Registration Open for “The Future of Latino/Hispanic Programming in the South”
Extension educators and faculty interested in serving Latinos in the South, will gather for the 2009 Annual SERA-37 Conference on March 23rd from 2-5 PM Eastern Standard Time via the Internet. Topics of discussion will include developing a five-year strategic plan, staying connected and focused, and determining what SERA-37 needs to accomplish in 2009 and beyond. This three-hour Web-conference will use a technology called Polycom that allows participants to see each other on large screen TVs making communication possible between the many sites. For more information about SERA-37 and the conference, visit http://srdc.msstate.edu/opportunities/hispanic_south.htm.

SERA-19 Issues Call for Proposals for 2009 Conference
SERA-IEG 19 Health members and partners are invited to submit proposals related to the conference theme, Community-Based Efforts in Today’s Economy: Determining the Future of Health Programming. This theme has been chosen to reflect this year’s focus community-based programs that influence all aspects of health programming in rural areas.  However, this broad topic includes such categories as community-based intervention strategies for specific diseases; Extension programming work with immigrant populations where the consumption of healthcare is a cultural issue; and the economic analysis of healthcare delivery in rural areas (this area could include such topics as the importance of information technology; management and organization of health care entities; impacts of governmental policy actions; etc.). Visit the SERA-19 Web site at http://srdc.msstate.edu/sera19/.

Registration Opens for 2009 Joint Meeting of SR-PLN, AEA & ASRED
Online registration is now open for the 2009 SR-PLN, AEA & ASRED Joint Meeting to be held in Orlando, Florida on August 24-28, 2009. This year’s theme,  “Meeting the Challenges of a Changing World - Staying Relevant, Maintaining Funding and Adapting to Shifting Needs and Priorities” will address the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (The New Farm Bill), what it means for PLN, how it will be paid for, and changes to be expected in years to come. To register and view a tentative agenda, visit http://srpln.msstate.edu/.

 

New Rural Outreach Site Promotes Building a Stronger Rural America
The Senate Democratic Caucus just unveiled their Rural Agenda and launched a coordinating new rural outreach Web site. Both initiatives are part of Senate Democrats’ efforts to highlight issues important to rural communities and to further promote policies that will benefit rural America. The agenda includes revitalizing and reinvesting in rural healthcare, education, economic development, agriculture, energy and natural resources, veterans and National Guard, rural law enforcement and Homeland Security, and infrastructure. The Senate Democratic Rural Outreach Web site and agenda can be accessed at www.democrats.senate.gov/rural. 

New User’s Guide Offers Assistance for Using Recovery Dollars
The recently passed $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is a big, bold, and historic investment intended to kick-start the United States economy and lay the foundation for long-term economic growth and stability. It can also serve as a down payment, if invested wisely, on building an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty. The challenge, however, is the political and economic urgency to spend Recovery Act funds quickly in order to put large numbers of people back to work. Green For All and PolicyLink have prepared this User’s Guide to assist local and state advocates, nonprofit organizations, public agencies, and policymakers in making the best use of recovery dollars. Read more about this guide at http://www.greenforall.org/resources/recoveryusersguide.

National Agricultural Law Center Assumes Leadership in eXtension Ag Law Community of Practice
The National Agricultural Law Center's now serves as the national leader on Agricultural Law Community of Practice within the eXtension system. eXtension is the latest evolution in the way information from land-grant universities is provided to the public and serves as an interactive learning environment delivering the most researched knowledge from experts throughout the national land-grant system. Rather than grouping professionals based on location, such as county or state, eXtension brings together professionals with similar areas of expertise, such as agricultural law, to provide the best-of-the-best in research and information. The eXtension web site serves as a portal to the public, providing information in an online format that can be accessed by anyone in the world at any time. The public is invited to participate in a variety of ways from on-line seminars to submitting a question to the "Ask an Expert" feature. The immediate focus of the Agricultural Law Community of practice will be the development of content and curriculum in six distinct areas of the law related to agriculture: labor issues; tax and business organizations; environmental and natural resources; agricultural diversification; estate planning and farm succession; and renewable fuels. Members of the Community include over 34 land grant faculty and state, regional and county Extension professionals, and nonprofit organizations representing 22 states.  Learn more about the Center at http://www.nationalaglawcenter.org/.

Small Towns, Big Ideas Project Features Case Studies of Innovation
Small Towns, Big Ideas project began in mid-2006, when the UNC School of Government partnered with the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center to identify and document 50 small towns that were implementing successful or innovative approaches to community economic development. The resulting publication, Small Towns, Big Ideas: Case Studies in Small Town Community Economic Development, profiles towns in 18 states ranging in population from 175 (Chimney Rock, North Carolina) to 15,000 (Helena-West Helena, Arkansas). This collection features real stories, from real places that are successfully confronting real challenges similar to those facing small communities everywhere, such as globalization, geographic isolation, urban sprawl, aging populations, and natural disasters.The case studies are told in an engaging narrative that includes information useful to civic leaders in small communities and policymakers dealing with rural development issues.  Learn more at http://www.sog.unc.edu/programs/cednc/stbi/.

