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GREENSBORO — A new group of Greensboro’s college presidents and top business executives has formed to boost job creation in the city.

Action Greensboro , a community development agency, has begun meeting with presidents of the city’s seven colleges and universities, as well as top business executives. The initiative is modeled on one that has helped Spokane, Wash., expand its economy through its many local colleges.

The goal is to come up with several major projects that could bring in high-paying jobs or enhance educational opportunities that strengthen work force skills in the region.
Although they haven’t yet chosen specific projects, Action Greensboro has spent millions in the past decade to reach some  ambitious goals.

Its most tangible achievement was NewBridge Bank Park , the minor-league baseball stadium that it built through private contributions from the major charitable foundations that support it.

Three to five projects will each receive specific goals and strategies, said Ed Kitchen, vice president and chief operating officer of the Joseph M. Bryan Foundation , who will be co-chairman of the effort.

The educators clearly want quick results or they wouldn’t get involved, Kitchen said.

“A big part of keeping them engaged is letting them define what victory looks like,” he said.

Kitchen, April Harris, Action Greensboro’s executive director , and Eric Wiseman, chairman and CEO of VF Corp. , said the key to success is that they have recruited only the top executives from colleges and corporations to make sure decisions get made.

The projects likely will be designed to enhance Greensboro’s image or “brand” as either a progressive and creative place to live and/or a city that offers a competitive advantage for business growth.

An expert on branding, Wiseman will be the other co-chairman.

Wiseman said this won’t be some vague campaign with an unfocused message.

“When you brand something, it has to be real,” he said.

Kitchen and other officials recently visited Spokane.

Leaders there changed the city’s slogan from “Near Nature. Near Perfect.” to “Near Nature. Near Perfect. Near Knowledge.”  to capitalize on its new university district that links its colleges and universities.

As a city in the shadow of Seattle and Tacoma, the campaign has brought Spokane into the spotlight, Wiseman said.

“One of the things this process did for Spokane — it really differentiated the city,” he said.

Top executives from such companies as Volvo Financial Services , American Express  and Granville Capital  will join the local college presidents.

The group will meet monthly for six months with no substitute members allowed — a stipulation designed to keep top executives committed, Harris said.

Harris will work with the Center for Creative Leadership, a Greensboro leadership training school known worldwide, to help the members of the group make quick, effective decisions.

Some projects may require money, others just new ways of doing things.

The group doesn’t know the answers yet, but Wiseman, Kitchen and Harris believe they can reach decisions soon.

“The one thing we have right now,” said Wiseman, “is alignment and complete agreement.”

Contact Richard M. Barron at 373-7371 or richard.barron@news-record.com