Small Town America: Needs Higher Education

Usually when people talk about small towns and higher education, they are talking about kids going to college or the number of college graduates in a town. While both are important, there is another link: higher education as a resource for small towns. There are people and institutions who are ready and willing to help small towns think through and plan their future. The entry points can be in almost any unit within a university or college but a good place to start looking is agriculture, extension, business, and education. Some institutions have formal outreach departments. These are points of entry to research, technical assistance, and tools to help small town leadership make new decisions. There may also be some help accessing grant monies. In Minnesota, the Small Towns Institute assists rural communities throughout the state with just these kinds of issues. Mississippi State University has already compiled a list of resources that will be helpful in a range of planning and community development activities. YourTown Alabama is a design service offered by Auburn University to small towns throughout the state. Although fee-driven it is much less than a for-profit company is likely to charge. I have written before about Auburn's Rural Studio but that is well worth another look. There are many more examples of important rural work happening at colleges and universities--this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Likewise there are state and federal government resources that provide and help identify resources for rural areas. USDA has a great resource page for grants. The Center for Rural Pennsylvania is a great resource in that state that links dollars to university researchers and communities. The North Carolina Rural Center has a wonderful resource section to help on many topical areas.

As communities are thinking about what to do next, contact your local or regional university or college. There is likely someone there ready to help.

Comments

[Joe Watts]

Thanks for mentioning the Your Town Alabama project. In addition to the assistance provided to small towns through the Small Town Design Initiative (STDI), Your Town Alabama holds a once yearly 3 day intensive workshop focused on training community and civic leaders on the benefits of planning, regional cooperation and basically "thinking outside the box." We also have a blog (www.yourtownalabama.org/blog) that provides timely information on things as varied as current grant cycles and top tourism events. Thanks again for the mention.