Throughout my years in economic development, one truth has remained constant: a community’s greatest asset is its people.
Businesses invest and grow where they can find the talent they need. Residents thrive when education and training connect them to meaningful careers. For 60 years, Central Virginia Community College has helped make both possible for Lynchburg and the surrounding region.
As Lynchburg’s Director of Economic Development & Tourism and a member of the CVCC Educational Foundation Board, I have seen firsthand how deeply the college’s work is connected to our economic success. CVCC’s impact extends well beyond the classroom. It supports local employers, strengthens our workforce, creates pathways to family-sustaining careers and opens doors for people at every stage of life.
A community college is often where opportunity becomes practical. It can be a student’s first step into higher education, a working adult’s path to a better career, an employee’s opportunity to gain a new skill or an employer’s partner in preparing the workforce needed for its next expansion.
That role is especially important today. Employers are navigating rapidly changing technologies, increasingly specialized skill requirements and growing demand for technical talent. Career and technical education is no longer simply one possible route into the workforce. It is essential to the competitiveness of our companies and our community.
CVCC is helping Lynchburg meet that challenge. During the 2025–26 academic year, the college awarded 1,457 academic degrees and certificates and supported approximately 1,700 workforce credentials. Behind every one of those numbers is a person gaining knowledge, building confidence, and moving closer to a career or personal goal.
Through academic programs, hands-on technical training, and partnerships with employers such as Framatome and Delta Star, CVCC helps prepare the next generation of workers while giving existing employees opportunities to strengthen their skills and advance their careers.
This work is particularly meaningful as we celebrate Manufacturing Month. Lynchburg manufacturers need engineers, technicians, machinists, welders, maintenance professionals, quality specialists, production employees, and leaders. Meeting those needs requires close cooperation among educators, employers, workforce partners, and economic development organizations. CVCC is central to that partnership.
Its impact is not limited to manufacturing. CVCC prepares people for careers in healthcare, public safety, business, information technology, and many other fields that keep our region working and growing. It also provides an affordable starting point for students who plan to continue their education at a four-year institution.
The result is opportunity in its truest form: meeting people where they are and helping them move toward where they want to be.
On October 23 and 24, CVCC will invite the community to celebrate its 60th anniversary. Friday evening’s Ridgecat Rally will kick off the festivities, followed Saturday by the Education that Moves the World Expo, an Alumni Social and the college’s Anniversary Celebration.
These events offer more than a look back at six decades of service. They are an opportunity to experience CVCC’s programs, people and partnerships—and to see how the college is preparing for the next generation of students, workers and employers.
The City of Lynchburg’s Office of Economic Development & Tourism is proud to support this celebration as a community sponsor. Personally, I am proud to serve on the CVCC Educational Foundation Board and to support an institution that has created opportunity for so many people.
Congratulations to CVCC on 60 years of education, partnership, and transformation. Lynchburg is stronger because of your work, and I look forward to seeing what we build together in the decades ahead.
Join the celebration:
https://centralvirginia.edu/60th-anniversary
Marjette Glass Upshur
Director, Office of Economic Development & Tourism
City of Lynchburg
Board Member, CVCC Educational Foundation