Last modified: Thursday, February 7, 2008
Deputy director of State Budget Agency to join IU Office of Engagement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 7, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS -- Tony Armstrong has been appointed executive director in Indiana University's Office of Engagement, it was announced today (Feb. 7). Armstrong had previously served as deputy director, appointed by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, in the Indiana State Budget Agency.
As executive director, Armstrong will work with IU Vice President for Engagement Bill Stephan to further the economic development and job-creation goals of the university, especially in the health and life sciences sector. He will seek to transfer IU-developed technologies to the marketplace, support new business ventures and build partnerships with businesses and universities across Indiana and throughout the nation and world.
Armstrong, a 1991 graduate of the IU School of Law--Bloomington, is excited about the opportunity to share the university's strengths with communities across Indiana. Among the assets he plans to leverage are research ideas, programs and centers in the life sciences, business and information technology, as well as in the arts and humanities and international studies.
"There is a really strong sense from everybody at the university that we have a chance to accomplish something really significant and transformative here," Armstrong said. "It stems from (IU President) Michael McRobbie's vision for how the university can support and strengthen the state's economy and also from what Bill Stephan has put together in terms of engagement.
"I look forward to building upon the energy and excitement that has already been created by developing new partnership opportunities, commercializing the intellectual property being designed by IU researchers and matching the university's strengths with the needs of companies here in Indiana and around the world," he added.
IU's Office of Engagement was established last summer by IU President Michael McRobbie and is directed by Stephan, who returned to IU after having served as senior vice president of community relations and corporate communications at Clarian Health Partners in Indianapolis. Stephan, who developed IU's economic development strategic plan three years ago, has statewide responsibility for IU's economic development programs and initiatives. He will look to Armstrong to further strengthen IU's engagement efforts.
"Tony Armstrong brings a wealth of experience and a deep reservoir of relationships with key stakeholders around the state that will enable us to significantly enhance our engagement efforts going forward. We're delighted to welcome him back to IU," he said.
Armstrong was appointed by Gov. Daniels to the State Budget Agency in January 2005 to help manage the $26 billion annual state budget. In fiscal year 2005-07, under Gov. Daniels' leadership, the Indiana Office of Management and Budget delivered the state's first structurally balanced budget in eight years and the first true surplus in three years, while increasing reserves and repaying payment delays.
Prior to his appointment in the State Budget Agency, he served as executive director and general counsel of the Indiana 21st Century Research and Technology Fund. In that role, he managed a $140 million fund that provided early-stage investments for collaborative research partnerships and cultivated high-tech industries for the state of Indiana.
Armstrong was associate director of the Office of Technology Transfer at IU's Advanced Research and Technology Institute from September 1997 to March 2000. At ARTI, now known as the IU Research and Technology Corporation, he was responsible for the protection and commercialization of intellectual property developed within the IU system.
He is a member of the Purdue University Discovery Park External Advisory Council, the IU Kelley School of Business Board of Visitors (Indianapolis campus) and the Indiana Public Employee Deferred Compensation Plan Committee.
In addition to his law degree from IU, he has a bachelor's degree in business from the Kelley School of Business and a master of business administration degree from Butler University.
Armstrong is from Madison, Ind.
To speak with Armstrong or Stephan, contact Larry MacIntyre at 812-856-1172 or lmacinty@indiana.edu or Ryan Piurek at 812-855-5393 or rpiurek@indiana.edu.
