John Hardin

John Hardin is the Executive Director for the North Carolina Board of Science, Technology & Innovation, which is staffed by the Office of Science, Technology & Innovation in the North Carolina Department of Commerce. He was appointed Acting Director in spring 2008 and Executive Director in fall 2009. From 2003 to 2008, he served as the Board’s Deputy Director and Chief Policy Analyst.

The Board advises and makes recommendations to the North Carolina Governor, General Assembly, Secretary of Commerce, and the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina on the role of science, technology and innovation in the economic growth and development of the state. Created in 1963 (the first such organization in the U.S.), the Board has been responsible for the creation of a number of internationally recognized initiatives to catalyze the transformation of the North Carolina economy by leveraging research & development, science, innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology-based economic development.

From 1998 to 2003, he served as Assistant Vice President for Research and Sponsored Programs at the University of North Carolina (UNC) system office. The Research and Sponsored Programs division advised and assisted the University president in the planning, administrative review, development, promotion, and evaluation of research and sponsored programs within the 17 UNC institutions.

John holds the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in political science from UNC-Chapel Hill, a B.A. in economics from Baylor University, and a certificate of completion for the Leadership Decision Making program, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.