Rural America in a Time of Change: The Importance of the RCCI Program

Rural communities in America are facing some tough challenges. Creating quality jobs, giving kids a shot at a good education, providing decent health care, providing opportunities for more people to take an active role in shaping the future of their communities, and creating hope for the future represent just a handful of the key issues facing many rural communities today.

A key to helping rural communities become competitive in the new economy is to work simultaneously on developing the skills of the people who live there and diversifying the economic base that supports the community. Because of their commitment to building both people and places, rural community and tribal colleges are ideally positioned to become catalysts for regional development.

Over the course of the last seven years, the Ford Foundation has invested resources in the Rural Community College Initiative (RCCI). This effort, coordinated by MDC, Inc., was designed as a national program to help rural community and tribal colleges in economically distressed regions move their service area communities and residents toward prosperity. It began with nine community and tribal colleges in 1994 and was increased to twenty-four colleges in 1997 to support aggressive and creative efforts to increase jobs, income and access to education in rural communities. Projects undertaken by program participants included support of economic development, increased access to the resources of the community and tribal colleges, and expanded participation in community decision making.

New Partnership with the Regional Rural Development Centers

The success of the initial program led to a Ford Foundation decision to expand the RCCI by partnering the community development mission of land-grant universities with the community service role of community colleges. This decision led to two new project coordinators being named and sixteen "new" community and tribal colleges being added to the effort in 2003.

The new project coordinators and primary technical assistance providers are a key element being incorporated into the second phase of the RCCI program. The North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD) and the Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC) are working in partnership to coordinate the expansion of the RCCI program to fourteen new rural community and tribal college teams involving 16 colleges. Each center brings nearly three decades of experience in helping communities to address rural development issues in America. Furthermore, with their strong ties to our nation's Cooperative Extension Service system, the centers can facilitate the building of strong, sustained partnerships between community and tribal colleges and the array of state and locally-based Extension community development educators located in close proximity to these schools.

Since the program seeks to encourage collaboration and inclusion within and beyond the communities served by the colleges, building sustainable rural communities for ALL remains the foremost goal that guides the RCCI effort. With the strong support of the Ford Foundation, the program seeks to encourage collaboration and inclusion within and beyond the communities served by the colleges. Therefore, building sustainable rural communities for all remains the foremost goal that guides the RCCI effort.