Virginia Commonwealth University today announced its support of the newly launched Growth4VA campaign, which will focus on promoting reform and reinvestment in Virginia’s top-ranked higher education system. The campaign, backed by a partnership of higher education and business leaders, aims to help grow the Virginia economy, expand access to education and job opportunities for all Virginians, and regain Virginia’s No. 1 ranking for business. 

Virginia’s colleges, universities and community colleges are stepping up to help achieve these goals. Working with partners in the business community, campaign participants will be offering practical policies and creative ideas focused on four strategies:  

•  Make Virginia the top state for talent.
•  Become recognized as the home of innovators and entrepreneurs.
•  Prepare Virginians for great jobs and great lives.
•  Provide affordable access for all Virginians.

VCU already contributes in each of the four strategic areas in numerous ways. For instance, the university graduates more Virginians than any other institution (top state for talent), reached record research funding of $275 million in 2017 and aided the creation of 22 new companies through a pre-accelerator program (home of innovators and entrepreneurs), offers a hands-on curriculum defined by its urban setting and relevance to the new Virginia economy (prepare Virginians for great jobs and great lives) and proudly educates students for whom the VCU experience will be particularly transformational (affordable access).

“What matters most is what we do together for the people who need us and who expect us to get big things done,” said VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D. “That’s why Growth4VA is a partnership. Growth4VA brings us all together around a common understanding of how the world is changing, and how we can get in front of that change. Our shared mission is really about people and their access to a better future, about developing talent and how that talent ultimately helps develop our economy and improve lives in our commonwealth. What we do together in this partnership will have a profound impact across the region, state, nation and globe.”

Growth4VA is a campaign of the Virginia Business Higher Education Council and has been endorsed by all 15 of Virginia’s public higher education institutions and the Virginia Community College System. To learn more about the Growth4VA campaign, including the current economic impact of Virginia’s higher education system and the Growth4VA coalition’s plans for expanding economic growth and opportunity in Virginia, visit the campaign website at www.Growth4VA.com.