Southern Rural Development Center
 

Box 9656
410 Bost Extension Bldg.
DELIVERY: 190 Bost-North
Mississippi State, MS 39762
Phone: (662) 325-3207
Fax: (662) 325-8915
http://srdc.msstate.edu

 

 

 

Around the SouthOctober 2007, Vol. 3 No. 10

In this Issue . . .


SRDC Items of Interest

  • SRDC Announces Business Retention and Expansion Training
    Save the dates of January 7-9, 2008, to attend the SRDC's Business Retention and Expansion Training. The training, co-sponsored by BREI and held at the Madren Conference Center and Inn in Clemson, South Carolina, provides an assessment and planning framework that can be used to evaluate an established business retention program or design a program tailored to the specific needs and capacity of the local community. Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to assess a community's readiness to implement a BRE program, design an approach suitable for the community and implement the program. Registration is now open! Space is limited, so visit http://srdc.msstate.edu/07bre/ and register soon to reserve your spot. Register by November 16 to save $50!

  • Bo Beaulieu Receives RIDGE Summit Award
    The U. S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, recently presented the 2007 Summit Award for “Outstanding Leadership and Contribution” to Bo Beaulieu, Director of the Southern Rural Development Center at Mississippi State University. Dr. Beaulieu was recognized for his extraordinary accomplishments during the past 10 years in the Research Innovation and Development Grants in Economics (RIDGE) Program to stimulate new and innovative research on food assistance issues; to broaden the network of researchers, including those at historically black land-grant universities and colleges, that collaborate in investigating food and nutrition challenges; and to provide economic-based studies that help inform food assistance and nutrition program administrators, policymakers, and analysts. Particularly noteworthy in 2007 was Beaulieu’s report, “Strengthening Our Nation’s Food Assistance Programs,” which highlights the RIDGE Program and its achievements over the year (the report is available at http://srdc.msstate.edu/publications/ridge07.pdf). The RIDGE Summit Award was presented for the first time in the program’s 10-year history. The award ceremony was part of the 2007 RIDGE Conference held at the Economic Research Service in Washington, DC, on October 11-12, 2007.


Other Items of Interest

  • Auburn University Offers Economic Development Training Course
    "Education and Workforce Development: Making the Connection" is a new course being offered by the Economic & Community Development Institute (ECDI) at Auburn University. On November 14 and 15, 2007, ECDI will bring a
    team of practitioner-experts to Auburn to present ideas and proven success strategies for bridging the gap between education and workforce development. Throughout the course, participants will be encouraged to ask questions and engage in constructive dialogue about challenges and opportunities for developing Alabama’s current and future workforce. For more information, or to register online, please visit the course website at http://www.auburn.edu/ecdi/wfd.htm.

  • Big Box Evaluator Released by Orton Family Foundation
    The Orton Family Foundation recently announced the release of the Big Box Evaluator tool, designed to help communities and individuals learn about the impacts of big box retail stores. The unbiased tool is designed not to take a stand on big box development, but to help citizens make informed decisions based on each community's specific characteristics and values. Available free to the public at http://www.bigboxevaluator.org, the web-based interface allows users to learn about commercial and retail development in general, but also to input specific information from their communities and receive customized reports on economics, values, planning and municipal services, and ways to improve the development process.

  • eXtension Announces New Cooperative Extension Search
    A new Google-powered search interface is now available on the extension site. With the capability to search close to 800 Extension websites and to limit searches to CES resources, this tool makes finding relevant materials to cite in articles much easier. Check it out at http://search.extension.org/.

  • SARE Seeks Innovative Vision for Sustainable Agriculture Via New Voices
    The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program has announced a New Voices contest, which will give “New Voices” in agriculture the opportunity to share their ideas with the leaders of the sustainable agriculture community at SARE’s 20th Anniversary New American Farm Conference, to be held March 25-27, 2008 in Kansas City, Missouri. SARE seeks written, audio, and/or video submissions that articulate emerging perspectives and illustrate an inspirational and pioneering vision for the advancement of sustainable agriculture over the next 20 years. The winning entry will be presented at the closing plenary session of the conference. Top finalists will also be invited to participate in leadership sessions at the conference at SARE’s expense. SARE is particularly encouraging submissions from farmers or ranchers; emerging leaders in the field of advocacy, education or research; beginning farmers and ranchers; students; and minorities and other under-represented audiences. The deadline to enter the contest is December 7. Complete information is available on SARE's website at http://www.sare.org/2008Conference/newvoices.htm.

  • Southern Growth Policies Board Launches Two New Online Tools
    Southern Growth Policies Board has just announced the launch of two new, searchable web-based tools: (1) the Southern Compass News Portal, available at http://www.southerncompassnews.org, and (2) the Southern Growth Idea Bank, available at http://www.southernideabank.org. The portal includes a searchable archive of Southern Growth's weekly email newsletter, Southern Compass, with additional tools, and it offers users the opportunity to research articles, publications, press releases, announcements and trends in four broad areas -- Community & Quality of Life, Globalization, Technology & Innovation and Workforce Development -- chronologically for up to a year's worth of Southern Compass issues. The idea bank is an online compendium of smart ideas, best practices and innovative programs from across the Southern region; it allows users to search for programs by state, by a specific category or by keywords. The idea bank includes more than 175 programs covering a broad range of topics from leadership to foreign relations to emerging industries to career preparation in K-12 and life-long learning.


Funding Opportunities

  • SRDC's Grant Connections: Rural Development Funding Opportunities
    Volume 10, Number 1, October 2007
    http://srdc.msstate.edu/funding/oct07.htm -- Available Oct. 29

    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.


People in the News

  • Dr. Ronald Brown, executive director of the Association of Southern Region Extension Directors, was recently inducted into the CSREES Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame recognizes outstanding individuals who have worked, coordinated, or supported activities exemplifying CSREES' synergy of excellence in any combination of research, education, and extension approaches on local, regional, national, or international levels, and demonstrated a measurable and positive impact on the agency. Read more at http://www.csrees.usda.gov/newsroom/newsletters/update07/101707.html#csrees.


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.


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Some photos on this page
courtesy of USDA NRCS.

  

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