University administrators and several N.C. politicians attended a dedication ceremony for the Duke-sponsored Core Research Laboratory at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis, N.C. Monday.
Billionaire David Murdock, the campus' primary benefactor, made a $35 million donation to the School of Medicine in September 2007 to establish the David H. Murdock Research Institute at the 311,000-square-foot Core Laboratory Building.
Dr. Victor Dzau, chancellor for health affairs and president and CEO of Duke University Health System, has worked closely with Murdock on the project since 2005 and attended the dedication ceremony.
"If you could feel my heart tremble inside my body, you would understand how excited I am," Murdock said, according to the Winston-Salem Journal. "What you see before you today is the start of a bright future for Kannapolis and, I hope, for the state of North Carolina."
Tenants of the research campus include Duke, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, four other state universities and private companies.
Politicians who attended the dedication included U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr, both R-N.C., Rep. Robin Hayes, R-N.C., Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue, who is the Democratic nominee for N.C. governor and Rep. Joe Hackney, speaker of the N.C. House, the Winston-Salem Journal reported.
Murdock also announced that PepsiCo, Inc. plans to sponsor an additional 4,000-square-foot lab at the Core Laboratory Building, according to The Business Journal. Buildings sponsored by UNC and N.C. State were also dedicated at the ceremony.
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