Biotechnology Administrators' Program

The problem
Observations over multiple decades have shown that few bioscience community college administrators have any significant exposure to the industry and how it functions.

In speaking with community college administrators in biosciences, we ascertained they would love the opportunity to learn more about biotechnology. When we interviewed industry and institutional representatives; several expressed great interest in providing this opportunity.

Community college administrators rarely have direct contacts in the biotech industry. This disconnect leads to several difficulties for community college students graduating with bioscience degrees. The students may be under- and un-informed about jobs in life sciences after graduation. They might not be job-ready when they graduate. Some students may be over-qualified for jobs in their region. If a program lacks a focus on workforce development, it might be difficult to initiate and sustain industry-academic partnerships.  

A solution–The Bioscience Adminstrators' Program (BAP)
To remedy this problem, the Bioscience Adminstrators' Program (BAP) aims to get community college administrators into a setting aligned with Bioscience Skills to allow them to gain experience and increase their leadership traits by experiencing biotechnology-related infrastructure for three (3) days.

Ten (10) community college administrators (and in cases, prospective administrators) will be chosen for the program. The administrator applicants will be selected based on their need to understand and/or support of biotechnology.  Successful applicants  will receive a stipend which includes travel, accommodation and per diem.    

All the administrators will be flown into the Triad region of North Carolina where the National Center for the Biotechnology Workforce (NCBW) is located, and provided with a three (3) day immersion into biotechnology.

This program is a part of InnovATEBIO's national effort to prepare students for the biotechnology workforce.

When will the workshop take place?  June 1-4, 2026
Where will the workshop be held?  Winston-Salem, NC

When are applications due?  Applications are due now.  Successful applicants will be notified by Nov. 30th.

If you are interested in participating in this program, please contact Russ Read (rread@forsythtech.edu). Send a picture, short biography, and the reason you wish to take the program.