Southern Rural Development Center
 

Box 9656
410 Bost Extension Bldg.
Mississippi State, MS 39762
Phone: (662) 325-3207
Fax: (662) 325-8915
http://srdc.msstate.edu

 

 

 

Around the SouthFebruary 2007, Vol. 3 No. 2

In this Issue . . .


SRDC Publications

  • SRDC's 2006 Annual Report Now Available
    2006 was another banner year for the Center. With important financial support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and with the active engagement of community development colleagues across a host of land-grant schools in the South, we took the time to garner the insights of people across the region on the current and emerging challenges impacting the rural South. Fourteen state rural development roundtables were held, and our new strategic plan for the next three to five years will be announced in the coming months. Our investment in the research efforts of our land-grant colleagues has remained strong. Our Extension efforts have moved into new arenas, including an expanded effort in rural entrepreneurship. Furthermore, we have remained steadfast in our efforts to provide our land-grant faculty and leaders with information and tools that can be used to strengthen community development work in their own states. A case in point is the recent release of the Southern Region Information Toolkit, a Web-based resource that offers our colleagues an impressive array of data on all counties in the South. While we take pride in our past activities – efforts that would not have been possible without the full support of our land-grant university Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service leaders, our CSREES partners and a host of funding agencies and foundations – we are anxious to implement our new strategic blueprint. We look forward to sharing our new priorities and working in tandem with our land-grant colleagues and other rural development partners to make great things happen in the South in these new priority areas. View the report at http://srdc.msstate.edu/publications/annual06.pdf.

SRDC Items of Interest

  • Pre-Proposals Being Sought for the 2007 National Rural E-Commerce Grants Program
    The SRDC, in partnership with its sister Regional Rural Development Centers, is pleased to announce another round of funding for the e-commerce competitive grants program. The intent of this program is to support the development or expansion of innovative educational resources focusing on key e-commerce topics. This year we are requiring pre-proposals, which must be submitted by March 15. A select number of persons submitting pre-proposals will be invited to complete a more detailed proposal for consideration by the National E-Commerce Extension Advisory Committee. These invitations will be made by April 1, 2007. Please Note: This is a national competitive grants program open to any Extension educator in the U.S. Full details are available online at http://srdc.msstate.edu/ecommerce/07rfp_pre.pdf.

  • Applications Now Being Accepted for the 2007 Bonnie Teater Community Development Educator Lifetime Achievement Award
    The Southern Rural Development Center is pleased to announce that applicants are being sought for the Bonnie Teater Community Development Educator Lifetime Achievement Award for 2007. The award is for superior lifetime work by an individual (not a team) who has made an important contribution to the Extension Community Development area. The award comes with a $500 stipend. The deadline for applications is March 14, 2007. Complete details are available at http://srdc.msstate.edu/07teateraward.pdf.


National Items of Interest

  • 2007 Development Report Card of the States
    The Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) has recently released the 20th annual edition of its well-known Development Report Card of the States. The report card assesses state performance on 67 different measures that track a state’s performance in terms of development capacity, business vitality and economic performance. States are graded on their performance in these three baskets of indicators. Connecticut and Delaware are this year’s straight-A students. Other top performers on CFED’s honor roll include Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Utah, and Wisconsin. In the category of business vitality, the top three performers were Colorado, Massachusetts, and Alabama. View the Corporation for Enterprise Development’s 2007 Development Report Card of the States online at http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=zkpub7bab.0.
    xqchc7bab.ildv4zbab.7888&ts=S0225&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cfed.org%2Ffocus.m%3Fparentid%3D34%26siteid%3D2346%26id%3D2346    .

  • Call for Papers: Capital versus Community: Case Studies of Community Asset Building
    Humanity & Society's Special Issue is dedicated to the exploration of community-based asset building. Globalization and capital mobility threaten the economic and social base of many communities. This special issue, titled "Capital versus Community," will examine how community-based development efforts are responding to these challenges, the obstacles they face, and the impacts and outcomes of their activities. We are looking for case studies in a wide variety of contexts (e.g., rural, urban and suburban) and involving different racial and ethnic groups (e.g., African American, Latino, and American Indian). Manuscripts should not exceed 30 double-spaced pages of text, plus notes and references, and should follow the "Notice to Contributors" guidelines supplied at http://www.humanistsociology.org. Papers should be submitted via e-mail to Ann Goetting, the Executive Editor, at humanityandsociety@wku.edu or Gary Green at gpgreen@wisc.edu. Deadline: September 1, 2007.

