MSC Today - Macon State College

MSC Warner Robins Campus Director to Guide Start - Up Phase of Middle Georgia Innovation Center

Mike Hale, executive director of the MSC Warner Robins Campus and the College's Institute for Business and Information Management, is serving as interim director of the state's Middle Georgia Innovation Center for Aircraft Lifecycle Support in Warner Robins. The center is based at the Warner Robins Campus. (Photo courtesy Heather Fasciocco/Houston Home Journal)

ATLANTA - The Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism's Office of Science and Technology (GDITT/OST), in partnership with the University System of Georgia, has announced the appointment of W. Michael Hale as interim director for the Middle Georgia Innovation Center for Aircraft Lifecycle Support (MICALS) in Warner Robins.

Hale will add the responsibility for the MICALS start - up to his duties as executive director of Macon State College's Warner Robins Campus and Institute for Business and Information Management. He is a West Point graduate with a bachelor's degree in engineering, and he also holds a master of science in physics from the University of Virginia and a master of science in business administration from Boston University. He retired from the U.S. Army in 1982 with the rank of colonel. He has extensive experience in managing technology oriented enterprises in the public sector and has served as chief information officer under governors in Georgia and Florida.

"This appointment is a step forward in activating another Georgia center of excellence," said Glen Cornell, GDITT commissioner. "Mike will help us establish the cooperative relationships needed in Middle Georgia to create new technologies, jobs and prosperity."

The state's centers of innovation strategy, an initiative launched by Gov. Sonny Perdue in 2003, focus on the development of centers of excellence in the areas of aerospace, broadband technology, bioscience, digital media, logistics, medical technology and transaction processing. The objective of the strategy is to grow long - term economic opportunities for all Georgians and to attract new companies to the state.

The MICALS is a partnership between the University System of Georgia, the area's technical colleges, private institutions and companies and the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (WRALC). these partners will work to develop innovative engineering solutions to transform lifecycle support for military and civilian aircraft. Technology created in this center will then be tested by the WRALC and private companies.

The partner institutions will also concentrate on professional workforce development and Lean management processes that will drive a more efficient sustainment model for aircraft support. The center will be headquartered on Macon State's Warner Robins Campus and offer membership to aerospace companies from across the country and around the world. Member firms will participate in the development of innovations and have direct access to the final products of the center.

(Source: Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism's Office of Science and Technology)