007 in Boston (5/3/2007)
‘Little 500’ Bike Race Sports 21st Century Indiana University RFID (4/26/2007)
Manufacturing Critical For Global Success, Indiana Expert Says (4/19/2007)
First-Ever Indiana Robotic Proton System Nukes Deep Tumors (4/12/2007)
Purdue’s Discovery Park a $350 Million ‘Driver For Change’ (4/5/2007)
Cellulosic Fuels, Ag Tech to Play Key Role in Indiana’s Future (3/30/2007)
With FCC Deadline Looming, Indiana Ponders Telemedicine (3/22/2007)
Realigned TechPoint Set to Energize Indiana IT Growth (3/15/2007)
Indiana General Assembly on Tech: Chaos or Collaboration? (3/9/2007)
Indiana DSI Initiative Sets New Vision of Innovative, Large-Scale Tech Transfer (3/1/2007)
No ‘Corn Dot-Com Bust’ For Indiana Ethanol, Says Ag Secretary Miller (2/15/2007)
Battelle Report: Indiana Biosciences Again Established as National Player (2/8/2007)
Indiana Defense Muscle Grows With West Gate Tech Park Expansion (2/1/2007)
Twenty in 10: President Bush Leaps Future of Hoosier Biofuels Forward (1/25/2007)
Outlook on Indiana-Based Biofuels, World Markets: ‘We’re Ready’ (1/18/2007)
ChaCha in Indiana Attracts Funding From Amazon, Compaq Founders (1/11/2007)
Purdue Ethanol Tech May Render Current Fuel Production ‘Obsolete’ (1/5/2007)
Click for 2006 column archive.
Click for 2005 column archive.

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