  • Carsey Institute's Report on The Minimum Wage and Rural America
    The newest report from the Carsey Institute finds that nearly two million rural workers would benefit from an increase in the federal minimum wage. This report highlights that this increase will benefit an even higher percentage of workers in rural areas than urban areas. It is available on their website at http://www.carseyinstitute.unh.edu/documents/Carsey_MinimumWage_FS_rv.pdf.

  • MDC Releases State of the South 2007
    MDC's State of the South 2007, the sixth in the biennial series, calls upon the region's philanthropic organizations to think more creatively and act more boldly to help the South address its self-limiting inequities and spur its competitiveness in a global economy. The report makes a compelling case that the South needs both more philanthropy and philanthropy that addresses the dual challenges of equity and competitiveness. Visit MDC's website at http://www.mdcinc.org to view the electronic version or for an order form and price list for ordering hard copies.

  • Ralph L. Tabor Extension Fellowship Announced
    The National Association of Counties (NACo), in partnership with the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC), offers a unique fellowship program for Extension faculty and staff. The Ralph L. Tabor Extension Fellowship offers the opportunity to live and work in Washington, D.C., to lend expertise to the nation’s 3,066 counties, learn first-hand about the workings of Congress and federal agencies, and take a lead role in enhancing the national partnership between NACo, the Cooperative Extension Service and the nation’s land-grant universities. It provides a professional development opportunity to work at NACo, a national legislative and public affairs, research, and technical services organization. The Extension Fellow also works closely with CSREES to gain insight into Extension’s federal partner and with NASULGC to enhance the relationship between counties and higher education. Full applications are requested by March 30, 2007, to be considered for the one-year term that begins approximately August 1, 2007. Full guidelines are available at http://srdc.msstate.edu/news/tabor.pdf. For more information, contact Sherry Teachout Glenn, sglenn@iastate.edu, or Stephanie Osborn, sosborn@naco.org.

  • Western Rural Development Center Announces Search for Director
    The Western Rural Development Center has announced a search for director. The WRDC is one of four USDA-sponsored Regional Rural Development Centers in the country. It works closely with cooperating land-grant universities in 13 Western states and four Pacific territories to promote research and extension programs designed to strengthen rural communities businesses, and families. Hosted by Utah State University, WRDC is federally-funded, with additional support from USU and extramural grants. The WRDC Director works closely with a board of directors that represents the LGU system in the West and other representatives of rural development agencies. The position of Director is a 12-month, tenure-eligible administration position, with a faculty appointment at the rank of Associate or Full Professor is an academic department appropriate to the disciplinary background of the successful candidate. A PhD is required in social science, natural resources, or a closely-related field, with primary emphasis on rural economic and/or community development. Experience with rural development issues affecting the Western region is desirable. For more information about the position, and the search, see the USU Human Resources website at https://jobs.usu.edu (Req #050671). For more information about the Center visit the WRDC website at http://extension.usu.edu/WRDC/. The review of applications will begin March 5, 2007 and remain open until the position is filled.


Funding Opportunities

  • SRDC's Grant Connections: Rural Development Funding Opportunities
    Volume 9, Number 3, February 2007
    http://srdc.msstate.edu/funding/feb07.htm -- Available Feb. 28

    The SRDC staff compiles Grant Connections primarily for the faculty of land-grant colleges and universities in the South to provide funding information in support of activities in agricultural economics, education, human sciences, rural sociology, youth development, and other related disciplines.


SRDC Sponsored Conferences & Trainings

  • E-Commerce Strategies for Small Businesses and Communities -- Space is limited; register now!
    A Rollout of New Extension Educational Curricula developed as part of the SRDC and CSREES/USDA "Rural E-Commerce Extension Initiative: A National Demonstration Project"
    June 4-6, 2007
    Lied Lodge and Conference Center
    Nebraska City, Nebraska
    http://srdc.msstate.edu/ecommerce/07training/

  • eCommerce: An Opportunity Whose Time Has Come
    Offered by the NCRCRD in cooperation with the SRDC
    Online Breeze Conference
    February through June, 2007
    10-11:30 a.m. CST
    http://www.ncrcrd.iastate.edu/projects/breeze/ecommerce/index.htm


Other Conferences & Trainings


Job Opportunities


Submit Announcements

Job announcements and other items of interest may be sent to Rachel Welborn, rachelw@srdc.msstate.edu, for possible inclusion in future issues.


Subscribe to Around the South

Subscribe to Around the South: http://srdc.msstate.edu/news/signup.htm

Some photos on this page
courtesy of USDA NRCS.

  

You are receiving this newsletter because you are subscribed to the SRDC's electronic mailing list.

 Copyright © 2005  
http://srdc.msstate.edu/news/