The Lowcountry Graduate Center (LGC) is a public higher education consortium located in North Charleston, South Carolina. The Lowcountry Graduate Center was established in 2001 to expand opportunities for graduate education in the Charleston region. The LGC continually assesses the educational needs of the Lowcountry and seeks to add programs that respond to those needs. In addition to offering programs, the LGC serves as a resource providing information and academic counsel to those interested in pursuing graduate studies. By increasing the range of graduate opportunities, the goal of the LGC is to spur economic growth in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. In the late 1990s, Lowcountry business and legislative leaders were concerned that the region was losing high-tech companies because of the limitations in graduate education available in the area. What should have been a perfect setting for economic growth in the new economy – the nation’s fourth largest seaport, a center of Homeland Security activity and a region of ecological and historical richness – was hampered by the lack of graduate opportunities needed to attract and retain employees and new businesses.