Governor Nixon announced preliminary results from the 2010 Strategic Initiative for Economic Growth’s Regional Planning Team Forums sponsored by the Governor’s Task Force on Economic Development . The Department of Economic Development conducted a series of six regional planning forums across the state this fall to gather feedback for an economic development strategic plan to get Missouri’s economy on track. Nixon and David Kerr, the Director of the Department of Economic Development, were in Kansas City on December 1, 2010 to announce the preliminary results of these efforts. They chose MCC-Maple Woods because within the recommendations are eight broad strategy areas, and within those are seven targeted industry areas which include bio sciences and animal health. They wanted to make this announcement at MCC-Maple Woods because of our emphasis on animal health at this campus.