{"623127":{"#nid":"623127","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Karen Fite to Lead Enterprise Innovation Institute as Interim Vice President","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Institute of Technology has named Karen Fite interim vice president of its economic development unit, the Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI\u003Csup\u003E2\u003C\/sup\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFite, who is EI\u0026sup2;\u0026rsquo;s associate vice president, will lead the 12-program organization while Georgia Tech conducts a national search for a permanent vice president to succeed Chris Downing, who retired in June after 31 years of service.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EEI\u003Csup\u003E2\u003C\/sup\u003Eis the nation\u0026rsquo;s largest and most comprehensive university-based program of business and industry assistance, technology commercialization, and economic development.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFite, who also is director of EI\u003Csup\u003E2\u003C\/sup\u003E\u0026rsquo;s Business \u0026amp; Industry Services group of programs, has more than 26 years of economic development experience at Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Business \u0026amp; Industry Services group includes the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gamep.org\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;(GaMEP), EI\u003Csup\u003E2\u003C\/sup\u003E\u0026rsquo;s largest economic development offering. It also includes:\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cul\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/oshainfo.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESafety, Health, and Environmental Services\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;(SHES)\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/mbdabusinesscenter-atlanta.org\/\u0022\u003EAtlanta MBDA Centers\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/contractingacademy.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EContracting Education Academy\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gtpac.org\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;(GTPAC)\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/setaac.org\/\u0022\u003ESoutheastern Trade Adjustment Assistance Center\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;(SETAAC).\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;As director of business and industry services, Karen has successfully provided leadership in critical areas of economic development. We have full confidence that she will continue EI\u003Csup\u003E2\u003C\/sup\u003E\u0026rsquo;s momentum and reach in Georgia and beyond as we conduct the search for a permanent vice president,\u0026rdquo; said\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.research.gatech.edu\/meet-dr-chaouki-t-abdallah\u0022\u003EChaouki Abdallah\u003C\/a\u003E, Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s executive vice president for research.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;She brings an enormous wealth of expertise and critical understanding to economic development and how to connect businesses, manufacturers, and communities to Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s vast innovation and technology resources to elevate their competitive position and economic impact.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWith state and federal support, for example, EI\u003Csup\u003E2\u003C\/sup\u003E\u0026rsquo;s 160-member staff operate a statewide network of assistance to Georgia manufacturers through the GaMEP and supports commercialization of Georgia Tech faculty research via its\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/venturelab.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EVentureLab\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;offering.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EA globally recognized model for university-based economic development, EI\u003Csup\u003E2\u003C\/sup\u003E\u0026mdash; through its\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/edl.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EEconomic Development Lab\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;program \u0026mdash; is tapped across the state, nationally, and internationally to help communities and organization innovate in business incubation and commercialization, strategic planning, and economic sustainability.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOther programs include assisting in the growth and development of technology startups through the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/atdc.org\/\u0022\u003EAdvanced Technology Development Center\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;(ATDC), serving minority-owned businesses, and advising companies across the Southeast that have been affected by foreign trade.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EPreviously, Fite was GaMEP\u0026rsquo;s state regional network manager and led a team of 10 regional managers in their outreach efforts.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHer earlier experience includes the application of industrial and management engineering, employee involvement, and business principles.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFite has a master\u0026rsquo;s degree in business administration from the University of Miami and a bachelor\u0026rsquo;s in health systems from Georgia Tech.In 2018, she achieved the faculty rank of principal extension professional, the Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s highest professional extension faculty rank.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Fite, who is EI\u00b2\u2019s associate vice president, will lead the 12-program organization while Georgia Tech conducts a national search for a permanent vice president."}],"uid":"28137","created_gmt":"2019-07-09 23:22:51","changed_gmt":"2019-08-09 21:08:32","author":"P\u00e9ralte Paul","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2019-07-10T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2019-07-10T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"623128":{"id":"623128","type":"image","title":"Karen Fite","body":null,"created":"1562714770","gmt_created":"2019-07-09 23:26:10","changed":"1565384899","gmt_changed":"2019-08-09 21:08:19","alt":"Headshot of Karen Fite","file":{"fid":"237298","name":"Karen Fite.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Karen%20Fite.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Karen%20Fite.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":313284,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Karen%20Fite.jpg?itok=kUIq9gpM"}}},"media_ids":["623128"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"139","name":"Business"}],"keywords":[{"id":"52201","name":"Karen Fite"},{"id":"3671","name":"Enterprise Innovation Institute"},{"id":"9040","name":"EI2"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"106361","name":"Business and Economic Development"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EP\u0026eacute;ralte C. Paul\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E404.316.1210\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:peralte.paul@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eperalte.paul@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["peralte.paul@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}