Doing Our Part

I had hoped to write about the Appalachian Regional Development Conference, Doing OUr Part: The Role of North Carolina's Rural Public Universities in Economic Transformation, earlier, but tempus fugit, ya’ll. It was great to spend the weekend in the mountains. Sue and I were able to get some much needed yard work done at the house and to get in a visit with a number of our friends. But on the day of the conference I arrived at Rosen Hall, not really knowing what to expect, but I was very pleasantly surprised.

The day’s proceedings began with introductory remarks about encouraging economic development in their regions from the chancellors of each of the rural public universities—ECU, ESCU, UNC-Pembroke, Western and ASU. Our Chancellor, Steve Ballard, led off and presented a very cogent and succinct outline of our strategic framework, focusing on developing Eastern North Carolina’s economic, research and artistic potential and ameliorating the health and educational needs of the region. The chancellors from ESCU, Pembroke, and ASU also addressed how they are contributing to their regions, especially in training teachers and nurses and other vital professions. I was very impressed with Western’s Chancellor, John Bardo, and I would encourage you to look at his statement: Communicating the University’s Role in Economic Development.

At lunch, we were shown a very interesting video called Shift Happens, which is about rapidly changing economic development, mostly what is happening in China and how we in the US are not keeping up nor really aware of the rapid change overtaking us. Worth watching and thinking about. The conference audience was certainly intrigued to say the least.

I also very much enjoyed hearing from a number of others, including:
· Valeria Lee, President of the Golden Leaf Foundation, which is helping North Carolinians make the transition from a tobacco-dependent economy through grants and investments that will positively affect the long-term economic advancement of the state.
· Judith Cone is vice president of emerging strategies for the Kauffman Foundation, “where she leads efforts to explore new program opportunities to advance entrepreneurship and education;” and
· Eva Klein, president and founder of Eva Klein & Associates, Ltd. (EKA) which “is a specialized consulting practice, providing technical expertise, planning facilitation, creative strategy formulation, and ongoing project management for colleges and universities, communities, and regions that want to compete effectively in the Global Knowledge Economy.”