Paul Meyer Appointed as Executive Director of Gateway Research Park

GREENSBORO, NC (January 23, 2024) – The Gateway Research Park (“Gateway”) Board of Directors have announced that Mr. Paul Meyer will assume the position of Executive Director of the organization effective Monday, January 29, 2024.  Meyer, who retired as Executive Director of the NC League of Municipalities in December 2021, has more than 25 years of non-profit leadership experience with a focus on growing organizations, developing talent, optimizing operations, and achieving positive financial performance.

In making the announcement and after a national search, Gateway Board Chair Kevin Baker said, “Paul’s experience in leading large and complex non-profit organizations, his deep understanding of both state and local government operations and funding, and his past ties to and relationships within the Piedmont Triad Region, all make Paul the right person to fill this critical role for Gateway.” Meyer will take over from Jim Westmoreland, who has served as Interim Director since March 2020 and announced his intention to resign in July 2023 to pursue other professional opportunities.

Meyer said, “I am honored to be provided the opportunity to serve as the Executive Director of Gateway. Having spent some time in the Piedmont Triad Region in the past and having become familiar with Gateway’s impressive portfolio of tenants and culture of on-going success, I look forward to working with the Gateway Board, NC A&T State University, UNCG, and the community to continue to advance the unlimited potential of Gateway and its future.”

The mission of Gateway Research Park, which is a partnership of NC A&T State University and UNCG, is to be a catalyst for university research, innovation, and economic development. Formed in 2003 as a 501(c) 3 not-for-profit, Gateway maintains a 70-year land lease with the State of North Carolina, operates two 75-acre research and development campuses in Greensboro, and has a diverse mix of private, non-profit, and academic tenants on its campuses. In addition, Gateway also provides management support services for Union Square Campus Inc.

Gateway Research Park provides a collaborative environment, which combines groundbreaking business organizations with world-class laboratories, highly advanced equipment and the intellectual capital of faculty and students from partner universities. The tenants and organizations connected to Gateway provide rich shared resources for technological growth, discovery, and progress. Any company that can benefit from collaboration is welcome at Gateway South, located at 2901 East Gate City Boulevard in east Greensboro, and Gateway North located at 5900 Summit Avenue, near the Bryan Park complex just off the Greensboro Urban Loop.

For more information, visit www.GatewayResearchPark.com.

For more information contact:

Mr.Kevin Baker
Chair, Gateway Board of Directors and Executive Director, Piedmont Triad International Airport.
bakerk@gsoair.org
336-665-5600

Merck, A&T to Establish Biotechnology Learning Center at Gateway Research Park

GREENSBORO, N.C. (June 7, 2023) – North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and Merck (NYSE:MRK) announced a collaboration agreement today for Merck to build a biotechnology learning center at Gateway Research Park’s South Campus in East Greensboro.

Merck will outfit the facility with the equipment and classroom spaces necessary to provide and enhance academic programming and training for biotechnology careers for North Carolina A&T students. A process laboratory will allow opportunities for students to put knowledge into practice in an advanced discovery setting.

The 4,025-square-foot facility, expected to be completed in 2024, will include manufacturing and research components with vaccine manufacturing process training for new and existing Merck employees.

“Merck Durham is committed to the community and the development of talent,” said Amanda Taylor, plant manager for the Merck Manufacturing Division site in Durham, North Carolina. “In this future facility, students will learn science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills through hands-on applications in manufacturing and research.”

“This forward-thinking partnership housed on the Gateway Research campus emphasizes both N.C. A&T and Merck’s commitment to optimize and develop innovative ideas in collaborative facilities that will not only benefit health outcomes, but will strengthen our impact in the research ecosystem for this region and state going forward,” said North Carolina A&T Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr.

The collaboration will add significantly to biotechnology research and education already underway in colleges and departments across A&T. In addition to biotechnology and bioengineering degree and certificate programs in the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering, the colleges of Engineering, Science and Technology, and Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, the university is developing a Department of Defense-funded Center of Excellence in Biotechnology.

The collaboration aims to not only provide training, but also build a pipeline of talent for Merck and the biotechnology industry overall.

“The Merck partnership fits well within our 2030 Strategic Plan, which demonstrates our commitment to transformative engagement,” said Tonya Smith-Jackson, Ph.D., A&T provost and executive vice chancellor of Academic Affairs. “We partnered with Merck because of their commitment to advance the human condition and strong values around diversity and inclusion. A&T is central to producing highly qualified students. Our nationally-recognized excellence in community engagement will also expand access to biotech teaching, training and research.”

 

Source:  NCAT.edu
By Jamie Crockett / 06/07/2023 Research and Economic Development