On Monday, September 12, 2005, David H. Murdock, owner of Castle & Cooke, Inc. and Dole Food Company, Inc., and Molly Corbett Broad, president of the 16-campus University of North Carolina, unveiled plans for the North Carolina Research Campus, a massive scientific and economic revitalization project that encompasses the former Cannon Mills plant and entire downtown area of Kannapolis, North Carolina.
When completed, the 350-acre campus will house the most state-of-the-art laboratory space in the nation and is expected to become home to over 100 biotechnology companies. A partnership with the University of North Carolina, including UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, has been forged to advance groundbreaking research focused on health and nutrition and to enable each of these institutions to have a physical presence in Kannapolis.
Click here for more information on the North Carolina Research Campus, the UNC campuses involved in the project, and the city of Kannapolis, N.C.
"The most exciting part of this project is to be able to create sustainable, better-paying jobs for the people of Kannapolis and the region, and the creation of this scientific community centered on biotechnology will allow a transformation of this economy from a manufacturing-based one to one centered on scientific knowledge and research. Through the collaboration of the university scientists, the biotechnology research, and the state-of-the-art laboratories, new discoveries will be made that will further my goal of teaching people about proper health, nutrition, and wellness.”
David H. Murdock
