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The Education and Research Consortium of the Western Carolinas (ERC) is a non-profit organization that works to promote better use of technology in education.
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The Education and Research Consortium of the Western Carolinas (ERC) is a non-profit organization that works to promote better use of technology in education.
The group was created in 1997 by U.S. Representative Charles Taylor (NC 11) to put together a plan whereby Western North Carolina (WNC) could participate in and help develop the new technologies of the time. Out of this meeting a group was created with a board composed of the presidents and chancellors of Brevard College, Mars Hill College, Montreat College, Western Carolina University, and local businessmen. Also included in the ERC's activities are Furman University in South Carolina, University of North Carolina at Asheville and the area's community colleges. The ERC's goal is to work cooperatively to bring the benefits of new technology to WNC and upstate South Carolina, as an integrated region.
Projects administered by the ERC include:
The Adventure of the American Mind Program (AAM Project) was designed to train in-service and pre-service classroom teachers and college teacher education faculty to access, use and produce curriculum utilizing the Internet and the digitized primary source materials from the collections of the U.S. Library of Congress. [1] Initially, the AAM Project was offered through Brevard College, Mars Hill College and Montreat College in Western North Carolina. Since that time it has expanded to cover nine states. [2]
ERC Broadband works to expand communities throughout Western Carolina through the build-out and expansion of broadband and data storage infrastructure. [3] ERC Broadband actively supports local communities and government with their wide area networking, as well as expanding community understanding of how to apply technology. ERC's focus is in the areas of government, education, and healthcare. ERC Broadband - as a regional network - offers Internet connectivity, data center services, and is a top tier provider of NEXRAD Level II weather data from the U.S. National Weather Service.
Pisgah Forest Institute (PFI) provides environmental instruction for educators. [4] PFI is a cooperative effort between Brevard College, the USDA Forest Service and the Cradle of Forestry in America Interpretive Association (CFAIA). PFI operates under the administration of the Appalachian Center for Environmental Solutions (ACES) at Brevard College as part of the ERC.
KCeeI is an environmental education Institute at Keystone College in LaPlume, Pennsylvania. [5] It offered its first workshops in July 2004. The program is modeled after the Pisgah Forest Institute at Brevard College. KCeeI is committed provides hands-on, inquiry based science and environmental education to educators using nature as a laboratory.
The Digital Media Institute (DMI) began in the Fall of 2002 with the primary objective of retraining displaced workers for the technology-driven job market. [6] The program is administered through Blue Ridge Community College's Flat Rock campus and is funded through the United States Department of Labor.
HRSA: A telehealth grant through HRSA funded an initiative to electronically link area health care providers. [7] This project was led by 14 area hospitals and aims to provide a system for integrated technology services.
ORNL/EERE: The ERC is currently working with UT–Battelle, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to develop of new energy conservation and efficiency technologies in the Western Carolinas to support technology transfer in the region. [8]
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a federally funded research and development center in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1943, the laboratory is now sponsored by the United States Department of Energy and administered by UT–Battelle, LLC.
Transylvania County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census the population is 32,986. Its county seat is Brevard.
Buncombe County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is classified within Western North Carolina. The 2020 census reported the population was 269,452, making it the 7th-most populous county in North Carolina. Its county seat is Asheville. Buncombe County is part of the Asheville, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the most populous city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most-populous city. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 94,589, up from 83,393 in the 2010 census. It is the principal city in the four-county Asheville metropolitan area, which had an estimated population of 417,202 in 2023.
Brevard is a city and the county seat of Transylvania County, North Carolina, United States, with a population of 7,609 as of the 2010 census.
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services located in North Bethesda, Maryland. It is the primary federal agency for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated or medically vulnerable.
Pisgah National Forest is a National Forest in the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina. It is administered by the United States Forest Service, part of the United States Department of Agriculture. The Pisgah National Forest is completely contained within the state of North Carolina. The forest is managed together with the other three North Carolina National Forests from common headquarters in Asheville, North Carolina. There are local ranger district offices located in Pisgah Forest, Mars Hill, and Nebo.
Brevard College is a private college in Brevard, North Carolina, United States. The college grants Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Master of Science degrees.
ERC Broadband is a project of the Education and Research Consortium, a non-profit organization created to expand the technical infrastructure of Western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina. ERC Broadband manages a regional network and offers Internet connectivity, data center services, and high performance computing services. Additionally, ERC Broadband is a top tier provider of NEXRAD Level II weather data from the National Weather Service.
Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) is a consortium of American universities headquartered in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, with offices in Arvada, Colorado and Cincinnati, Ohio and staff at other locations across the country.
Western North Carolina is the region of North Carolina which includes the Appalachian Mountains; it is often known geographically as the state's Mountain Region. It contains the highest mountains in the Eastern United States, with 125 peaks rising to over 5,000 feet in elevation. Mount Mitchell at 6,684 feet, is the highest peak of the Appalachian Mountains and mainland eastern North America. The population of the 23 most commonly associated counties for the region, as measured by the 2020 U.S. Census, is 1,149,405. The region accounts for approximately 11% of North Carolina's total population.
eCorridors is an information technology program to promote and facilitate broadband access for communities of Virginia and nearby areas. It was developed by faculty at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VT) in the spring of 2000.
The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is an office within the United States Department of Energy. Formed from other energy agencies after the 1973 energy crisis, EERE is led by the Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, who is appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Alejandro Moreno currently leads the office as the Acting Assistant Secretary.
Western Nevada College (WNC) is a public college with its main campus in Carson City, Nevada and additional campuses in Fallon and Minden. There are also WNC centers in Dayton, Fernley, Hawthorne, Lake Tahoe, Lovelock, Smith Valley and Yerington, as well as degree programs in five correctional institutions. The college offers a number of different associate degrees, certificate programs and a bachelor of technology degree. As of 2021, WNC had about 3,500 students.
The Clean Cities Coalition Network is a coordinated group of nearly 100 coalitions in the United States working in communities across the country to advance affordable, domestic transportation fuels, energy-efficient mobility systems, and other fuel-saving technologies and practices.
The Asheville metropolitan area is a metropolitan area centered on the principal city of Asheville, North Carolina. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget defines the Asheville, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, a metropolitan statistical area used by the United States Census Bureau and other entities, as comprising the four counties of Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, and Madison. The area's population was 424,858 according to the 2010 census, and 469,454 according to the 2020 census.
Claire Nader is an American social scientist and a sister of Ralph, Laura, and Shafeek Nader.
Alvin William Trivelpiece was an American physicist whose varied career included positions as director of the Office of Energy Research of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). He was also a professor of physics and a corporate executive. Trivelpiece's research focused on plasma physics, controlled thermonuclear research, and particle accelerators. He received several patents for accelerators and microwave devices. He died in Rancho Santa Margarita, California in August 2022 at the age of 91.
The Graduate University of Advanced Technology (GUAT) is an advanced research center and graduate-level degree-granting institution in Kerman, Iran. It was founded in 2007. It is also known as Kerman Graduate University of Technology (KGUT). The main campus is located in Mahan, Kerman.
William Thomas Greer Jr. was the third president of Virginia Wesleyan College and was named president emeritus upon his retirement in 2015.