2011 UKCED Annual Report

The UK Office for Commercialization & Economic Development made good strides toward our goals in 2011, working to advance the University of Kentucky's statewide economic development mission by turning research into innovations and jobs.

We are improving our intellectual property development process and we increased university-industry partnerships. Our campus business incubators, ASTeCC and AgTeCC, operated at nearly 100 percent capacity and we worked to find new ways to build much needed laboratory and incubator space at Coldstream Research Campus. We experienced continued success working with faculty, clinician, staff and student entrepreneurs as well as our Bluegrass community entrepreneurs. And, we impacted communities across Kentucky through our statewide small business development network.

Special thanks to all of our partners including the Bluegrass Business Development Partnership with the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government and Commerce Lexington, the Kentucky Office of Commercialization & Innovation, the Kentucky Science & Technology Corporation, and the Bluegrass Angels.

In closing, I am announcing my retirement from the University of Kentucky effective March 1, 2012. I leave behind a highly capable team of professionals who will continue their important work on behalf of UK and the commonwealth. I would like to thank all of our partners for their collaboration and support for the UKCED mission. And, I would like to recognize Richard W. "Dick" Furst, my friend and mentor, for all of his encouragement and wise counsel.

Leonard "Len" Heller, UK Vice President 
Commercialization & Economic Development