The department of College Relations is located in the basement of King Hall. Sound like a dungeon? Not in the least; instead you’ll find three well-lit, spacious offices inhabited by three devoted staff workers.Whether they are talking on the phone, working on the computer, or outlining what needs to be done, newly appointed director Ty Buckner and assistant directors Elizabeth Corle and Julie Larison are doing something to spread the word about Guilford.

“There is not an area on campus we don’t touch,” said Buckner, whose position as director is new this year. The department itself is a division of the Office of Institutional Advancement and is responsible for increasing awareness of, and interest in, Guilford College. This is accomplished through media relations and news services such as with the Greensboro News and Record, the college website, and publications ranging from the campus magazine to event brochures.
The department has also contributed to bringing in influential individuals such as Secretary of State Colin Powell two years ago, and Bill Bradley last year, whose purpose is to speak to students, but also to gain attention fromthe outside world. The ultimate goal for the department is to increase the student population and to promote the Guilford tradition.

“We are telling the Guilford story,” Larison said. “We want to attract good students. If we get one more student, we get excited.” That is how the department knows that they are doing something right, if there is positive feedback from students and faculty.

So in a way, the College Relations department is like an advertising agency. They see feedback, and are able to change or keep doing what is working. They are able to use this feedback from those students willing to come to Guilford and “be transformed,” as Elizabeth Corle said.

One way to publicize Guilford is to get the school’s stories out, and “to communicate what’s unique about this campus,” Buckner said. And one way to do that is to communicate with the College Relations department in any special news or people here at the college. Potential Guilford students could hear and connect with these stories and that may have some influence on whether they want to come learn here.

That is what helped bring each one of the members of the College Relations department to Guilford. Buckner, who had spent 16 years at UNCG in the athletics program, said of his new position as director, “It’s a new lease on life, with an opportunity to grow with a college on the move.”