OPINION | Growing Together: Advancing the Bluefield and Bluefield State Collaboration
By Darrin Martin, President, Bluefield State University
Anyone who has been around Southwest Virginia for a while has seen it happen with their own eyes. Over the past few decades, Virginia Tech and the town of Blacksburg have grown together in a way that feels almost inevitable, two partners in progress, moving in step toward the same goal. In the 1970s, Blacksburg was a quiet college town with fewer than 10,000 residents and a handful of local businesses clustered around Main Street. Then came the steady rise of Virginia Tech: expanding academic programs, building research capacity, and welcoming more students, growing from about 17,000 in 1975 to more than 38,000 today.
With each step the university took forward, the town took one too. Coffee shops, restaurants, and housing appeared to serve the growing campus community. The Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center drew entrepreneurs, engineers, and innovators from across the region. City and university leaders worked side by side on planning, infrastructure, and economic development, ensuring that progress was both balanced and sustainable.
Today, Blacksburg stands as one of America’s most livable small cities, a place where education, enterprise, and community thrive together. The transformation did not happen overnight or by accident; it happened because the university and the town chose to grow together. It is a model that shows what can happen when shared purpose, vision, and cooperation guide a community’s future.
While the scale may be different, in many ways, Bluefield and Bluefield State stand at a similar crossroads today. The same kind of partnership that lifted Blacksburg and Virginia Tech is entirely within reach here in southern West Virginia. As the university continues to expand programs, modernize facilities, and attract students from across the region, the city has an opportunity to grow alongside it. New businesses, housing, and public spaces can rise in step with campus growth, each reinforcing the other. When town and gown move in harmony, prosperity follows for everyone.
The story of Blacksburg proves that this kind of transformation is not a fantasy, it is a roadmap. With vision, cooperation, and shared pride, Bluefield and Bluefield State can write their own version of that success, rooted in the spirit and strength of this community.
Bluefield State University plays a vital role in strengthening the economy of West Virginia, Mercer County, and the City of Bluefield by preparing graduates who stay, work, and contribute to their communities. According to the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, 61% of BSU graduates are employed within the state two years after graduation, and 56% remain employed in West Virginia four years after completing their degrees. These graduates earn a median wage of $67,135, reflecting the value of a Bluefield State education and the strength of its career-focused programs.
This fall, Bluefield State University welcomed 1,442 students, marking an overall enrollment increase of nearly ten percent compared to last year. The most significant growth came from new students, with first-time freshmen enrollment rising 43.6 percent, from 218 students in 2024 to 313 in 2025. This growth reflects a rising confidence in the university’s direction and programs, as well as growing recognition of Bluefield State’s commitment to providing accessible, high-quality education in southern West Virginia.
These outcomes affirm Bluefield State’s dual impact as both an educational cornerstone and an economic driver. The university continues to produce skilled graduates who strengthen local businesses, hospitals, schools, and industries across the region. By cultivating talent that remains close to home, Bluefield State supports the economic vitality of southern West Virginia and reinforces the community’s capacity for long-term growth.
Even using a conservative job multiplier of 1.2 to 2.0, meaning each graduate’s employment supports an additional 0.2 to one job, the retention of just 100 graduates could generate 120 to 200 total jobs in the local economy. In smaller and more rural communities like southern West Virginia, these effects are amplified, as even modest increases in skilled employment create visible gains in Main Street activity, housing demand, and overall community stability.
The relationship between Bluefield State University and the City of Bluefield has never been stronger. It is deeply symbiotic, each depending on the other for strength and growth. The university brings energy, innovation, and opportunity to the community through its students, employees, and partnerships, while the city provides the supportive environment, amenities, and civic engagement that help the institution thrive. When Bluefield State succeeds, attracting more students, expanding programs, and producing graduates ready to serve, it fuels economic and cultural vitality throughout the region. Likewise, a thriving Bluefield, with its local businesses, strong leadership, and welcoming spirit, makes the university more attractive to prospective students and faculty. Simply put, the future of Bluefield State University and the City of Bluefield are intertwined; as one rises, so does the other.
The shared future of the university and the city will depend on continued vision, collaboration, and investment, but when Bluefield State and Bluefield stand together, their best days are still ahead.