Recent media reporting and research suggest that regional comprehensive universities (RCUs) and other postsecondary institutions may play an integral role in the welfare of rural regions, yet empirical research on the regional service of rural postsecondary institutions is limited. The purpose of this study was to examine how a single RCU serves…

A native Appalachian describes how his home in southwestern Virginia (Wythe County) seemed to him as a boy and how he feels it has changed today after an absence of 20 years. (Author/NEC)

The rural economy has performed badly during the 1980s. While the recession of the early 1980s was responsible for much of the trouble, the slow rural recovery demonstrates the fundamental hurdles facing the rural economy. Central among these are economic disadvantages, including remote locations isolating rural producers from their markets, low…

Reports on results of a survey sent to a random sample of the American Planning Association in Virginia, Iowa, and Colorado and to the entire membership of the Virginia Planning Caucus. (AN)

Third in a series by the Rural Success Program at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), the book provides a view of selected organizations and literature of potential interest to rural employment and training practitioners and planners. The book is divided into two sections. The first contains summaries of interviews with representatives of 26…

Describes study of rural or small town community development programs funded by the Small Town Emphasis Program. Outlines program factors including competition, innovation, needs assessment, low income involvement, networks, technical assistance, efficiency, strategy, and timing. Provides examples of six programs and recommends future development…

Bordering on North Carolina, the Dan River region of Southside Virginia is a largely rural area south of the state capitol, Richmond, and 135 miles east of Virginia Tech's main residential campus in Blacksburg. The structural problems evident today in this expanse of wooded areas, fields, small cities, and towns were born, in large measure, of the…

This paper focuses on the political economy of public education in depressed rural regions of the United States. The general hypothesis explored is that occupational composition of the community workforce and associated educational requirements for employment are significant elements of the sociopolitical environment for public education. Part I…