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Tens of thousands of students attend college each year in Guilford County, which several local higher education administrators described this week as an opportunity for corporate and civic leaders to build a vibrant economy and strong communities.

And though COVID-19 upended traditional campus operations, requiring colleges and universities to adopt new models of education, the same administrators described how some changes already look to be permanent improvements for students.

A March 16 online panel discussion that included ���ϲ����� Law Dean Luke Bierman was part of Leadership Greensboro’s Education Day. The 2021 theme of “Better Together” encouraged Leadership Greensboro participants to imagine how industry and business can partner with local education systems to improve and grow the community.

is a three-part, nine-month leadership development program developed by the . Participants apply to the program from local businesses and corporations, nonprofit and faith-based organizations, colleges and universities, and government agencies.

Administrators who took part in the Education Day higher education panel discussion:

• ���ϲ����� Law: Luke Bierman, Dean and Professor of Law
• Guilford Technical Community College: Dr. Anthony Clarke, President
• High Point University: Chris Dudley, Senior Vice President of Instructional Advancement
• North Carolina A&T State University: Dr. Beryl McEwen, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Leaders said that COVID-19 required every local campus to quickly adjust and determine best practices for virtual instruction.

“We learned as everyone did that you can’t be afraid of online education,” Bierman said. “There is value and there are ways to use it that can replace, but more importantly, supplement what we currently do. … There are new, different, and perhaps better ways to think about the educational experience of young people today.”

Other topics discussed in the hour Zoom conversation: school partnerships with businesses and organizations in the local community, and how the region should leverage nearly 60,000 students enrolled in a college or university inside Guilford County.

“This is really a college town. This is a college county,” Bierman said. “There are more college students than you can throw a stick at and we sometimes don’t always recognize that. One of the city leaders that I have spoken to calls college students, and law students, ‘like an annuity.’ They keep coming back each year. That’s a pretty powerful economic driver.”

Bierman noted the Chamber of Commerce’s ongoing efforts to recruit businesses to the region and to attract young professionals to the Triad. “If we really thought about and embrace the idea of the region as a ‘college town,’” he said, “we could make real advancements in making it an even more attractive place.”