Four questions for Jack Cecil

BT Catalyst, Jan-Feb, 2004

JOHN "JACK" F.A.V. CECIL, President of Biltmore Farms Inc. in Asheville, North Carolina, is an advocate for biotechnology in Western North Carolina and a member of the steering committee for New Jobs Across North Carolina: A Strategic Plan for Growing the Economy Statewide Through Biotechnology. Cecil is also chairman of the board of directors of Wave Three Software; director of The Institute at Biltmore; a member of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors; director of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges; director of the Education and Research Consortium of the Western Carolinas; director of Mission Hospital Inc.; director of the Western North Carolina Regional Board of Wachovia Bank, N.A; and a member of the Buncombe County Economic Development Commission.

In this interview, Cecil discusses challenges facing the biotechnology industry in Western North Carolina and the role the universities, community colleges, and the North Carolina Biotechnology Center and its strategic plan will have in the development of the industry in the western part of the state.

What is the greatest challenge facing Western North Carolina's biotechnology community, and what can be done to meet that challenge?

The greatest challenge for Western North Carolina initially is to grasp the opportunities at hand and optimize the prospects that biotechnology offers to the region. Plant and herb lore have been prevalent in Western North Carolina for hundreds of years, but only now are we working in concert to use this knowledge to provide jobs, improve health and increase the income of our residents.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

We are forming a Western North Carolina Biotechnology Commission to work with community representatives who reflect the diverse populations of our region. Together we will investigate biotech opportunities and develop a detailed strategic plan. The next step will be to implement the plan.

What role will the universities and community colleges play in the development of biotechnology in the western part of the state?

Western North Carolina's universities and community colleges are key players in the development of biotechnology.

The community colleges will retrain displaced workers; train high school graduates who do not plan to attend a university but who want a well-paying job; and provide students with technical training and certificates in BioWork and other programs.

The universities will train undergraduate researchers and leverage the talents of professors in botany, chemistry, engineering, business, finance, ethics/morals/societal concerns, mathematics and technologies.

How will having a satellite office of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center help Western North Carolina?

The satellite office, in conjunction with the commission, will be the nuclei for efforts surrounding biotechnology in Western North Carolina. These entities will work together to connect statewide efforts; to act as recruiters for biomanufacturing companies and nutraceutical firms; and to promote our forestry resources as well as give direction and oversight as we implement our strategic plan.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

We are extremely fortunate to have Dr. Charles Moreland as the Biotechnology Center's liaison in our region. His knowledge of the development of the Centennial Campus at North Carolina State University and his breadth and depth of experience in higher education research and in the biotechnology arena will be of inestimable value in our development of the industry. His diplomatic skills to forge partnerships in Western North Carolina and with others in the state will be put to excellent use.

How will New Jobs Across North Carolina: A Strategic Plan for Growing the Economy Statewide Through Biotechnology affect Western North Carolina?

The strategic plan allows Western North Carolina to participate on a statewide level in the development of biotechnology in North Carolina. It will also school us in recruiting bioprocessing jobs and growing our own small businesses and service providers for the larger biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. The strategic plan affords Western North Carolina the opportunity to become an asset to the state by incorporating our bio-diversity and our knowledge of forestry, environmental technology, and natural products. It also expands the opportunities that the state can offer when promoting North Carolina as a whole to businesses. The plan benefits Western North Carolina by promoting our region's specific attributes to companies that are being recruited to the state.

The development of biotechnology statewide is about engaging opportunities, partnerships, and collaboration with other organizations to make it work. By developing biotechnology, we are improving community development through education from kindergarten to community colleges and universities; through health care that will make our medicines better, more affordable, and comprised of more natural products; through economic development that provides better wages and jobs; through cultural and societal concerns that include ethics and morals going back to the heritage of Western North Carolina; and through quality of life and the environment, which will lead to cleaner air and water, and sustainable forests.