The Campus was envisioned by David H. Murdock, owner of Dole Food Company and Castle and Cooke, Inc., as a center for improving human health through research into nutrition and agriculture.

As a scientific community of eight universities, the David H. Murdock Research Institute, global companies and entrepreneurs, the shared mission is to improve human health through nutrition.

The following year, a 60,000 square foot Class A medical office building opened with Carolinas Healthcare System as the main tenant.

In November 2015, Mark Spitzer was chosen by Murdock to be the new Vice President of Operations for Castle & Cooke North Carolina.

BioArmor, a company that employs nanotechnology to produce hand sanitizers that do not use alcohol, leased space in the David H. Murdock Core Laboratory in 2016.

Catawba College joined in partnership with the North Carolina Research Campus to assist with marketing and business development projects.