Gov. Mike Easley dedicated a new biotech facility at Centennial Campus.
The 82,500-square-foot facility will provide hands-on training for college students with commercial-grade biopharmaceutical equipment.
Easley said the goal was to provide "every child in every community" with the opportunity to earn more money in the growing biotech industry.
"We are opening the door of opportunity to thousands and hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians across this state to be able to participate in a growing industry," he said.
Students will be able to earn degrees in biomanufacturing sciences.
The training center is a partnership between N.C. State, the state community college system, the Department of Commerce and the Golden LEAF Foundation, which provides grants from the state's tobacco settlement.
Easley noted North Carolina is behind only California and Massachusetts in biotech funding.
"I just want the governator out there to know that we are hot on his trail," he joked.
