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<br />engagement, he said, and that partner would already have a sponsor at UNC. Mr. <br />Waldrop said that University work had spawned 22 companies in the past five years. <br />Council Member Kleinschmidt asked where those companies were located. Mr. Waldrop <br />replied that many new companies are "virtual at first" but that some have office space in <br />the Researoh Triangle Park. Others were "still being birthed in the sense that they don't <br />have their own space," he said, and they might have a faculty member involved in the <br />company and some management staff. Mr. Waldrop remarked that one or two others had <br />not been successful. Council Member Kleinschmidt clarified that Carolina North would <br />be a place where such companies could incubate.. <br />Council Member Kleinsclunidt determined that many times start-up companies have <br />faculty members who remain involved or pay research dollars to the faculty member to <br />continue researching in that area.. So, one way or another, that relationship could be long <br />term, Mr. Waldrop said. Council Member Kleinschmidt verified that a company could <br />construct a building there as long as there was an active relationship between that <br />company and the faculty member. <br />Council Member Kleinschmidt expressed relief that Carolina North would not turn into a <br />park of private companies, But, he asked, how would it become the employment engine <br />that UNC had described? Mr, Waldrop replied that there would also be partnerships with <br />companies that had not started up with the University but which had developed <br />relationships with faculty members. Council Member Kleinschmidt noted that a large <br />percentage of universities around the country had tried this partnership model and had not <br />become successful. The academic units had fizzled because money had stopped pouring <br />in, or the campus had never been built, lie said. Mr. Waldrop agreed that there had been <br />some failures, but he pointed to the success of the Centennial Campus in Raleigh. He <br />stressed the importance of not developing a research park with the sole purpose of putting <br />companies there. <br />Mayor Foy explained that he had talked with Mr. Waldrop earlier in the day and that Mr, <br />Waldrop expected to answer questions tluoughout this presentation. Mr. Waldrop <br />agreed, but pointed out that some questions would also be answered by the presentation. <br />Council Member Greene noted that half of the 200 or so research parks that had started <br />up in the U.S. had failed. About half of those that had succeeded had dramatically <br />reconfigured their mission, she said. Council Member Greene expressed concern about <br />the possibility of ending up with a bunch of empty buildings that the University won't <br />know what to do with.. Mr. Waldrop emphasized that Carolina North would not be a <br />research park, but an expansion of the UNC campus. Research parks do not have housing <br />and academic programs, he said. Mr. Waldrop emphasized that UNC's mission was to <br />meet academic needs, There will be partnerships, but that it not the predominant part of <br />this, he said. Mr. Waldrop remarked that the 100 successful parks had carefully planned <br />how to interface with their universities. Council Member Greene pointed out that the <br />current goal was to determine whether or not Carolina North could succeed, <br />