UNCA and City of Asheville Set Stage for New Partnerships

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North Carolina state, county, and city officials
at the signing of the memorandum.

Staff reports

The long-standing partnership between UNC Asheville and City of Asheville took a step forward with the signing of a joint agreement that sets the stage for future collaborations. UNC Asheville Chancellor Anne Ponder and Asheville Mayor Terry Bellamy signed the agreement. They were joined by UNC President Erskine Bowles, along with city, university, and elected officials at the ceremony, held at the Grove Arcade in downtown Asheville.

The memo of understanding provides a framework for further collaborations in a number of areas important to the city and the region: environmental sustainability, health and wellness, culture and recreation, economic development and technology, and public safety.

 

“I am really excited about this collaboration because it is with one of
the best universities in the country. I am also pleased to have these
tools available, accessible and affordable for the City of Asheville
and the County of Buncombe. This collaboration goes beyond liberal arts
studies; today we are talking about economic development, keeping
people healthy, promoting education and working together,” Mayor
Bellamy said.

“What we’re doing at this very moment is more than signing a piece of
paper,” said Chancellor Ponder. Whether it is climate and technology,
sustainability, health and wellness, public safety, this is exactly
what Asheville needs. Even in times like these, when we have to discern
very carefully what we can invest in because we can’t do everything, we
are choosing to do this with the City of Asheville because it is so
important. The University of North Carolina Asheville and City of
Asheville do work together, are working together, and will work
together.”

The chancellor, an Asheville native, noted that the partnership
agreement fits perfectly with the university’s strategic plan, the
city’s goals, and UNC Tomorrow, the UNC system’s plan for responding to
the needs of North Carolina. President Bowles agreed.

“I think the real benefit of the signing of the memorandum of
understanding is that it will enable us to leverage the fabulous
resources and people we bring together as a group. More will come
forward from it and benefit the people of this region,” he said.

The signing was followed by the official opening of the Renaissance
Computing Institute (RENCI) at UNC Asheville Engagement Site at its new
location at the Grove Arcade. RENCI is a multi-institution virtual
organization headquartered in the Research Triangle that provides high
performance computing technologies and a diverse research faculty to
address important problems in the state. The engagement site is one of
several in the state established through university-RENCI partnerships.

In its new location, the RENCI site will provide leading edge
technology for area decision-makers and other collaborators in disaster
research, mitigation, and preparedness, taking advantage of Western
North Carolina’s expertise in weather and climate modeling,
visualization and public outreach. Locating the engagement site in
downtown Asheville, close to its many users, is a primary example of
the benefits of cooperation and collaboration between the UNC Asheville
and the city.

Jim Fox, director of the RENCI site, noted that more than 20 partners,
including the city, Buncombe County, the National Climatic Data Center,
the U.S. Forest Service, and the Land of Sky Regional Council, are
involved in the work at RENCI. “What we’re doing is addressing key
societal issues: climate change, land-use change, economic development,
water resources. These are all challenges that cannot be handled
individually. We need to provide the tools for local decision makers –
the city, the county, the state – to be able to access those trusted
sorts of information and make the critical decisions as we move ahead.
The key is the people, all working together.”

The city and UNC Asheville’s National Environmental Modeling and
Analysis Center (NEMAC) began working together after the widespread
flooding that occurred in the wake of a series of hurricanes in 2004.
With technological assistance from RENCI at UNC Asheville, which is
part of NEMAC, the group developed a 3D watershed tool that shows the
location of flood-prone areas, impervious surfaces, and the effect of
future building in the watershed. This set of tools is being used to
create a new plan to mitigate the effects of the floods and to avoid
flooding in the future.