11.18.19
EDITORIAL: County’s $100,000 investment in Innovation Center money well spent
News-Sentinel
News-Sentinel.com applauds the Allen County Commissioners for their approval last Friday of an agreement for $100,000 as the 2020 annual appropriation for the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center.
The approval followed a discussion with the center’s president and chief executive officer, Karl R. LaPan, about plans to increase cooperation between the NIIC and Purdue Fort Wayne next year, a relationship LaPan said has waned in recent years due to the university’s extensive changes. LaPan said he believes a partnership with a university is important to the success of innovation centers like NIIC.
PFW Chancellor Ron Elsenbaumer is a member of the center’s board and will become its vice chairman in January. LaPan said that will provide more opportunities for collaboration between the university and the center, including development of curriculum and use of facilities for research and other related purposes.
The NIIC was created two decades ago to help entrepreneurs launch and grow businesses. Its stated focus is “to strengthen the economy of Northeast Indiana by empowering the entrepreneurial, innovative people, organizations and businesses who call this place home.”
