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| For Release: IMMEDIATE | Contact: Norman Smit |
| Date: May 4 , 2004 | (919) 807-7181 |
STATE BOARD APPROVES UNANIMOUSLY BIOTECH GRANT RECOMMENDATIONS
RALEIGH: With a bang of the gavel, a new milestone was reached in North Carolina's development of its Biotech capability today. The State Board of Community Colleges decided unanimously to accept the BioNetwork recommendations submitted to them concerning about $4.4 million in grant awards. The meeting, which was via a telephonic conference call originating from the State Board Room in the Caswell Building, was held solely to decide on review panel recommendations.
The State Board decision will be forwarded to Golden LEAF, which is funding the initiative, for final approval. The Golden LEAF Board meets on June 3, 2004, to take action on these recommendations.
State Board Member Joanne Steiner said at the meeting, "this was a very objective process and very fair."
The State Board was considering recommendations to create six centers as well as dozens of equipment and facility enhancements and funding for innovation. (A full list of these awards is available at the end of this release.)
These centers are:
The BioNetwork Central Learning Center
The BioProcessing Center
The General Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Center
The Agricultural Biotechnology Center
The Continuing Education and Short Course Development Center
And, the Biotech Enterprise Catalyst, Business Incubation and Related BioLinked
Industries Center.
All of these centers will develop expertise, curricula and specialized training within their field of responsibility and then share it state-wide with the community college system. This makes BioNetwork a cost-effective, efficient way of developing biotech workforce training throughout North Carolina. These centers will amongst other things, act as hubs of specialized expertise for the entire NCCCS, monitor industry trends and benchmark practices, take the lead in developing new courses or enhance existing curricula, and market the programs to students and employers in collaboration with the central BioNetwork office.
The grant recommendation for the BioNetwork Central Learning Center went to a consortium. This center is at the dedicated community college space at the planned Biotechnology Training & Education Center, or BTEC, on the Centennial Campus at NC State University. This will also be the home-based scheduling center for the BioNetwork Mobile Laboratory, already dubbed the BioBus. The consortium comprises community colleges from the Research Triangle Region. Wake Technical Community College, which is the lead institution, will be joined by Central Carolina Community College, Durham Technical Community College, Johnston Community College, Piedmont Community College, Sandhills Community College, and Vance-Granville Community College. Together they will manage, operate and deliver specialized community college training and education services at the pilot plant training facility planned at the BTEC. The community colleges will provide industry-scale, capstone, hands-on training at the BTEC in a fashion that will be a first in the USA. The State Board decided that the consortium should receive the full $1,115,817 grant for the BioNetwork Central Learning Center.
Three Skills Centers that concentrate on industry subgroups and associated skills were also up for consideration:
Pitt Community College was recommended to host the Bioprocessing Center, which will specialize in biomanufacturing technologies using fermentation cell culture and other associated processes. It submitted a strong proposal with partnerships with 12 other Eastern and North Eastern community colleges. The grant award is $320,000.
In another collaboration, Forsyth Technical Community College and Guilford Technical Community College were recommended to host the General Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Center and share the $320,000 grant. This center will be responsible for developing expertise in clean room skills, sterile techniques, fill and finish operations, general biotechnology bench techniques and pharmaceutical skills, including introductory Quality Assurance/Quality Control, validation, and GMP/SOP.
Robeson Community College was recommended for the grant for the Agricultural Biotech Center. The grant award is for $320,000. This center will develop expertise in animal and plant applications used in medicine, food safety, farming and environmental impacts; forestry biotechnology for sustainability of forests and production of superior wood products using molecular markers; vegetative propagation enhancements and genetic modifications of forest tree species; and, marine biotechnology using latest breakthroughs in molecular biology, genetic engineering and cell science discovering organisms that heal wounds, destroy tumors, prevent inflammation, relieve pain and kill microorganisms.
The board also decided on the recommendations for the two Functional Centers that will concentrate on building critical capacities with community colleges to support all aspects of biotechnology workforce development across the state.
One of the two is the Continuing Education and Short Course Development Center. This center will create and update employer-driven and continuing education and training products, including BioWork. It will lead the conversion of non-credit short courses into optional credit modules. And, it will develop validated industry-acceptable credentials and certifications for community college education programs. The college recommended for this center was Gaston College and the grant was for the full $320,000.
The second functional center grant recommendation was for Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College to host the Biotech Enterprise Catalyst, Business Incubation and Related BioLinked Industries Center. The grant recommendation is for $320,000. This center will assist small biotechnology enterprises through incubation and support services, and develop entrepreneurial skills. It will also develop an accelerated course in the special business and production conditions required to work with biotechnology companies. Programs are aimed at acquiring non-technical personnel, suppliers, service providers and faculty with a better understanding of the industry.
After Golden LEAF makes a decision on today's recommendations, each of the grant winners will need to submit for approval additional detailed documentation outlining management plans, activity evaluations, timelines, and other related matters specific to the projects.
The panels that reviewed the 54 proposals submitted to the North Carolina Community College System BioNetwork comprised members of the Golden LEAF staff, the State Board of Community Colleges, industry leaders, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, and Community College System Office staff. Three review panels were assembled to review and rank the proposals submitted. One panel reviewed the competitiveness centers and the BioNetwork Central Learning Center applications. Another reviewed the proposals for the Biotechnology Innovation Funds, and the third reviewed the Biotechnology Equipment and Related Facility Enhancement Funds.
