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 SouthJanuary 2006, Vol. 2 No. 1

In this Issue . . .


SRDC Items of Interest

  • NACDEP Registration Deadlines Are Approaching -- Register Now!
    Register now for the 2006 NACDEP Conference "Spurring on the Momentum," which will be held Feb. 13-16, 2006, in San Antonio, TX. The deadline to make hotel reservations is Jan. 20, and registration for the conference closes on Feb. 1. The registration form is accessible at http://nacdep.net -- register today to ensure your spot in San Antonio!

  • Reminder: Deadline for 2005 Bonnie Teater Community Development Educator Lifetime Achievement Award Nominees Is January 17
    Applicants are being sought for the SRDC's 2005 Bonnie Teater Community Development Educator Lifetime Achievement Award. The award is for superior lifetime work by an individual and comes with a $500 stipend. Deadline for submission is Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2006. For specific details visit http://srdc.msstate.edu/05teateraward.pdf.

  • New Dates for the Southern Institute for Rural Development! -- April 24-26, 2006
    Previously postponed due to Hurricane Katrina, the Southern Institute for Rural Development has now be rescheduled for April 24-26, 2006, in West Monroe, LA. Hosted by USDA Rural Development in Louisiana, in cooperation with the SRDC, this institute is designed for professionals who are, or wish to become, actively involved in rural development work at the local, multi-parish (county), state or regional level. This conference will provide participants a more in-depth understanding of topics that are vital to the long-term health of rural areas: job creation and innovation, education challenges, population diversity, and building on local resources and assets. Community post disaster recovery will be a key theme of this institute. For more information visit http://srdc.msstate.edu/sird06/.


Other Items of Interest

  • Education Department Creates Rural Education Center
    The Department of Education has established the Center for Rural Education and tapped former U.S. Commissioner of Education William L. Smith to lead the Center. The Education Department created the Center to address the challenges facing rural schools. The Center will be located within the Office of Vocational and Adult Education and will work in conjunction with Education Secretary Margaret Spellings’ Task Force for Rural Education. The Center will serve as an information resource for policymakers at the local, state and federal levels. For more information about the Center for Rural Education, go to http://www.ed.gov/nclb/freedom/local/rural/index.html.

  • EDUCATION WEEK's "Quality Counts 2006" Available Online FREE For A Limited Time
    "Quality Counts 2006," the 10th edition of EDUCATION Week's annual report card on public education in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is now available online for FREE for a limited time. This year's report, "Quality Counts at 10: A Decade of Standards-Based Education," examines the overall impact of state efforts to carry out standards-based education over the past decade, exploring the relationship between those changes and student learning gains. Also included in this special edition of "Quality Counts" are personal views by five prominent policy observers on what standards-based policies have accomplished; detailed state-by-state reports--available online only--showing how states have performed on major education-policy indicators, plus state report cards; and extensive data tables (provided in PDF and Excel formats) tracking states? progress in student achievement, standards and accountability, teacher quality, school climate, and school finance. To access the report, go to: http://www.edweek.org/qc06.

  • Kauffman Foundation Report, Understanding Entrepreneurship: A Research and Policy Report
    This report, on theories, applications and policies, presents the thoughts of some of the leading researchers in the field of entrepreneurship. Shows what we know and what we don't know, but need to, about entrepreneurs and how to encourage them. Available online at http://research.kauffman.org/cwp/appmanager/research/researchDesktop?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=research_resourceDetail&id=Research/Resource/Report_070.htm.

  • Small Business Administration Releases The Small Business Economy: A Report to the President
    In this fourth edition of The Small Business Economy, the Office of Advocacy reviews the economic environment for small businesses in the year 2004, as well as the financial and federal procurement marketplaces. New research on
    minority and veteran entrepreneurship are the subjects of Chapters 4 and 5. Chapter 6 takes a new look at tax issues affecting small firms. In 2005, the Office of Advocacy marks 25 years of working to improve the regulatory environment
    for small businesses through the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 and its subsequent improvements. Chapter 7 summarizes recent developments in that arena, including Advocacy’s initiative to carry regulatory flexibility successes
    to the state level. Chapter 8 examines the critical role of small businesses in market-driven innovation. Appendices provide additional data on small businesses and background information on the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Available at http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/sb_econ2005.pdf.


Funding Opportunities

  • SRDC's Grant Connections: Rural Development Funding Opportunities
    Volume 7, Number 8, December 2005
    http://srdc.msstate.edu/funding/dec05.htm

    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


Other Conferences & Trainings

  • Strengthening Families, Youth & Communities: Focus on the Future
    February 12-15, 2006
    Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
    http://www.clemson.edu/fyd/sfy.htm

  • 2006 National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals (NACDEP) Conference
    February 13-16, 2006
    San Antonio, Texas
    **Hotel deadline is Jan. 20**
    http://nacdep.net

  • 2006 National Priester Health Conference
    April 25-27, 2006
    Louisville, Kentucky
    **Proposals are due Jan. 16**
    http://www.ca.uky.edu/fcs/priester/

  • Southern Innovation Summit
    June 4-6, 2006
    New Orleans, Louisiana
    http://www.southern.org/conf.asp

  • Creative Economy Workshop
    Sponsored by the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development, in conjunction with the 2006 annual meetings of the Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association (NAREA)
    June 13-14, 2006
    Mystic, Connecticut
    **Paper submission deadline is Feb. 15**
    Send paper abstracts electronically to Todd Gabe, University of Maine, at todd.gabe@umit.maine.edu. Please use the subject heading "NAREA 2006" in your message.

  • NCR-SARE 2006 National Conference
    "A Midwest Homecoming: Sharing a New Tradition of Sustainability"
    August 15-17, 2006
    Oconomowoc, Wisconsin
    **Presenters currently being sought**
    http://www.sare2006.org

  • 2006 National Extension Tourism Conference
    September 10-13, 2006
    Burlington, Vermont
    http://www.esf.edu/NET2006/

People in the News
  • Williams-Willis New Dean for the College of Agriculture and Human Sciences at Prairie View A&M University

  • Zuiches Named North Carolina State Vice Chancellor for Extension, Engagement, Economic Development
    News release: http://www.ncsu.edu/news/press_releases/05_12/241.htm


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.


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courtesy of USDA NRCS.

  

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