Focusing state and federal dollars on targeted areas, the Kentucky Appalachian Community Development Initiative helps communities in eastern Kentucky fund their own strategies for economic growth. In Hindman, the project focuses on creating the Kentucky School of Crafts, to train master artisans; supporting the Kentucky Appalachian Artisan Center;…

Community colleges in Appalachia are helping boost local economies and expand educational opportunities through the national Rural Community College Initiative (RCCI). At the heart of RCCI is a nine-step strategic planning process in which a community group moves from vision to action. Kentucky's Southeast Community College has promoted…

Educational shortcomings in the Region show the need for closer cooperation between educational institutions and communities. (Author)

A New York two-year college concentrates on involving its community in its educational program. (Author)

Examines efforts of Wytheville Community College (WCC) (Virginia) to meet the educational needs of communities in its rural Appalachian service region. Discusses the leadership and vision of college president William Snyder. Describes a mobile unit that delivers technological education to rural high schools on behalf of WCC's Manufacturing…

In 1981, Jackson County, North Carolina, appeared on the first list of "distressed counties" in Appalachia. Since then, the rural county has made significant improvements by investing in its physical infrastructure (which also promotes tourism); fostering economic-development partnerships among governments, small businesses, and local…

Examines the multiple roles of community colleges in Appalachia: providing education and training to local students who are economically or culturally place-bound, promoting economic development and entrepreneurship through training in advanced technology and business skills, and meeting local community needs for specific academic or vocational…

REAL Enterprises, Inc. (Rural Entrepreneurship through Action Learning) is an academic program that helps students learn the basics of starting and nurturing a new business. West Virginia is 1 of 17 states offering the program with the goal of preparing youth to take advantage of economic opportunities in their own communities. (LP)

The University of Alabama at Birmingham's (UAB) Linkage Program aims to increase the supply of health-care professionals to rural Alabama. Students attend a local community college for one year and UAB for another year. Major clinical internships are done near the students' hometowns. Seventy percent of graduates return to their home areas to…

Discusses the need for community and technical colleges to act as active transfer agents providing access to rapidly changing technological information for rural businesses and their workers. Identifies common barriers to cooperation between research universities and industry, and offers advice on surmounting them. (SV)

Rural Marion County (Tennessee), the town of Kimball, the Appalachian Regional Commission, and a local community college founded a regional skills center. The center offers a 2-year associate of science degree and classes in GED preparation, parenting, drug abuse prevention, cosmetology, and air conditioning and refrigeration. It has expanded…