Rural Community
College Initiative
Merrill Wilcox
Piedmont Community College
Alan Barefield
Southern Rural Development Center
(662) 325-3207
alanb@srdc.msstate.edu
The Beginnings
Began as a demonstration project funded by
the Ford Foundation and managed by MDC,
Inc of Chapel Hill
Multi-state initiative that included Alabama,
Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana,
New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina,
South Dakota, Texas, and Virginia schools
Focused on increased involvement in
economic development and educational
access to programs
The New Phase
Round One
Coordination of the program was
assumed by the NCRCRD and the
SRDC in 2002
Ford Fdn felt that the program’s focus
need to be changed from one of demonstration to one of institutionalization
RRDCs ties to the land grant system
seemed to be the ideal vehicle
Round One States
Southern Region
Mississippi
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East Central Community College
North Carolina
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Carteret Community College
Piedmont Community College
Western Carolina Partnership
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Haywood CC, Southwestern CC, Tri-County CC
Texas
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Coastal Bend College
Howard College
Round One States
North Central Region
Minnesota
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Northeast MN Higher Education District (5 colleges)
Rochester Community and Technical College
New Mexico
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Eastern New Mexico University – Roswell
Eastern New Mexico University – Ruidoso
Mesalands Community College
North Dakota
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Fon du Lac Community College
United Tribes Technical College
Williston State College
Round Two States and Schools
Southern Region
Florida
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North Florida Community College
Louisiana
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Louisiana Delta Community College
Round Two States and Schools
North Central Region
Alaska
Hawaii
Nebraska
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Little Priest
North Dakota
Fort Berthold
 Turtle Mountain
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Land Grant Ties
Extension agents, specialists, or district
directors serve as “coaches”
Coaches do not provide technical assistance
or even educational programs, they focus on
guiding the college team to include:

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Unheard voices (civic engagement)
Equitable economic development
Increased access to educational programs
Community College Team
Each college team as a leader that handles
the day-to-day RCCI business
The “Core Team” is made up of 4-6 interested
persons who have an intense interest in the
program
The expanded team is more representative of
the entire community; it should help to
organize data, develop the strategic plan, and
present the strategies to the community.
East Central Community College
Previously involved in a 16 county, 2 state
economic development partnership that
has tremendous political support
Many areas of focus with the above
partnership, but RCCI programs will likely
be training for unlicensed child care
providers and business skills training for
agribusiness firms
Carteret Community College
One county service area, but county is
100 miles long w/ 3 distinct divisions that
do not “get along”
Vast marine educational and research
resources
Major problem for the “native” sector is a
rapidly declining fishing industry
Project is to develop a seafood brand that
can compete on a regional level
Piedmont Community College
Two county service area, but distinct
political disagreement within the counties
and towns
Project is to develop two separate vision
to action plans and then merge them with
an overarching goal of greater economic
and social development collaboration
between the political entities
Western Carolina Partnership
Three colleges with a total 6 county service area
located in western NC
Area is experiencing tremendous growth in
tourism industry
Project initially focuses on developing a
customer hospitality certification program that will
train local workers
This will hopefully lead to other small business
development programs such as BR&E, business
skills training, etc.
Howard College
Formed four committees from the
Expanded Team:

Jobs and Economic Growth, City-County
Partnerships, Education, Community
Beautification
Major projects include highway
infrastructure beautification, convention
center, partnerships with service area
high schools
Coastal Bend College
Developed four subteams to cover the
service areas of individual campuses
Priorities identified in focus group
sessions include:
Transportation and childcare are barriers to
educational access
 Unskilled workforce as barrier to economic
development
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