RURAL AMERICA

1. THE RCCI JOURNEY1994… RCCA 2002 October 8, 2002 Carol Lincoln

2. RURAL AMERICA MATTERS

3. Note:  The poverty rate of 11.3 is the rate in 2000, based on the Current Population Survey, and the poverty rate in 1999 based on the Decennial Census is 12.4 percent.

5. RCCI GENESIS SOME AREAS HAVE NOT SHARED IN AMERICA’S PROSPERITY • APPALACHIA • DEEP SOUTH • SOUTWEST BORDER • TRIBAL AREAS

6. TYPICAL CHALLENGES • LOSS OF HISTORIC JOB BASE • RAPID GROWTH THAT THREATENS TO OVERWHELM TRADITIONAL CULTURE, WITHOUT BENEFIT TO LOW INCOME RESIDENTS • INADEQUATE ECONOMIC STRUCTURES AND SYSTEMS

7. TYPICAL CHALLENGES • LOW EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT • OUTMIGRATION OF BEST EDUCATED • NARROW LEADERSHIP BASE

8. RCCI BELIEF RURAL COMMUNIC COLLEGES ARE EFFECTIVE VEHICLES FOR INCREASING: • EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY • ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY

9. OVERALL GOALS • INCREASE THE VISIBILITY, RESOURCES, AND CAPACITY OF RURAL COLLEGES • IMPROVE EDUCATIONAL AND ECONOMIC PROSPECTS OF POOR RURAL COMMUNITIES • BEGIN A “MOVEMENT” OF RURAL COLLEGES ENGAGED IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT

10. THE RCCI FORMULA: • INVEST IN A STABLE, RESPECTED INSTITUTION CAPABLE OF LEADING A LONG-TERM CHANGE PROCESS • COMMIT TO THE VALUES OF EQUITY AND INCLUSIVENESS • WORK SIMULTANEOUSLY ON BUILDING PEOPLE AND BUILDING PLACE • PROVIDE TIME AND OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN, PRACTICE AND INVENT

11. STABLE RESPECTED FLEXIBLE NEUTRAL COMPATIBLE MISSION NEXUS OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND WHY COMMUNITY COLLEGES?

12. SUCCESSFUL COMMUNITIES • ALIGN AROUND A COMMON VISION FOR THE FUTURE, BASED ON VALUES OF EQUITY & EXCELLENCE • CREATE A CULTURE OF INNOVATION & PUBLIC ENTREPRENEURSHIP

13. SUCCESSFUL COMMUNITIES • CREATE OPPORTUNITY FOR EVERYONE • INCUSIVE DECISION-MAKING • BUILD REGIONAL ALLIANCES

14. THE RURAL DEVELOPMENT DILEMNA • A COMMUNITY CAN’T ATTRACT OR DEVELOP JOBS WITHOUT AN EDUCATED WORKFORCE • BUT – A COMMUNITY CAN’T RETAIN EDUCATED WORKERS WITHOUT A HEALTHY ECONOMY.

15. TWIN GOALS • INCREASE ACCESS TO AND THROUGH THE COLLEGE – TO MORE EDUCATION, TO BETTER JOBS • STIMULATE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT – TO STRENGTHEN THE COMMUNITY, TO BENEFIT A BROADER RANGE OF PEOPLE

16. THE MOVEMENT WAY • ISOLATED INDIVIDUALS DECIDE TO STOP LEADING “DIVIDED LIVES” • THESE PEOPLE DISCOVER EACH OTHER AND FORM GROUPS FOR MUTUAL SUPPORT

17. THE MOVEMENT WAY • EMPOWERED BY COMMUNITY, THEY LEARN TO TRANSLATE “PRIVATE PROBLEMS” IN TO PUBLIC ISSUES • ALTERNATIVE REWARDS EMERGE TO SUSTAIN THE MOVEMENT’S VISION WHICH MAY FORCE THE CONVENTIONAL REWARD SYSTEM TO CHANGE

18. TEAMS DATA DRIVEN PLANNING OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN FROM OTHER PEOPLE, OTHER PLACES COACHING EXPOSURE TO SMART RESOURCE PEOPLE TIME AND SPACE FOR REFLECTIVE INNOVATION & LEARNING RCCI STRUCTURE

19. LESSONS • NO FORMULA FOR LOCALLY DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT – LOCAL CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING • LEADERSHIP ORGANIZATION NEEDS CAPACITY AND LEGITIMACY

20. LESSONS • COLLEGES ARE WELL SUITED TO ECONOMIC PRE-DEVELOPMNT AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT • CRITICAL TO BUILD ALIGNMENT THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY

21. LESSONS • ULTIMATELY RURAL DEVELOMENT MUST BE SOMETHING MORE THAN A DISCRETE PROJECT OR SET OF PROJECTS • PARTNERSHIPS BUILD CAPACITY • IMPORTANCE OF LEARNING COMMUNITY

22. LESSONS FROM LESS SUCCESSFUL SITES • HAD TO WORK ON INTERNAL ISSUES BEFORE TACKLING COMMUNITY ISSUES • BOARD SUPPORT IS CRITICAL

23. LESSONS FROM LESS SUCCESSFUL SITES • REQUIRES DEDICATED STAFF RESOURCES • POWER AND RACE ISSUES CAN LIMIT DEPTH OF CHANGE THAT COLLEGES CAN FOSTER

24. NEW RECIPE FOR DEVELOPMENT: • BASED ON COMPETIVENESS AND EQUITY

25. NEW RECIPE • EXPANDED VISION OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT – “job creation isn’t enough” • EDUCATION -- “The only road out of poverty runs by the schoolhouse” • REGIONALISM – “tiny economies cannot compete in a global setting” • LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT – “cultivate diamonds in the mud”

26. THE ENGAGED INSTITUTION • RCCI INSITUTIONS IN THE US • UNIVERSITIES IN NAMIBIA AND SOUTH AFRICA • CANADIAN RURAL AND REMOTE INSTITUTIONS

27. RURAL AMERICA MATTERS

28. RURAL CANADA MATTERS

29. RURAL NAMIBIA MATTERS

30. RURAL PEOPLE & RURAL PLACES MATTER