The Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia.  Established in 1991, the Center’s goals are to expand higher education degree programs and economic development opportunities in far SW Virginia.  Located approximately 325 miles from Richmond, the far SW Virginia region borders on: West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina.  Nine Virginia colleges and universities now offer 80+ undergraduate and graduate degrees at the Center’s beautiful campus in Abingdon.  Abingdon, was founded in 1778 and is an important education, arts, and tourism center.  The new Heartwood  Center located next to the Higher Education Center opens in 2011, and will be a major regional center for Appalachian crafts and bluegrass music. 

The Higher Education Center established the Global Virginia project in 2002.  Notwithstanding far SW Virginia’s historical, physical, and cultural isolation, students and local companies must develop 21^st century skills to compete in a global economy.  In 2003, the Global Virginia project established an international outreach program for small businesses, funded by grants from the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission.  We have assisted many smaller businesses, including traditional exporters of mining equipment, as well as emerging sectors such as forest products, professional services, and the promotion of far SW Virginia in the international tourism market.

Building on this base, the Higher Education Center applied for and has now received three major grants from the U.S. Department of Education’s Business and International Education (BIE) program: 2004, 2007, and 2010. We developed a consortium of small two and four-year colleges in far SW Virginia with the Global Virginia project as manager for the grant programs.  Through these grants, we have developed short-course international business study abroad programs for area faculty and students in Mexico, China, and now Germany.  This has led to the establishment of important relationships with such major universities as: Tecnologico de Monterrey (Mexico), Shanghai International Studies University, and Technical University-Dortmund (Germany.)  To date, some 150 faculty and students have participated in these study abroad programs.  In addition, the BIE grants have provided financial support for numerous other international education initiatives at area colleges as well as a variety of international business outreach services.  Our area businesses and colleges are now more proactive and focused on meeting the challenges of globalization!

In 2009, the Global Virginia project launched a new internship program:  Internship Virginia with grant support from the Virginia Tobacco Commission. This program provides stipends for business faculty and student internships with area companies and non-governmental organizations.  Several of the faculty interns have also participated in our study abroad courses.  Our goal is to have more faculty with superior academic credentials, study abroad exposure, and current work experience with regional businesses ….. in order to provide area college students with a 21^st century education!

         International Business and Southwest VA/Northeast TN 
     The Tri-Cities region of Bristol, VA/TN and Kingsport - Johnson City, TN, is home to approximately 450,000 people.  According to the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, the Tri-Cities ranks as the 72^nd largest export center in the US, a higher ranking than several larger metropolitan regions in the mid/south-Atlantic region.  The Tri-Cities is home to several large firms active in global markets including:  (all hyperlinked) Alpha Natural Resources, Eastman Chemicals, Bristol Compressors, Strongwell Corp., and King Pharmaceuticals.  In addition, there are other area exporting firms, notably in the underground mining and industrial equipment sectors. 

         Far SW Virginia is also becoming a growing location for new information technology businesses.  One of the most “wired” regions in the US; the area is home to new operations by multinational firms:  Northrop-Grumman and CGI, along with several locally-owned technology businesses.

September 2010