Thursday, April 16, 2009

Administrators from University of North Carolina system universities and community colleges, representatives from state government and private industry leaders will gather at the University of North Carolina Wilmington from 8:30 to noon on Friday, April 17 for a Southeast Regional Economic Development and Transformation Summit. The meeting will be held in the Computer Information Sciences Building, Room 1008.

Although the summit is not open to the public, media are invited to attend and cover this event.

As part of the UNC Tomorrow initiative, the UNC system has been challenged to play a more intentional role in the economic transformation of the state, and will do so within its three-part mission: teaching, research and service. A new partnership between the North Carolina Department of Commerce and the University of North Carolina will drive state-level cooperation and policy development in the area of economic growth. The Southeast Regional Economic Development and Transformation Summit is part of that process for our region of the state.

"The goal of the summit is largely to share information and generate ideas," said Steve McFarland, UNC Wilmington vice provost and organizer of the summit. "We want to hear from business leaders about what they need, and also to tell them what resources the UNC system can provide to assist them. We want to bring together all economic entities interested in developing a strong relationship with regional university campuses."

The meeting will center around a series of discussions on particular business sectors. Discussion topics and the attendees that will lead them are as follows:

• Biotechnology, Clinical Research and Pharmaceuticals (Michael McKenna, Merrion Pharmaceuticals; Norris Tolson, North Carolina Biotechnology Center; Sharon Thompson, Brunswick Community College; Dan Baden, UNCW Center for Marine Science)

• Transportation and Logistics (Tom Eager, North Carolina Ports Authority)

• All American Defense Corridor/Triangle (Tom Gaskill, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and New River Air Station; Paul Dordal, Fort Bragg/Pope Air Force Base BRAC Regional Task Force; representative from Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point

Other participants include UNCW Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo, FSU Chancellor James Anderson, UNCW Chancellor Allen Meadors, UNCW Vice Chancellor for Public Service and Continuing Studies Steve Demski, U.S. Representative Mike McIntyre and NC Secretary of Commerce Dale Carroll.

Media contact:
Dana Fischetti, media relations manager, 910.962.7259 or fischettid@uncw.edu