On Thursday, October 27, 2011 at 3:00pm – 4:30pm Eastern
As anchor institutions with commitments to rural places, colleges and universities play critical roles in the economic vitality of their regions. That commitment can extend far beyond educating a workforce and campus employment and purchasing.
Join us in exploring innovative examples from both the Wealth Creation in Rural Communities initiative funded by the Ford Foundation, and from the Center for Small Towns at the University of Minnesota, Morris. Hear about campus-community partnerships that have the potential to make a sustained impact on local economies in rural areas.
Yellow Wood Associates has been the manager of the Wealth Creation in Rural Communities initiative aimed at creating a comprehensive framework of community ownership and wealth control models that enhance the social, ecological, and economic well-being of rural areas. Yellow Wood’s Melissa Levy will give an overview of the approach and discuss how higher education institutions have supported various aspects of local projects.
The Center for Small Towns at the University of Minnesota, Morris provides assistance on community and economic development projects, often involving more research or expertise than small towns can afford or provide themselves. At the same time, they work to involve University of Minnesota, Morris faculty and students in the challenges and issues facing rural communities, which provides students with rich opportunities for applied learning.
Register at http://ruraleconomies.eventbrite.com
Presenters:
Melissa Levy is a Senior Associate of Yellow Wood Associates, Inc., where she has worked since May 2003. Yellow Wood is the managing grantee of the Ford Foundation’s Wealth Creation in Rural Communities initiative; as part of that work, Melissa currently coaches Southern value chain construction grantees on wealth creation and measurement and provides measurement and other technical assistance to Central Appalachian grantees. Melissa is the co-author of a paper on community wealth indicators, Measuring Community Wealth. Melissa’s other project work involves research and facilitation around various natural resource based rural economic development initiatives.
Melissa received her Master of Science degree in Natural Resource Planning from the University of Vermont. Prior to that, she served as the Research Manager at the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) for several years, where she managed the Economic Development Digest as well as various research projects. Prior to her work at NADO, Melissa worked at Co-op America (now Green America), where she helped environmentally and socially responsible businesses to emerge and succeed. Melissa received her Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from the State University of New York at Binghamton. Melissa lives in Hinesburg, Vermont where she serves as Chair of the Hinesburg Conservation Commission.
David Fluegel is a Community Program Specialist at Center for Small Towns at the University of Minnesota, Morris.
REGISTRATION DETAILS:
These webinars are part of an ongoing professional development series sponsored by California Campus Compact, Iowa Campus Compact, Kansas Campus Compact and Minnesota Campus Compact. Faculty, staff, students, and other affiliated individuals at member institutions of the Compacts in these states qualify for half-price, discounted ticket rate; as do individuals from campuses that belong to Campus Compact, but are not members of a state compact.
Registrants will receive a confirmation email with log-in information for the webinar.
The regular registration fee is $60.00 per login
The discounted registration fee is $30.00 per login
Multiple people may participate in the webinar under one registration as long as they are using one computer. While the registration fee is non-refundable, all registrants will have access to the webinar slides and materials.
For more information, contact John Hamerlinck at john@mncampuscompact.org or 320-308-4271.