Seton Hill Big Table Talk explores town-gown collaboration

The conversation was lively and full of recommendations for building bridges in a stronger community in Greensburg when Seton Hill University convened a pair of “Big Table Discussions” Wednesday evening.

Topics ranged from how to encourage diversity, engage with local businesses, improve public transit and leverage the community’s arts and education resources.

Students, faculty and staff from Seton Hill joined local civic and business leaders including Nancy Anderson of the Westmoreland Cultural Trust, Ron DiBiase of First Commonwealth Bank and Jessica Hickey of the Downtown Greensburg Project to brainstorm various options for community building.

The event hosted by Seton Hill attracted about two dozen participants. It was among scores of similar gatherings across Western Pennsylvania held in conjunction with Leadership Pittsburgh Inc. in an effort to tap the collective resources of individuals representing diverse backgrounds.

Jack Wardal, a Seton Hill international graduate student, said Greensburg could better encourage students to put down roots if the community and local colleges including Seton Hill, Saint Vincent, the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg and Westmoreland County Community College created more opportunities to partner. He said local businesses could inspire students to promote the city on social media.

“We know how to do that,” he said.

Several participants suggested colleges could lead the way in promoting the same kind of diversity in the community they host on their campuses.

Others suggested the city could integrate students into the community effectively by hosting a “welcome back” weekend in the fall or “congratulations graduates” events in the spring.

Elise Michaux, Seton Hill’s director of student leadership and involvement and one of two discussion moderators, was pleased with the suggestions the conversation explored and said it offered many opportunities for further work.

“We need to partner, step out and create new opportunities for collaboration,” Michaux said.