Well over a year ago, I emailed those on the UAEDI mailing list to say that I would greatly reduce the number of UAEDI emails in respect for your time and interests. At the same time we created the Crossroads Coalition mailing list for those with a special interest in this UAEDI partnership.

You are indeed welcome to be part of the Crossroads Coalition mailing list by simply contacting me.  Regardless, I do want to offer you an update on two areas that you might be interested in with a reference point to the website if you wish further information.

I. The Creation of the Crossroads Coalition as a National Model for Broad-based development (economic, community, education and leadership) for Rural Communities

UAEDI began a partnership with a number of counties in the Arkansas Delta near Memphis, TN in 2002.  This partnership involved creating a somewhat unique organizational structure and developing a written philosophy and strategy.  All that has been accomplished is the result of many different partners working together towards a common goal.

I’m pleased to report that the Crossroads Coalition is now fully operational and moving forward.  Here are some highlights to date:

1. The first official meeting of the 10-county Crossroads Coalition was held in 2005 in a newly remodeled ($2 mill) Technology Center for the Delta that was created in part to serve as the Coalition’s headquarters.
2. The five community colleges in the Crossroads came together to create the Arkansas Delta Training and Education Consortium (ADTEC).  In about three years, ADTEC has generated well over $30 mil in external grants, much of which is targeting workforce development.
3. The Coalition generated a Legislative Agenda for the region that led to financial support in a number of key areas.
4. In July 2008, the last piece of the Crossroads organizational structure came into place with the hiring of the Coalition’s first Executive Director.  This goes with earlier creation of a Board of Directors, a Foundation, the Technology Center for the Delta, and four separate Pillar Groups, each focusing on one of the four areas of broad-based development.
5. A comprehensive website has been designed under UAEDI sponsorship to provide extensive information about the region though the efforts of the four Pillar Groups via the Crossroads Asset and Resources Library (CARL).
6. An electronic Newsletter sponsored by UAEDI is serving to inform and mobilize those with an interest in the Crossroads Coalition. (Archives of past newsletters are on the website.)
7. A “prototype” has been created for development of the SUMMIT and SEED programs (discussed separately below)
8. Check out the Crossroads Coalition website (http://CrossroadsCoalition.org) to get a full picture of what has and is happening in this exciting initiative.
9. If you want on the Crossroads mailing list (2-3 emails a month including the Crossroads newsletter), let me know (ojl@uark.edu).
   
   
   II. SUMMIT and SEED Initiatives

1. SEED (Students Engaged in Economic Development):

SEED is a UAEDI initiative that is a type of for-credit service learning program.  Began in 2003, it has averaged three to four projects a year.  We are now in the process of expanding SEED, hopefully to 50-100 projects a year.  For more information about SEED, go to the UAEDI website (http://UAEDI.cast.uark.edu ) and click on SEED under “Core Activities.”

2. SUMMIT (Student Committee Summit Project):

SUMMIT is built on the idea of student involvement in solving the problems that face communities (where a community is defined as any public or private entity).  The premise is that that if students - all the way from public schools to graduate school – get involved in addressing community needs, these students will become more fully vested in the future of these communities and take “ownership” of them.  In time, this will lead to greater prosperity and well-being.

The Crossroads Coalition is presently at work creating the prototype for SUMMIT.  The first steps are county involvement in identifying student project ideas that will be placed in a database.  This will be distributed to a wide range of student groups who have a strong interest in working on them as facilitated through a range of organizations and partnerships.  These include the Crossroads public schools and many different institutions in higher education as well a number of government/private agencies. 

SUMMIT is intended to be an all-year effort with two special events: a project identification event set for Sept. 17, 2008, and a celebration event (April 2008).

For more information about SUMMT, go to http://Crossroadscoalition.org, click on “SUMMIT & SEED” (upper level of choices second from the right under the Crossroads logo).  There you will find a PowerPoint of SUMMIT, FAQ’s and an electronic submission form for project ideas along with instructions.  

Some of you may wish to serve as a community or faculty proposer or sponsor. Feel free to do so.

The longer term plan is to expand the SUMMIT prototype developed by the Crossroads Coalition to other state, regional and national areas that would like to do something similar.  In the shorter term, SUMMIT will serve as one mechanism for expanding SEED on the UA campus and elsewhere in higher education.

 

Again, thank you for your interest and expressions of support for UAEDI initiatives in the past and I welcome any feedback that you may wish to offer.