Byron Stauffer, executive director of the the Indiana
County Office of Planning and Development, presented to the participants of the
Leadership Indiana County program on Friday, March 13, 2015.
Stauffer’s presentation included a review of the business
park development process in Indiana County and a brief history of economic
development in the region. He then laid out the county’s plan for the near
future and spoke on the healthy relationship between various county entities,
including the County Commissioner’s Office, the Indiana County Development
Corporation, the Chamber of Commerce, IUP, and the Tourist Bureau. Participants
then explained their interest in fostering STEM jobs and STEM education in the
region.
Previous presenters have included County Commissioner Rodney
Ruddock, Center for Family Business Director Ellen Ruddock, Indiana Country
Tourism Director Denise Liggett, Employment and Labor Relations Professor David
Piper, and Chamber of Commerce President Jim Struzzi.
The Leadership Indiana County (LIC) program is a countywide,
multi-month training program for 25- to 45-year-old business and community
leaders. It is offered to the Indiana County Chamber of Commerce and
administered by the MARTI Institute at IUP. Director of the program is Erick
Lauber (Journalism), under the supervision of MARTI’s Alex Heckert, chair of
Sociology (which houses the PhD in Administration and Leadership Studies
program). Victor Garcia (Anthropology), director of the MARTI Institute, has
also presented to the LIC participants.
The graduation date for this first class will be March 26,
2015, during the Chamber After Hours event at the First Commonwealth Building in
downtown Indiana.