Horticulture Faculty Part of InterCollegiate Grant Winning Team

In an joint proposal effort with Wilkes Community College and Mayland Community College Haywood Community College Horticulture Faculty were awarded a $75,000 NCCCS Bionetwork Grant to establish a Plant Micropropagation Collaborative Partnership. Tissue culture protocols will be developed and placed online for educators to use in North Carolina. Native plant propagation protocols will be highlighted.

Recent changes in technology and business practices have significantly altered the skills necessary to be competitive in the 21st century. Globalization and the evolution of a world-wide economy have created a new economic culture in the United States. Economic indicators point out that the new economy requires collaboration and cooperative partnerships among business, industry, government, and educators. Taking these factors into consideration, the Plant Micropropagation Collaborative Partnership strives to progressively develop streams of innovative services that will create a world class workforce, accessible capital, an innovative business climate, physical infrastructure, as well as an infusion of new plant materials and technology. The Plant Micropropagation Collaborative Partnership is one such service that will significantly impact the state’s ability to compete in the 21st century and within this new economic culture. The collaborating community colleges of Wilkes, Haywood, Mayland and Southeastern seek to develop a database of "protocols" to enhance the bioagriculture sector of the economy for rural North Carolina. The development of shared "protocols" on a BioNetwork database would be the foundation developed through this Partnership. The Plant Microprogagation Collaborative Partnership will develop, test, implement, record data and post results to the database. Wilkes Community College will be the primary agent to develop a secure statewide database utilizing the Partnership to enhance bioagriculture for North Carolina's Community College System BioNetwork.