Ellspermann Advisor Joining Ball State
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe senior advisor to Lieutenant Governor Sue Ellspermann is moving to a university job. David Terrell has accepted the director of economic development policy position at Ball State University. He previously served as deputy chief of staff for former Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman. July 15, 2013
News Release
Indianapolis – Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann’s Senior Advisor David Terrell has accepted a new position as the Director of Economic Development Policy at Ball State University, and the Lt. Governor extends her heartiest congratulations for his new appointment. Terrell started with the new administration in January 2013.
Terrell previously served as the Deputy Chief of Staff to Lt. Governor Becky Skillman, and worked with her to establish the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA), in 2005 to promote community prosperity by building capacity and forging economic development in Indiana’s rural cities and towns. Under his leadership, OCRA has received national recognition for its state-level economic community development policy.
“David’s experience brought a unique combination of business, state government and entrepreneurial skills which coalesced into not only leading Indiana in the right direction with rural development, but more importantly establishing organizations and mechanisms which will continue to bring people together to move Indiana forward,’ said Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann. “I am honored David agreed to stay on and assist with the transition of my team, and the state is deeply indebted to him for building essential relationships and nurturing an apolitical collaborative environment where committed people can build capacity and share ideas.”
As the first director of the state’s Office of Community and Rural Affairs, Terrell also worked to establish the Rural Roundtable and the Economic Working Group, which unites state universities, major state agricultural and rural organizations, and economic development groups into monthly discussions on planning and progress. His personal efforts to meet Indiana mayors and introduce them to state opportunities such as Indiana Main Street, Hometown Competiveness Program, and Stellar Communities have facilitated interaction with effective community-building tools and improved access to OCRA’s nine community liaisons and their resources.
“Very few public servants in this nation have forged state policy innovations of truly lasting rural impact— David Terrell is one of those,” said Charles Fluharty, President and CEO of the Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) at the Truman School of Public Affairs in Columbia, Missouri. “We were honored to work with Lieutenant Governor Skillman and David as the Office of Community & Rural Affairs was designed and created; and his steady, patient, and persistent commitment to building programs which embodied its founding principles have made OCRA a nationally-recognized model for public sector innovation and collaboration.”
“David’s belief that state government could enhance the potential for rural communities to first envision and then achieve their preferred futures will have a lasting impact on Indiana, and the rural people and places of the Hoosier State are far the better for his having served their interests,” Fluharty added,
A native Hoosier, Terrell graduated from Indiana State, earned his MBA from the University of South Florida, and previously worked in the private sector prior to establishing Terrell and Associates to consult in economic development policies. He also served in the Indiana Department of Commerce, in addition to his work with OCRA and Lt. Governors Skillman and Ellspermann.
“Working with the vision and collaboration of a strong staff, I’m grateful to Lt. Governor Skillman and Lt. Governor Ellspermann for the opportunity to serve,” said Terrell.
“Rural Indiana has been fortunate to have David working with their communities throughout the years,” said Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann. “I look forward to seeing the impacts of his new work with the existing community partnerships he has created, and I wish him the best of luck in his new role.”###
Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann oversees the Office of Community and Rural Affairs, the Office of Tourism Development, the Office of Defense Development, the Office of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, the State Department of Agriculture and the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority.Source: Office of the Lieutenant Governor
July 15, 2013
MUNCIE, Ind. — Ball State University has hired David R. Terrell, former senior adviser for Indiana Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann, to the newly created position of director of economic development policy.
Terrell brings with him years of economic development experience from state government and the private sector in Indiana, plus a national reputation as an expert in the subject area. He is scheduled to assume his new responsibilities on Aug. 12.
The new position, which will operate through Ball State’s Building Better Communities office, will concentrate on helping Indiana communities create economic development policies and strategies that will allow them to thrive, said Terrell.
“From the university side, there are things that we can do to help state government, there are resources we can bring in to help communities and there are opportunities where we can bring in students to give them some good experiences.
“All of this appeals to me, and I’m at a point in my career where it makes sense for me to go this direction. This is my last frontier: I’ve worked in government, I’ve worked in the private sector, but I haven’t worked in academia. It’s an exciting opportunity.”
John Fallon, associate vice president of economic development and community engagement, said the new position stems from Ball State’s long tradition of outreach and involvement in the state, plus a renewed commitment under the university’s new strategic plan to help advance Indiana’s economy.
“This represents an opportunity to expand beyond what we’ve been doing in the past,” Fallon said.
Among other things, Terrell will be charged with providing leadership, vision and direction for Indiana’s economic development policy and increasing the number, relevance and visibility of Ball State’s outreach and engagement projects in that area.
“All of this is rooted in two basic propositions,” Fallon said. “One is that human talent is the single most important element in economic development, and the second is that in order for communities to be competitive for that talent, they have to position themselves as desirable places to live.
“That combination will take David and others of us involved in economic development into communities around the state to work with organizations that impact quality of life — whether it’s municipal government, the arts, education or the very aesthetics of a community.”
Part of Terrell’s job will be identifying opportunities to involve other parts of the university in economic development projects. “For instance,” Fallon says, “David is not an artist, so his ability to help reposition how the arts are integrated into a community is limited. But he will work with the College of Fine Arts, which could lend considerable expertise.”
Terrell will work out of Ball State’s Indianapolis Center, part of a strategy to locate economic development experts in the state’s two largest population centers. Fallon said a search currently is under way for someone to fill a similar role for the university in Fort Wayne, Indiana’s second largest city.
Meanwhile, Fallon said, the university is delighted to welcome Terrell to his new job. His experience in government and business, along with his deep knowledge of Indiana and the challenges its communities face, make him uniquely suited for the position. “There might have been no single individual better