ASHEVILLE, N.C., September 23, 2003 - Dr. Charles Moreland, vice chairman of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center's board of directors and retired vice chancellor for research at N.C. State University, has been appointed Western North Carolina liaison for the Biotechnology Center.
Moreland will serve as a point person for developing the biotechnology industry in Western North Carolina. He will work to connect the region's business, education and government leaders with the programs and resources of the Biotechnology Center in Research Triangle Park.
"This is my new home, and I want to do what I can to help economic development here," Moreland said.
Moreland was a chemistry professor for 38 years and vice chancellor for research for eight years before retiring from NCSU in July 2002 and moving to the Asheville area. He has also served on the Biotechnology Center's board of directors for the last 18 years.
"We are delighted and fortunate to have Charles Moreland as the Center's liaison here," said John F.A.V. Cecil, president of Biltmore Farms Inc. in Asheville and an advocate for biotechnology in Western North Carolina. "His depth of knowledge and breadth of experience in higher education research and in the biotechnology arena will serve us well in our development of the industry in this part of the state."
Moreland will work from an office on the Enka campus of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, one of the office's sponsoring partners along with Advantage West and the Appalachian Regional Commission. The office will be formally dedicated at a ceremony in the spring of 2004.
It is one of four satellite offices the Biotechnology Center is opening across the state to strengthen biotechnology in areas beyond the biotechnology-rich Research Triangle area. An office serving the Piedmont Triad area was dedicated in Winston-Salem in June, and offices will open in Charlotte and Eastern North Carolina in 2004.
Establishment of the Western North Carolina office follows a report issued in 2002 by the Steering Committee to Strengthen Biotechnology in Western North Carolina, a 15-member group created by the Biotechnology Center. The report suggested 11 recommendations for bringing biotechnology development to the region.
Initially Moreland is helping Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College launch a BioWork course for training biomanufacturing workers, is working to recruit companies to the college's business incubator, and is helping the University of North Carolina - Asheville plan an undergraduate research program in biotechnology.
The Biotechnology Center is a private, non-profit corporation supported by the General Assembly. Its mission is to provide long-term economic and societal benefits to North Carolina by supporting biotechnology research, business and education statewide.
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Contact: Barry Teater, Director of Corporate Communications, at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, 919-541-9366; or Charles Moreland, 828-254-1921, ext. 5831. Visit the Center's web site at www.ncbiotech.org.
