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Tom Coon is director of MSU Extension. Photo by Kurt Stepnitz

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EAST LANSING, Mich. — Using a grant of nearly $2 million, Michigan State University is poised to become the focus of rural development and research in the Midwest.

The grant, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, will allow MSU to begin hosting on July 1 the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development for the next five years.

The North Central Regional Center is one of four regional centers charged with strengthening the ability of the land-grant university system and its partners to help build rural community capacity, create vibrant and sustainable economies, and cultivate inclusive governance to enhance regional well-being.

MSU Extension, the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station and the MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources will jointly administer the center.

“Because 59 of Michigan’s 83 counties are considered rural, it is only natural that we are dedicated to helping rural communities thrive,” said Frank Fear, senior associate dean of the MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. “This opportunity allows our faculty and staff members to work with neighboring states to foster research and outreach efforts throughout the north central region.”

The USDA North Central Region consists of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Extension organizations, including MSU Extension, serve as the outreach arm that transfers research from universities to communities where information can be successfully implemented to trigger economic development.

“Applying education to economic development is our driving force,” said Tom Coon, director of MSU Extension. “We look forward to fostering multistate collaborations that can address needs of rural communities in Michigan and across the Midwest.”

Scott Loveridge, MSU Extension state leader for community and economic development, will serve as the center’s transitional director. He will chair a nationwide search to find a permanent director for the North Central Regional Center.

“The center was crucial in helping me launch my research program at the beginning of my career,” Loveridge said. “I plan to help the center continue to play that role as we establish it here at MSU and seek a full-time director.”

Additional background for reporters:

• A competitive search process for a host institution is initiated when there is a change in the director of a center. The North Central Regional Center search began when Cornelia Butler Flora, the current director, informed its board of directors that she plans to return to service as a faculty member at Iowa State University in 2009.
• The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development was established at Cornell University and later moved to Pennsylvania State University.
• The Western Rural Development Center was established at Oregon State University and later moved to Utah State University.
• The Southern Rural Development Center was established at Mississippi State University and remained there after a competitive search for the host institution in 1999.

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Michigan State University has been advancing knowledge and transforming lives through innovative teaching, research and outreach for more than 150 years. MSU is known internationally as a major public university with global reach and extraordinary impact. Its 17 degree-granting colleges attract scholars worldwide who are interested in combining education with practical problem solving.