Jim Hunt: ‘NCREN is more than a network. It is a collaboration.’

Updated Dec. 7, 2009 at 11:04 p.m.

Jim Hunt: ‘NCREN is more than a network. It is a collaboration.’

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By Jim Hunt, special to Local Tech Wire

Editor’s note: Former N.C. Governor Jim Hunt, a driving force behind the launch of MCNC and the building of the North Carolina Research and Education Network, delivered the opening address at the 25th anniversary of NCREN last week in a two-day event at SAS.

More than 300 people attended the NCREN “Community Celebration” event. The following are his remarks that will be published in three parts. Part two will appear Tuesday afternoon, part three on Wednesday.

CARY, N.C. - I’m very proud to join you for the annual NCREN Community Day and a celebration of the tremendous accomplishments MCNC has achieved through the years. This year is a milestone as we mark the 30th anniversary of MCNC and the 25th anniversary of the North Carolina Research and Education Network.

NCREN is more than a network. It is a collaboration.

Many of us in this room, and many more throughout the state, should be proud of what we have achieved together in this partnership of government, academia and private industry.

Today, we can boast that we have created one of the nation’s finest statewide research and education networks. But this is more than a technology success. We are using this network to serve outstanding universities and educational institutions to advance research and education – and ultimately create avenues for new technology jobs.

Changing Economy

As we all know, the past 25 years have brought tremendous economic changes in North Carolina and growth in our state’s technology-based economy. Fortunately, our state’s leaders joined me more than 25 years ago in beginning to prepare for these changes. Our roadmap for progress for North Carolina must in the past and in the future will always begin with investments in our educational institutions.

Access to education and particularly science and technology education is the great driver to enhance the capability of our citizens to become entrepreneurs and create good jobs for our citizens. Educating our citizens with good science, math and technology education also will be a magnet for companies who want to operate their research and development companies here in North Carolina.

Work in these technology based fields lead to new products and opportunities for our citizens to gain good jobs—from technicians to research scientists. You see, all of this must happen for us to have a good economy in North Carolina that can provide all of our citizens with a good living for their families.

Think with me for a while about the institutions that have been created the last 3 decades and how we have built upon these institutions to raise the standard of living for many in our state:

N.C. School of Science and Mathematics 1980

In 1980, ---the first school of its kind in the country opened—a public, residential high school whose students study a curriculum that emphasizes science and mathematics.

A mission statement that reads:

To meet North Carolina’s need for responsible leadership in the development and application of science, mathematics and technology.

To act as a catalyst for educational improvement throughout North Carolina and the nation.

More than 350 students a year have come through the renovated Watts Hospital campus in Durham. These students have gone on to do great things:

One early student, Adam Falk, was recently named President of Williams College. Another graduate is a high level person at Microsoft and so on. One student, a young woman, became the number one plebe at the Naval Academy and in 1993, I had the privilege to ask her to lead the Inaugural Parade as the Grand Marshall. These students are just now beginning to give back financially to the school, just as these students have given back to North Carolina as teachers, researchers, and faculty and business leaders in North Carolina. North Carolina set the initial science and mathematics high school standard. Now there are more than 18 schools around the globe that have used NCSSM as a model to groom young students in science and mathematics.

When the School was underway, our next initiative, led by our great NC Board of Science and Technology, was the development of MCNC, an initiative to jump start the semiconductor industry. Just as you never know where ventures into new technology will take you, this institution has delivered well more in return on investment that we ever anticipated to our state’s economy and educational system.

N.C. Biotechnology Center 1984

Then, we laid the groundwork for the development of the NC Biotechnology Center.
North Carolina has invested more than $187 million in biotechnology infrastructure through the Biotechnology Center. The investment includes grants and loans for young companies and provides education training programs.
The North Carolina Community College System provides biotechnology workforce training through a statewide BioNetwork program and BioWork course. The community colleges, along with the UNC System, the industry trade group NCBIO, the Biotechnology Center, and five biomanufacturing companies, are part of the North Carolina Biomanufacturing and Pharmaceutical Training Consortium
• North Carolina ranks third in the nation in number of biotechnology companies for the fourth consecutive year, according to Ernst and Young's 2007 industry survey. (check this for 2008) (Call Norris Tolson for this)
• It has earned other national accolades for its competitive advantages.

• More than 528 bioscience companies are headquartered or have operations in North Carolina, employing 58,000 people, according to the Biotechnology Center's online companies database.

Part Two: The Information Highway

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