On Monday morning, the future of Durham County’s students served by Durham Technical Community College got a lot brighter!

I was in attendance at Durham Technical Community College as we broke ground on the new state-of-the-art Novo Nordisk Life Sciences Center – an innovative facility that will help prepare students for careers and biotechnology and other life sciences fields for decades to come.

This 35,000-square foot center came about from you the Durham County taxpayers who voted overwhelmingly to approve $35.2 million of funding for the facility as part of the $112.7 million bond referendum passed by voters in 2022. It is a true community investment. In the College. And in our youth. It was also helped by a massive $6 million gift – the largest corporate donation in Durham Tech’s history and among the largest made throughout the state of North Carolina’s community college system by Novo Nordisk.

“We are grateful to the people of Durham County and our industry partners for their support in creating a facility that will serve our students, the community, and the life sciences industry,” said Durham Tech President J.B. Buxton. “It will provide an outstanding educational experience to ensure the talent pipeline for a rapidly growing field that is improving health outcomes, while giving our students careers with upward economic mobility opportunities.”

What will this facility do?

A lot. Simply ask Damon Sanders, a graduate of Durham Tech and the BULLS Life Sciences Academy now employed as a manufacturing operator on the packaging line at Novo Nordisk. At Monday’s event, Sanders talked about hardships for some in growing up in Durham. His story saw him get into a car accident and lose his job, but soon after his mother gave him a flyer for the BULLS Life Sciences Academy that led him to where he is today.

“A lot of times, when people think of Durham, they think of the negative things going on in the city,” he said. “People dealing with hardships. People dealing with adversity. Being from here, it’s one of the things you learn to deal with. And while my situation was unfortunate, I realized that there are doors that are open for me. Today signifies the future of Durham and Novo Nordisk.

“You see, in my situation where I lost my job, I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t have any answers. And it was a couple of people in here that built some relationships with me that I’ll never forget. So, going back into the community and giving that to the next person is important. … This is truly a monumental moment. This is bigger than sticking a shovel into the dirt. I learned through my hard comings and adversity that you really need to really appreciate the wins. … Today is a day where we really have to appreciate the future and where this is going.”

Watch a video on Damon’s story here.

The life sciences industry across the Triangle region is booming, and subsequent talent needs continue to increase. According to the Research Triangle Regional Partnership, Research Triangle Park alone is home to more than 600 life sciences companies and is the fourth largest life sciences hub in the United States. The industry employs more than 24,000 people in the region and is rapidly growing – exceeding the national average at 13 percent per year since 2018.

Once complete, the Center will allow Durham Tech to:

• Establish a Biotechnology Associate of Applied Science degree program (for current college students)
• Create on-site training for biotechnology career transition programs to upskill/reskill existing employees and other related workforce training partnerships
• Ensure students are trained on biotechnology equipment actively used in the industry
• Provide outreach and awareness for area middle and high school students

These programs will directly connect students with career pathways at biotechnology companies and across North Carolina’s biotechnology sector, which has grown 30% since 2018 and is now home to more than 840 life sciences companies.

“(This) marks a celebration of Durham County voters, our commissioners and industry partners’ support for education and providing crucial employers to our community with the employees they need,” said BOCC Chair Nida Allam. “In Durham, we know how to build things,” Allam said. “Sometimes that’s new ideas. Sometimes it’s stronger communities. And sometimes it’s more traffic cones than any of us care to count. But today, we are building something that will give back for generations. And in Durham, when we break ground, we grow something extraordinary. I couldn’t be more proud and excited for us to all do it together.”

The new Novo Nordisk Life Science Training Center is scheduled to be constructed by 2026 – and I for one, can’t wait!

Until next week,

Claudia Hager | County Manager