The Vance-Granville Community College Bioprocess Technology degree program will be based at the college’s Franklin County Campus, starting in January 2017.
The program has been located at the college’s Main Campus in Vance County since its inception in January 2006. The biotechnology lab on Main Campus will now be used primarily by the new Histotechnology degree program instead.
The Franklin Campus, located on N.C. 56 just outside of Louisburg, has actually had a biotech lab longer than the Main Campus has. VGCC has conducted the one-semester BioWork Process Technician course in the lab on the Franklin Campus since it was first offered in 2001. Novozymes North America of Franklinton made monetary and equipment donations to the lab from the outset, and has continued to support VGCC over the years. That lab has also been used by the Bioprocess Technology curriculum degree program from time to time.
“Moving to the Franklin County Campus will strategically locate our program closer to Novozymes and other major employers in the biomanufacturing and pharmaceutical industries, while also promoting economic development in the Franklin County area,” said VGCC Bioprocess Technology program head/instructor Dr. Tara Hamilton. “We look forward to welcoming new students who want to succeed in this growing career field.”
The Bioprocess Technology curriculum is designed to prepare students to work as process operators or quality control analysts in biological products manufacturing facilities. Students receive instruction in a combination of basic science and communication skills, manufacturing technologies, and good manufacturing practices. In addition to the two-year associate in applied science degree, VGCC offers a 16-hour Bioprocess Technology certificate, which is open to eligible high school students through the Career & College Promise program.
VGCC is part of the North Carolina Community College System’s BioNetwork, a statewide initiative that connects community colleges serving the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors, providing specialized training, curricula and equipment.
Registration is going on now for the spring 2017 semester at VGCC, which begins Jan. 9. For more information on Bioprocess Technology, contact Dr. Tara Hamilton at (252) 738-3285 or hamiltont@vgcc.edu.
Image Information: Dr. Tara Hamilton (center) helps high school students attending a health sciences camp perform a procedure in the biotech lab on VGCC’s Franklin Campus. (VGCC photo)