N.C. Research Campus relying on one donor

The UNC system’s innovative solution to solving the world’s health problems is holding on by a single thread – a billionaire donor.

After three years of construction and planning, the N.C. Research Campus, a collaborative research facility located in Kannapolis, is still struggling to get off the ground.

The campus, which combines the efforts of eight N.C. universities as well as private investors, has been forced to deal with budget cuts, loss of investors and a backed-up construction log.

Major companies have pulled out and universities have cut back, calling the campus’s viability into question.

The one bright spot: David Murdock, owner of Dole Foods Inc., has donated about $1.5 billion of his personal funds to finance the project. Murdock’s funding has played a crucial role in keeping the research campus financially afloat.

Murdock’s private investment removes much of the risk that has undermined similar projects elsewhere and provides enough reassurance for the state to continue investing in the campus, said Steven Leath, vice president of research for the UNC system.

The N.C. General Assembly appropriated $3 million to the campus. The universities’ individual facilities are funded primarily by state appropriations.

UNC-system President Erskine Bowles and the system’s General Administration are expected to divide that money up among the campus’s constituent universities in the next few weeks.

The additional funds will be central to the campus’s mission of using university resources to help solve worldwide problems of health care, hunger and curing diseases.

“The university budgets being frozen was a restraint for everyone,” said Phyllis Beaver, the director of marketing at the campus. “We are moving forward, though. We’re still focused on our mission.”

The campus as a whole is funded by state funds, private grants and investors such as Murdock.

UNC- Chapel Hill is projected to have the largest presence on campus, where its Nutrition Research Institute uses 125,000 square feet of space.

But the project is dealing with the consequences of a $1.1 million budget cut, which leaves it with only $900,000 to work with, said Beverly Jordan, the director of community outreach at the institute.

“People have been given notice that their jobs may be terminated as a result of the cut,” Jordan said.

Other universities on the campus are facing similar funding difficulties. N.C. State University’s Plants for Human Health Institute has had to delay the construction of its permanent facility.

“A permanent facility is still part of the plan, but we need to see what our funding allows and are in the process of working up some numbers to see what we can afford,” stated Tara Vogelien, director for business and research administration, in an e-mail.

Private companies, which are collaborating with researchers on campus, are also feeling the effects of the budget shortfalls.

PPD, a contract research organization based in Wilmington, announced in June that it would withdraw its plans to participate in the Kannapolis campus.

“Progress in developing, constructing and recruiting tenants to the North Carolina Research Campus has been much slower than we expected,” PPD said in a statement. “As a result, we elected to terminate our lease.”

In June, following the groundbreaking for Rowan Cabarrus Community College’s building on campus, Murdock described PepsiCo’s plans for participating in the campus as being “in flux.”

PepsiCo had announced in October 2008 its plans to participate in the campus.



Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.