Still no manager chosen for N.C. Research CampusBy Emily Ford
Salisbury Post
KANNAPOLIS ó Seven months before the Core Lab is scheduled to open, David H. Murdock and other decision makers have yet to name a manager for the copper-topped centerpiece of the N.C. Research Campus.
Murdock and a board of directors that make policy decisions for the Core Lab are searching for a manager for the 311,000-square-foot building, which is the worldwide calling card for the Research Campus.
The lab should open in July.
“The board is meeting frequently, and this is at the top of their list,” said Vicky Christian of the Duke Translational Research Institute. “It is an intense time of decision making.”
Dr. Rob Califf, director of the Duke Translational Research Institute, holds a seat on Murdock’s board.
“There has been a revision in the board’s approach to management of the lab and the optimal way to develop the lab,” said Christian, who also serves as project manager for a longterm medical study that Duke will conduct in Kannapolis.
Universities like Duke are depending on the Core Lab to help convince scientists from around the globe to moved to the Research Campus.
Lynne Scott Safrit, who acts as Murdock’s right hand, said the lack of a manager will not hinder faculty recruitment to Kannapolis.
Scott, president of campus developer Castle & Cooke, told the Post through her assistant that recruitment is going well and management of the Core Lab should be finalized by the end of the month.
RTI International has long been considered a favorite to manage the Core Lab. But what role the nonprofit research and development organization might play now is unclear.
The founding tenant of Research Triangle Park, RTI International still has an office in Kannapolis, and Alan Staple, vice president of the health sciences unit, continues to advise campus leaders.
“RTI continues to do consulting, but there is no further agreement with Duke on any expanded role for RTI at this point,” spokesman Patrick Gibbons said.
Potentially, the managers of the Core Lab could be full-time employees and faculty of the David H. Murdock Research Institute, Christian said.
“I’m not sure that outsourcing the responsibility was ever going to be the ideal solution,” she said.
Managing the Core Lab involves an “intimate understanding of the technology and a day-to-day accounting of every instrument,” Christian said.
The lab will be outfitted with world-class equipment, some of it one-of-a-kind, purchased with Murdock’s $150 million donation to a nonprofit foundation. Universities and tenants will pay a fee to use the equipment.
Christian agreed that the lack of a Core Lab manager has not hindered the search process for Duke, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill or N.C. State University.
“Each university is recruiting powerhouses in terms of faculty leadership,” she said. “We need the pinnacle overseeing the lab. It is sure looking like the right caliber of people are interested in the job.”
Christian knows of several candidates who have visited Kannapolis, including one who talked to Murdock until midnight, she said.
That candidate ate lunch at 46, Murdock’s restaurant, and “fell in love with Cannon Village,” she said.
“Duke, UNC and State have all been contributing to identify the right kind of talent,” Christian said. “The board is giving this their highest priority.”
Contact Emily Ford at 704-797-4264 or eford@salisburypost.com.