ACC Breaks Ground on Biotechnology Center of Excellence; Construction Set to Begin This Summer
Among those who ceremoniously broke ground for the Biotechnology Center of Excellence were ACC President Dr. Algie Gatewood; ACC Board of Trustees Chair Dr. Roslyn Crisp; Alamance County Board of Commissioners Chair John Paisley; NC Community Colleges System President Thomas Stith, III; NC State Senator Amy S. Galey; retired CEO of LabCorp Dr. James Powell; LabCorp Executive Vice President Sandy van der Vaart; Chris Brasier of Clark-Nexsen Architects; ACC Board of Trustee members Eddie Boswell, Pete Glidewell, Tony Foriest, Julie Scott Emmons, Dr. Charles Scott, Craig Thompson, and Brigadier General (Retired) Blake Williams; Burlington City Councilman Jim Butler; former ACC trustee Carl Steinbicker; Cynthia Winters of Pinnacle Bank; ACC SGA president Kimera Naidoo; ACC Biotechnology alumnus Kinberly Pearson; and ACC Biotechnology student Travis Wheeley.
Alamance Community College held a groundbreaking ceremony on May 7 to kick off the initial construction phase for the $17.6 million Biotechnology Center of Excellence facility.
College administrators, public officials, and business leaders attended the in-person ceremony while observing social distancing rules. The public had an opportunity to view the event via a live stream.
The Biotechnology Center of Excellence, a freestanding, three-story, 30,000 square foot structure, will be a mix of labs and classroom space serving the Biotechnology, Medical Laboratory Technology, Histotechnology and Agricultural-Biotechnology programs.
Burlington is the #1 Small Metropolitan Area in the nation for health diagnostics and testing. Further, biosciences job growth is expected to grow exponentially over the next decade.
A large invited crowd of dignitaries, elected officials, industry leaders, and college personnel listened to an array of speakers, including:
- ACC President Dr. Algie Gatewood
- Roslyn Crisp, Chair of the ACC Board of Trustees
- John Paisley, Chairman of the Alamance County Board of Commissioners
- Thomas Stith III, President of the NC Community College System
- Amy Galey, NC State Senator from District 24
- Sandy van der Vaart, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Counsel of LabCorp, Inc.
- James B. Powell, Former CEO of LabCorp, Inc.
- Chris Brasier, Clark Nexsen Architects
- Kinberly Pearson, ACC Biotechnology Alumnus Class of 2014
- Travis Wheeley, ACC Biotechnology student
Speakers included (left) Dr. Roslyn Crisp, chair of the ACC Board of Trustees; and (right) Sandy van der Vaart, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Counsel for LabCorp, Inc.
The event concluded with the ceremonial groundbreaking as several groups of dignitaries donned construction helmets and pitched dirt with silver-plated shovels.
Construction is set to begin in late June. The Center of Excellence building will open for students in fall 2022.