February 5, 2024
Shawnee State University’s Kricker Innovation Hub has been named an Economic Recovery Corps (ERC) host site and will welcome ERC Fellow Alaxandria Foreman to spearhead projects advancing economic development in the Portsmouth region.
Last year the Hub ignited the Arts, Culture & Innovation District project, launching a Digital and Immersive Technology (DIT) Startup Accelerator with Build to Scale funding from the U.S. Dept. of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) for southern Ohio and northern Kentucky.
To greater implement these efforts, Foreman will gather input from the strong network of existing partners and local stakeholders to develop a regional technology-based economic development strategy while driving phase two site development for a 0.6-acre site at 3rd and Chillicothe Street.
This project will create an anchor for the planned tech ecosystem and workforce by recruiting more tech companies to hire and locate in newly developed office spaces.
“We are very gratified and excited to be a host site and welcome Economic Recovery Corp Fellow Alaxandria Foreman to Portsmouth,” Hub Executive Director Amanda Hedrick said. “This program aligns perfectly with the mission and vision of the Kricker Innovation Hub here at Shawnee State, with technology-based economic development at the forefront of innovation, entrepreneurism and business and industry growth. We look forward to supporting Alaxandria as she begins her role here in Portsmouth at the Hub.”
Launched in 2023 through a $30 million cooperative agreement with the EDA, ERC is designed to build capacity in some of the hardest-hit and most economically distressed areas across the United States while cultivating the next generation of economic development leaders. The program is overseen by the International Economic Development Council.
This month, 65 Fellows, including Foreman, will commence their two-and-a-half-year field placements with host organizations across the nation.
“This inaugural cohort of the Economic Recovery Corps has the potential to infuse new energy and new opportunities in regional economic development nationwide,” commented U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Y. Castillo.
For more information about the SSU Kricker Innovation Hub visit ssuinnovation.com. For more about the IEDC visit iedconline.org. For more on the ERC visit economicrecoverycorps.org.