Study Shows U.S. Teen Fertility Rising Especially in Ten Southern States
The United States has higher fertility rates among teenage girls compared with other developed countries of the world. For example, girls ages 15 to 19 have fertility rates more than five times higher than their counterparts in developed countries such as France, Italy, Japan, Slovenia, and Switzerland. Nonetheless, the fertility rate of girls ages 15 to 19 declined consecutively over the period from 1991 to 2005. During this time, the fertility rate of the age group dropped by one-third, from 61.8 births per 1,000 girls ages 15 to 19 in 1991 to 40.5 in 2005. However, the latest data for 2006 may point to a reversal of this trend, with the fertility rate inching upward to 41.9.3

There is a clear regional split between states with the highest and lowest teenage fertility rates For example, the 13 states with teenage fertility rates above 50 are located primarily in the South (10 states) with a few in the West (three states). Read the full report at the http://www.prb.org/Articles/2009/teenagefertilityrate.aspx.

 

SRDC's Grant Connections: Rural Development Funding Opportunities
Volume 10, Number 8, February 2009. 
http://srdc.msstate.edu/funding/gc_feb09.html

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

 

SERA-37 Annual Conference: The Future of Latino/Hispanic Programming in the South
March 23, 2009
Interactive Classroom Conference
http://srdc.msstate.edu/sera37/09registration.html

2009 National Jeanne Priester Extension Health Conference
April 6-8, 2009
Indianapolis, Indiana
http://continuingeducation.ncsu.edu/PNEHC/

Middle Management Conference “Excelling Beyond Today’s Challenges”
April 6-8, 2009
University of Georgia in Athens
http://www.caes.uga.edu/UNIT/ATHENS/events/events.html#MMC

NACDEP 2009:  Creating Sustainable Communities in a Changing America
April 20-22, 2009
San Diego, California 
http://www.nacdep.net/

Enhancing Local and Regional Food Systems: Exploring the Research, What Works, and What We Need to Learn
May 19-20, 2009
Kerhonkson, New York
http://nercrd.psu.edu/LocalFoods/Conference.html

Strengthening Extension Advisory Leaders Conference (SEAL)
May 19 - 21, 2009
Charlotte, North Carolina
http://als.ces.ncsu.edu/

4th Annual Town & Gown Best Practices in Building University/City Relations Conference
June 1-4, 2009
Murray, Kentucky
http://www.murraystate.edu/town_and_gown/conference/

Southern Growth Policies Board 37th Annual Conference
The Business of Southern Energy
June 7-9, 2009
Biloxi, Mississippi
http://www.southern.org/conference/conf.shtml

National Extension Tourism Conference
June 14-17, 2009
Park City, Utah
http://www.rpts.tamu.edu/tce/NET/Conference.htm

Analyzing Poverty and Socioeconomic Trends Using the American Community Survey
June 22-26, 2009
Ann Arbor, Michigan
http://www.npc.umich.edu/opportunities/papers/analyzingpove

Microenterprise! The Engine for Economic Growth
June 30, 2009
Lexington, Kentucky
http://peakky.org

Rural Health SERA-19 Annual Conference and Working Session
August 11-13, 2009
Nashville, Tennessee
http://srdc.msstate.edu/sera19/

Southern Region Leadership Network
Joint Meeting of PLN, AEA & ASRED
August 24-28, 2009
Orlando, Florida
http://srpln.msstate.edu/conferences/proceedings.htm

 

Agricultural Economist, Economic Research Service/USDA
View announcement:
http://www.ers.usda.gov/AboutERS/Employment/OpportunitiesPage.htm

Associate Director, Governmental Training, Education, and Development Division, Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia
View announcement:
http://www.cviog.uga.edu/about/employment.php#top

Associate Director, Rural and Traditional Programs, Alabama Cooperative Extension System
View announcement:
http://srdc.msstate.edu/newsletters/documents/03-09_adrtp.pdf

Director, Economic Engagement Initiatives, Office of Economic and Workforce Development, Penn State
View announcement:
http://srdc.msstate.edu/newsletters/documents/3-09_director_economic.pdf

Forestry Program Manager, Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED)
View announcement:
http://www.maced.org/forestry-ad.htm

Project Manager, Industrial Outreach Service, Mississippi State University
View announcement:
http://srdc.msstate.edu/newsletters/documents/project_manager_%20%20job_announcement.pdf

Strategic Initiatives Director, Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED)
View announcement:
http://www.maced.org/SID-ad.html