| RELEASE: Immediate | CONTACT: Susan Seymour, Norman Smit |
| DATE: October 1, 2004 | PHONE: (919) 807-7155 or 807-7181 |
NCCCS BioNetwork BioBusiness Center Manager named
Candler: The business of biotechnology in North Carolina has received a shot in the arm with the announcement of Cheryl McMurry Shenaut as Manager of the North Carolina Community College System BioNetwork BioBusiness Center.
The center, which is hosted by Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, is based at its Enka Campus in Candler. It will provide entrepreneurial skills development, incubation support services and accelerated coursework on biotechnology operations for non-technical people. The center will give academic and programmatic support to community colleges statewide on the business of biotechnology.
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Cheryl Shenaut (left) comes to
the BioNetwork with extensive experience in biotechnology business
development, commercialization and recruitment in the private and public
sectors. As a key player in and spokesperson for the development of a
biotechnology cluster in Oklahoma City, she was instrumental in the design
and creation of the Oklahoma Technology Commercialization Center, a
state-funded, privately-run enterprise widely considered a national model
for technology company commercialization which has assisted more than 60
companies and put together funding of over $200,000,000.
During her tenure as the Director of Technology Development and Marketing for the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, Shenaut worked on recruitment of biotech companies and coordinated the successful statewide campaign to amend the Oklahoma Constitution to allow for public-private partnerships between university laboratories and private entrepreneurs. |
During her tenure as the Director of Technology Development and Marketing for the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, Shenaut worked on recruitment of biotech companies and coordinated the successful statewide campaign to amend the Oklahoma Constitution to allow for public-private partnerships between university laboratories and private entrepreneurs.
Immediately prior to her move to Asheville, Shenaut spent three years as Senior VP of Emergent Technologies, Inc., a venture capital company headquartered in Austin and served as President of Emergent Technologies, Oklahoma, LLP, a limited liability partnership fund with investments in five Oklahoma biotechnology companies. She began her involvement in the life sciences arena in New Jersey as Special Counsel to the Chairman of MetPath, Inc., an international clinical testing laboratory. She has also served as Vice President and Counsel to Sci/Med, an early technology commercialization company.
Ms. Shenaut is not a stranger to the Carolinas, having earned a Master's Degree at Winthrop College, and a Master's Degree in Public Administration and a Juris Doctorate at the University of South Carolina. Her undergraduate degree is from Auburn University at Montgomery. She began her career practicing law in Columbia, SC, and was subsequently appointed to positions in the U.S. Department of Transportation as the Director of Public Affairs and the Chief Counsel of the Federal Highway Administration.
While in Oklahoma City, Ms. Shenaut was appointed to the Federal Reserve Board Citizen Advisory Committee for the 10th District in Kansas City, appointed by the Governor to the Governor's Technology Commission, served as the President of the Oklahoma Venture Forum, served on the Board of Directors for the Oklahoma Technology Development Corporation, and for the Community Council of Central Oklahoma, and held Board and Trustee positions in many civic, education and arts organizations.
Shenaut says that biotechnology is a transforming force. "One of the challenges the BioNetwork BioBusiness Center will take on is developing outreach programs that convey to people who live outside our urban research areas that biotechnology is a field in which there are immense business and employment opportunities," she said. "Scientists and entrepreneurs who have intellectual property to develop - as well as start-up and established companies - need to know that the community college BioNetwork will provide a first class workforce for them everywhere in the state." They need to know that they can locate wherever they choose and find a ready pool of well-trained employees. Shenaut says that this allows the intrinsic, unique assets of a particular geographic location for a particular enterprise to govern choice of location rather than concern about the availability of competent employees.
BioNetwork Director Susan Seymour said that Shenaut brought valuable expertise to North Carolina. "Having a person with Cheryl's experience will add substantially to our community colleges' role in facilitating the growth of biotechnology enterprises," said Seymour. "The BioBusiness Center, with Cheryl's leadership, will help North Carolina develop business skills and commercialization programs that will significantly impact small biotech enterprises, supply chains and opportunities for service providers. Vendors, accountants, attorneys, raw materials suppliers and others need to understand the business and production conditions required to work with this industry."
At a recent Golden LEAF subcommittee meeting that reviewed the funding for BioNetwork, Senior Vice President Mark Sorrells said that significance of BioNetwork could be seen by the "world-class Center staff members" it was attracting. Golden LEAF has provided the $8.7 million startup funding for the BioNetwork initiative.
Cheryl Shenaut brings to four the number of people who have been hired to lead BioNetwork Centers across North Carolina as the strategic plan for BioNetwork is implemented. The others are:
Dr. Lin Wu - Dean of the BioNetwork Capstone Center, which will be based at the Biomanufacturing Training & Education Center (BTEC) at NC State's Centennial Campus.
Bill Cooper - Manager of the BioNetwork Bioprocessing Center at the Technology Enterprise Center in Greenville, NC. Pitt Community College hosts this center.
Dr. David Brigham - Manager of the BioNetwork BioEd Center at Gaston Community College. (Biographies of these are available)
Center Managers for the BioNetwork BioAg Center at Robeson Community College in Lumberton and the BioNetwork Pharmaceutical Center in the Triad are expected to be announced soon.
A photograph of Cheryl McMurry Shenaut is available from either Norman Smit or Mona Cornwell.
| For further information about BioNetwork,
contact: Norman Smit NCCCS BioNetwork Marketing Director smitn@ncbionetwork.org 200 West Jones Street 5018 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-5018 (919) 807-7181 www.ncbionetwork.org |
For further information about the BioNetwork
BioBusiness Center, contact: Mona Cornwell Director of Communications Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College mcornwell@abtech.edu (828) 254-1921 ext 117
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