Departments
Centers, Consortia, & Institutes
Other Specialized CALS Research Programs
Centers, Consortia and Institutes
One way in which the mission of the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service may be realized is through partnerships with private and corporate sponsors, other universities, and federal and state agencies. The expectation of these partnerships is that the individual strengths can be leveraged and that new knowledge results in new technology or improved services or products that, consistent with the land-grant mandate for outreach and extension, must be transferred to the public domain for the use of society.
Some of the most effective partnerships are those formed under organizational units known as Centers. Centers employ highly competent faculty and offer sponsors a critical mass of talent that surpasses the capabilities of individual departments. These partnerships create new and diverse opportunities that expand the knowledge base and economic development of North Carolina and the nation.
As a general rule, Centers should be multidisciplinary, must have a strong graduate educational component, and may be formed when a group of interested faculty are successful in obtaining long-term funding to pursue research that is consistent with the mission of the University, but which does not compete with or duplicate existing academic programs or other established units..
No two Centers are exactly alike. Some are formed from block funding offered by an agency, industry, foundation or endowment, often on a competitive basis. Others may be membership Centers that are used to fund research projects approved by the members, and from which they mutually agree to benefit. Many Centers begin as programs or consortia that are spawned and nurtured by a few key researchers from the ground up. For more information on Centers at NCSU see http://www.ncsu.edu/sparcs/centers/cils.html
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has many Centers and Consortia. Listed below are the current Centers and Consortia with links to their web sites.
Other Specialized CALS Research Programs
