Roughly 1,000 business and civic leaders attended the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce’s State of Our Community Luncheon Wednesday at the Koury Convention Center.
The focus was on research, innovation and the role local universities are playing in the Gate City’s economic growth. During a roundtable discussion, UNCG Chancellor Franklin Gilliam and N.C. A&T Chancellor James Martin shared their visions as well as the challenges that lie ahead.
Gilliam called for more intentional efforts to connect graduates with employers to keep them living and working in Greensboro. Martin cautioned against what he called intellectual property drain.
"We're one of the top six or seven systems in the country —the UNC system in terms of research that we do — but we're not even the top 20 in terms of converting that research into GDP that stays in North Carolina," he said. "It's going to Texas and California. We need to keep that here."
The event concluded with the Chamber’s rollout of a new research and data platform. The goal is to provide tools to help businesses communicate more effectively with their market.