North Carolina Central University Gets the Go-Ahead for Biotechnology Center

North Carolina Central University, the historically black institution in Durham, has received permission from the city council to proceed with its construction of a 65,000-square-foot center which will house the university’s Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise (BRITE) Center. Before granting the necessary zoning changes, the city council demanded that the university make site improvements so that a buffer would be created between the center and the surrounding community.

The new center will provide laboratories for undergraduates and graduate scholars conducting research in several areas critical to biotechnology and biomanufacturing. The university will establish bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. programs in biotechnology. The state of North Carolina has budgeted $21 million for the project.

Copyright © 2006. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.