The State Board recommendations for the Innovation Funds and also the Equipment Funds are as follows:
Biotechnology Innovation Fund: The funding for these recommendations will be used for, amongst other things, updating or creating new curricula, faculty development opportunities, student recruitment and retention strategies and initiatives to expand outreach and access to rural areas.
Proposal: Alamance Community College
Project Title: "Beyond BioWork": the production of Six "Fast
Track" modules for GMP, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Basic Cell Culture
Techniques, Bioinformatics, Basic Microbiological Techniques, Biotechnology
Career Exploration
Funding Recommendation: Full Funding 50,747
Proposal: Caldwell Community College
Project Title: Customized Training for Three Biotechnology Firms
Funding Recommendation: Full Funding 15,308
Proposal: Cape Fear Community College
Project Title: Development for Online Marine Biology Course
Funding Recommendation: Full Funding 13,365
Proposal: Central Carolina Community College
Project Title: Development of Specialized Courses in Bioprocessing Systems for
the Industrial Systems Technology Curriculum
Funding Recommendation: Full Funding 38,131
Proposal: Davidson County Community College
Project Title: Enhance BioWork Course for Hybrid Distance Learning Format
Funding Recommendation: Partial Funding 60,000
Proposal: Guilford Technical Community College
Project Title: Development of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Training
Courses
Funding Recommendation: Full Funding 47,093
Proposal: Lenoir Community College
Project Title: Biotechnology in Local Schools (BILS): Establishment Of
Biotechnology Training Program for Middle School and High School Science
Teachers and Students
Funding Recommendation: Full Funding 13,720
Proposal: Richmond Community College
Project Title: Aquaculture Technologies: Freshwater Bioagriculture
Funding Recommendation: Partial Funding for Planning 5,000
Proposal: Southeastern Community College
Project Title: Development of Agriculture Biotechnology Curriculum
Funding Recommendation: Partial Funding 45,000
Proposal: Vance-Granville Community College
Project Title: Biomanufacturing Course Development: Fermentation Technology and
BioSeparation Methods
Funding Recommendation: Partial Funding 23,000
Proposal: Wake Technical Community College
Project Title: Creation of New Applied Science Degree in Packaging Engineering
Technology
Funding Recommendation: Full Funding 43,232
Biotechnology Equipment and Related Facility Enhancement Fund: Construction of new buildings or building additions is not a permissible use of these funds. These funds will be used to purchase new or used equipment, laboratory supplies, upgrade outdated equipment, improve facilities and upfit existing community college space for newly acquired equipment needed for hands-on training.
Proposal: Cape Fear Community College
Project Title: Equipment for Incorporation of Gel Electrophoresis into the
Chemical Technology Program
Funding Recommendation: Full Funding 14,342
Proposal: Central Carolina Community College
Project Title: Equipment to Teach Downstream Processing
Funding Recommendation: Partial Funding 84,200
Proposal: Haywood Community College
Project Title: Equipment to Enhance Training in Forest Technology and
Horticulture
Funding Recommendation: Full Funding 133,092
Proposal: Johnston Community College
Project Title: Equipment for Chemistry Laboratory for Associate Degree in
Pre-Chemistry
Funding Recommendation: Partial Funding 138,950
Proposal: Lenoir Community College
Project Title: Equipment to Enhance Science Curriculum and BioWork
Funding Recommendation: Full Funding 83,479
Proposal: McDowell Technical Community College
Project Title: Laboratory Equipment for BioWork and Facility Enhancements for
Laboratory Utilities.
Funding Recommendation: Partial Funding 75,000
Proposal: Nash Community College
Project Title: Equipment Required to Enhance Existing Biology Program
Funding Recommendation: Partial Funding 74,000
Proposal: Piedmont Community College
Project Title: Biotechnology Equipment Enhancement (BEE): Enhanced Laboratory
Technology Program
Funding Recommendation: Partial Funding 56,000
Proposal: Robeson Community College
Project Title: Facility Enhancement to Support Agricultural Biotechnology
Funding Recommendation: Partial Funding 185,950
Proposal: Sampson Community College
Project Title: Equipment to Enhance BioAgricultural (Animal Applications)
Training
Funding Recommendation: Full Funding 163,811
Proposal: Surry Community College
Project Title: Equipment for Agricultural Programs such as Viticulture
Funding Recommendation: Partial Funding 110,000
Proposal: Vance-Granville Community College
Project Title: Equipment for Fermentation Technology Training
Funding Recommendation: Partial Funding 56,700
Proposal: Western Piedmont Community College
Project Title: Enhancement of Chemistry and Biology Laboratory Equipment
Funding Recommendation: Partial Funding 60,000
Proposal: Wilson Technical Community College
Project Title: Enhancement of Facility to Increase Laboratory Space
Funding Recommendation: Partial Funding 95,500
For further information, contact:
| Susan Seymour | Norman Smit |
| NCCCS BioNetwork Director | NCCCS BioNetwork Marketing Director |
| (919) 807-7155 | (919) 807-7181 |
| seymours@nccommunitycolleges.edu | smitn@nccommunitycolleges.edu |
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