Dr. Keith Miller, President, Greenville Technical College

I am Keith Miller, president of Greenville Technical College in Greenville, South Carolina.

Greenville Technical College is actually a comprehensive community college, which may be surprising as a lot of people think we only provide technical and career-oriented education. While we do indeed offer career-oriented and technical programs and certificates, we also provide transfer education, preparing students to transfer to universities if that’s their goal.

I would break our focus into three main areas: transfer education, manufacturing and health care. Students can come here for a semester or complete an associate’s degree, then transfer to a university.

Manufacturing is also a significant focus due to our location in South Carolina, where manufacturing is a dominant industry. We are home to the only BMW plant in the U.S. and the headquarters for Michelin North America, along with many other manufacturers.

Lastly, we have extensive health care programs, not just in nursing but across nearly every Allied Health field—radiology, respiratory therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, dental hygiene and more. These three areas form the main “buckets” of our educational services.

Let me share a story to illustrate. I’ve been here for 16 years, starting in 2008, just as the Great Recession was beginning. People were struggling due to job losses, and it was a challenging time. My wife and one of our daughters stayed in Illinois, so our daughter could complete her senior year of high school.

I mentioned to my wife that although I saw the hardship, there was still an energy in the community and at the college—a forward momentum I couldn’t quite explain. When I shared this with someone from the area, they said, “That’s the entrepreneurial spirit,” and I realized they were right. There’s a “can-do” attitude here that fuels the college and the surrounding area.

Our biggest keys to success are entrepreneurial spirit across our faculty, staff and administration and our ability to adapt quickly to the changing needs of the industries we serve. We serve around 20,000 to 23,000 students across many sectors, from manufacturing to health care, and the demand for skills changes constantly.

Another key to our success is our ability to adapt quickly. We can “turn on a dime,” adjusting almost monthly as technology advances in industries like health care and manufacturing. To ensure our students stay knowledgeable on the latest equipment, we must be as flexible as the evolving needs of the workforce. This adaptability, along with our entrepreneurial spirit, is essential to the college’s continued success.

One of our flagship programs is through a facility we opened in 2016 called the Center for Manufacturing Innovation. We built this center to rethink how we deliver education in manufacturing-related fields, responding to a rising demand for skilled technicians in manufacturing, which continues to grow. Our goal was to encourage younger students and those who’ve been out of school for a while to see manufacturing as a viable, high-tech, well-paying career.

Modern manufacturing isn’t the dirty shop floor image; it’s clean, high-tech and involves robots and computerized equipment. In addition, we successfully advocated for a change in state law allowing us to offer a baccalaureate degree in advanced manufacturing technology—the only community college in South Carolina with this privilege. This degree supports even higher skill levels for the industry.

I’d also highlight our health care programs as a whole, which are well-supported by local health care organizations. Next week, we’re having the ribbon-cutting for our new Health and Life Sciences Center. The local health care sector has come together to partner with us in delivering highly trained health care technicians in fields like nursing, radiology and other allied health areas. Both our manufacturing and health care facilities reflect not only the buildings but the transformed approaches to training, allowing us to better meet community needs.

When we meet with organizations, they often need specific training, so we don’t just offer off-the-shelf programs. Instead, we work closely with each organization to custom-design training and education that meets their needs. This requires ingenuity and a “can-do” attitude because we are building programs tailored to each industry, rather than just repurposing existing ones. Our faculty and staff take pride in this customization process, and it really demonstrates their entrepreneurial spirit and adaptability.

For potential business partners, we approach partnerships with a two-way perspective. We don’t just look at what Greenville Technical College can gain, but we focus on mutual benefits since they are key in today’s competitive landscape. We don’t just direct people to our website to see our services; we meet with them and develop customized solutions. What we might do for one industry could be completely different from another because we build each partnership to meet the specific needs of each business.

Greenville Tech has a substantial economic impact on our community, which improves everyone’s quality of life. This impact is what draws in our strong donor base, which includes people without any direct connection to the college. Many donors aren’t alumni or parents of students; they contribute because they see how Greenville Tech’s work enhances the community. Our mission is summed up in three goals: we empower individuals, change lives and reshape communities. When our graduates enter the workforce, they contribute to the community, improving quality of life for all. This direct, visible impact is why so many people support us.

My vision for the next three years is for the college to stay nimble. We are facing exciting times, and we know status quo is not an option. As the community evolves, we must adapt to serve it better. My goal is to build even more energy behind our entrepreneurial spirit and to respond to community needs even faster. So, if I had to sum it up, I would say our vision is to strengthen and enhance that entrepreneurial drive.

We don’t just focus on higher education; we also concentrate on industries. One example I’d like to share involves our focus on continuous improvement. About three or four years ago, we adopted the “4 Disciplines of Execution” (4DX) from Franklin Covey, a tool originally from the business sector for improving quality. Greenville Tech is now a national leader in implementing 4DX, and it’s made a big impact on our operations.

This approach exemplifies our entrepreneurial spirit—we look outside education to learn from other industries and adopt the best practices for our needs. That’s part of my vision, too: to keep looking for ways to improve and aim for excellence. To “cruise” is not in Greenville Tech’s dictionary; we’re always pushing forward.