The
Millennial acquisition looking west from the main campus of
Western (in the foreground). The announcement of the Millennial Initiative at Western
is a major step in the University’s on-going commitment
to a powerful combination of academic excellence and economic
development in Western North Carolina. The new initiative
is designed both to promote exciting new educational opportunities
for faculty and students and to expand the university’s
partnership opportunities with the private sector. It strengthens
Chancellor Bardo’s vision of the university as an educational
community committed to growth and prosperity throughout the
region.
Formal state approval for Western’s Millennial Initiative,
originally called a Cornerstone Campus, came in 2000 with
Senate Bill 586. It followed legislation in 1987 establishing
NC State’s Centennial Campus and in 1999, UNC Chapel
Hill’s Horace Williams Campus, now called Carolina
North. The new legislation, when it passed in July 2000 as
Session Law 2000-177, authorized a Millennial Campus at Western
and at member campuses of the University of North Carolina
system.
Western immediately began the process of acquiring two
parcels of land totaling approximately 344 acres adjacent
to the Cullowhee campus. During negotiations for the land,
Western received a federal grant of $300,000 to develop business
and marketing plans as well as a master plan for the Millennial
Initiative. In December 2004, the land acquisition was completed
for a total cost of $2.87 million in state funds.
The University is working with Eva Klein and Associates,
a consulting firm nationally recognized for its work in planning
and developing university-related research and technology
parks. The firm held a series of meetings on campus to involve
faculty and staff in the planning process and organized a
conference at Western to explore ideas with regional leaders.
The result of those discussions was a series of recommendations
which are helping to shape the focus of the Millennial Initiative.
As that dialogue continues, Western is sponsoring the i7
Futures Forum on April 13, 2005, in the Ramsey Center for
an intensive discussion among regional decision-makers about
the future of Western North Carolina and the work of the
Millennial Initiative.
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