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Tobacco millions awarded to colleges
(Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2003 -- CropChoice news) -- Diane Suchetka, The Charlotte Observer: North Carolina's community colleges and two of its universities were
awarded up to $60 million in tobacco settlement money Thursday to train
thousands of students for jobs in the biomanufacturing and pharmaceutical
industries.
The goal of the new program is to use highly trained workers to lure more
businesses in the fast-growing industries to North Carolina.
Martin Lancaster, president of the N.C. Community College System, is
optimistic the program will succeed because, he said, no other state
provides the depth and breadth of training the N.C. schools plan to
offer.
He added that it will "set North Carolina apart."
"These grants from the Golden LEAF foundation will be an incredible boost
to North Carolina's economic transition from manufacturing to
biomanufacturing," he said.
Ultimately, the schools hope, new businesses will create tens of
thousands of jobs to replace ones North Carolina is losing in textiles,
tobacco and other sectors of the economy.
The schools will work in conjunction with the N.C. Biosciences
Organization, a trade group of more than 60 companies whose products
include therapeutic drugs, genetically modified crops and diagnostic
devices.
The board of directors of Golden LEAF Inc. -- Long-term Economic
Advancement Foundation -- agreed to provide the money in a meeting
Thursday afternoon, according to college and university officials who
attended.
The organization distributes some of the money tobacco companies are
paying to North Carolina to cover the cost of treating tobacco-related
illnesses.
The foundation's share is expected to reach $2.3 billion by 2025.
Initially, the schools had asked for $84 million. But officials said they
could still proceed with the plan with the lower funding.
In addition to the $60 million, Golden LEAF asked companies that could
end up hiring students from the program to provide $4.5 million in
equipment and support for the project, school officials said.
N.C. State University will use its portion -- up to $36 million -- to
design, build and equip a Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center.
The center will include a pilot plant, a replication of the sterile rooms
and expensive equipment found in biomanufacturing and pharmaceutical
facilities, so students can practice before taking jobs.
It will be available to students from across the state, including
community college students, for final hands-on training before they enter
the work force.
It is expected to take more than three years to complete.
N.C. Central University will receive up to $19.1 million to build, staff
and equip research labs in what will be called the N.C. Biomanufacturing
Research Institute.
"We hope it will open the fall of 2005," said Rosalind Fuse-Hall,
executive assistant to the chancellor at N.C. Central.
North Carolina's community college system will get up to $9.4 million to
create five training centers at existing campuses. The location of those
will be decided later, Lancaster said.
More than 65 percent of the jobs in these fields do not require a
bachelor's degree, Lancaster said. And North Carolina's 58 community
colleges will train students for those jobs.
In addition, the community college system will provide a mobile training
lab that can be quickly dispatched anywhere in the state to train or
retrain workers.
"There's a lot of work to do yet," said Stephen Jones, vice chancellor
for the Office of Extension and Engagement at N.C. State.
"But I think the feeling that we all share is one of relief and
celebration.
We've now reached the point where we can begin taking the next step
toward ensuring that we are in position for our state to be the premier
location choice for this industry." | |
