Contact: Carmen Ramos Chandler,
(818) 677-2130
carmen.chandler@csun.edu

MiniMed, CSUN to Break Ground on New Biotech Site

The groundbreaking will take place promptly at 8 a.m. at the site near the corner of Lindley Avenue and Devonshire Street in Northridge. There will be a continental breakfast at 7:30 a.m.

Mann, Wilson, Mayor Riordan and Los Angeles Councilman Hal Bernson will be taking part in the ceremony as well as a representative from the Juvenile Diabetes Association and a singing group made up of teenage girls who wear insulin pumps.

The complex is the result of a deal between CSUN officials and Mann's company MiniMed, which specializes in insulin pumps for people with diabetes. The agreement was brought about through the assistance of Riordan's and Bernson's offices, the local chambers of commerce, the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley and local community and business leaders.

The partnership between MiniMed and CSUN will create internships and high-paying jobs for students, as well as research opportunities for faculty and more than 1,000 jobs in the area. Almost 100 MiniMed employees have already moved into temporary quarters on the North Campus even though construction will not begin until the end of July.

The deal has been hailed by city officials as a boon to the San Fernando Valley economy.

"We're very excited about the potential that exists in the relationship between Mr. Mann's company and the university," Wilson said. "It's a win-win for everyone involved. He gets an ideal location for MiniMed, and we get opportunities for internships and research for our students and faculty. It's an example of what can be accomplished when universities and the private sector work together."

Mann agreed.

"We are looking forward to this partnership with CSUN," Mann said. "We see many benefits for our company, the university and the community."

Mann received national attention recently when he pledged to donate $100 million each to USC and UCLA, making the total contribution among the sixth largest ever made to higher education.

His agreement with Cal State Northridge is unique, building a private/public partnership that could generate on average more than $1 million a year for the university, which, like most public universities, has relied heavily in the past on state funding for its financial support.

The agreement is only the first of what university officials hope will be several such partnerships that will not only generate revenue for the university, but internships and job and research opportunities for its students and faculty.

Plans for the new biotech complex include the construction of four office buildings and a conference center that will cover more than 700,000 square feet of floor space on 28 acres on the north end of the campus at a cost of more than $80 million.

University officials will have access to the state-of-the-art conference center and its data/communications centers, which can be utilized for classes and distance learning programs to help off-set the impact of an expected influx of 500,000 more college students in the next decade.

Mann said he hopes to move other companies he owns to the site, and that the various enterprises could employ more than 1,000 people when the biotech park is completed in about five years.