The Education and Research Consortium of the Western Carolinas (ERC) is a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

that works to promote better use of technology in education.

History

The group was created in 1997 by U.S. Representative Charles Taylor (NC 11) to put together a plan whereby

Western North Carolina Western North Carolina (often abbreviated as WNC) 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 S ...

(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

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

s of

Brevard College 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. History Brevard College was named for Ephraim Brevard, a teacher and one of ...

, Mars Hill College, Montreat College,

Western Carolina University Western Carolina University (WCU) is a public university in Cullowhee, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. The fifth oldest institution of the sixteen four-year universities in the UNC system, WCU ...

, and local businessmen. Also included in the ERC's activities are

Furman University Furman University is a private university in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1826 and named after Baptist pastor Richard Furman, the Liberal arts college, liberal arts university is the oldest private institution of higher l ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

University of North Carolina at Asheville The University of North Carolina at Asheville (UNC Asheville, UNCA, or simply Asheville) is a Public university, public Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts university in Asheville, North Carolina, United States. UNC Asheville ...

and the area's

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

s. 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

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 The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

. 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. ERC Broadband works to expand communities throughout Western Carolina through the build-out and expansion of broadband and data storage infrastructure. ERC Broadband actively supports local communities and government with their

wide area network A wide area network (WAN) is a telecommunications network that extends over a large geographic area. Wide area networks are often established with leased telecommunication circuits. Businesses, as well as schools and government entities, use ...

ing, 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 NEXRAD or Nexrad (Next-Generation Radar) is a network of 159 high-resolution S-band pulse-Doppler radar, Doppler weather radars operated by the National Weather Service (NWS), an agency of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ...

Level II weather data from the U.S.

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

. Pisgah Forest Institute (PFI) provides environmental instruction for educators. 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 Keystone College is a private college in northeastern Pennsylvania, United States. Although the college's official mailing address is La Plume, Pennsylvania in Lackawanna County, much of the campus is in Factoryville in Wyoming County. It was ...

in LaPlume, Pennsylvania. 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. The program is administered through Blue Ridge Community College's Flat Rock campus and is funded through the

United States Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemp ...

. HRSA: A

telehealth Telehealth is the distribution of Health care, health-related services and information via electronic information and telecommunications, telecommunication technologies. It allows long-distance patient and clinician contact, care, advice, reminde ...

grant through HRSA funded an initiative to electronically link area health care providers. 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 UT–Battelle, LLC is a nonprofit limited liability company (LLC) organized under the laws of Tennessee. Its members consist of the University of Tennessee and Battelle Memorial Institute. UT–Battelle administers, manages, and operates the Oak R ...

, the

U.S. Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear we ...

, and the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Program at

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1943, the laboratory is sponsored by the United Sta ...

to develop of new energy conservation and efficiency technologies in the Western Carolinas to support

technology transfer Technology transfer (TT), also called transfer of technology (TOT), is the process of transferring (disseminating) technology from the person or organization that owns or holds it to another person or organization, in an attempt to transform invent ...

in the region.

References

External links

*{{official website, http://www.ercwc.org Education in North Carolina