- Distinguished professorship named in honor of Chancellor Bardo
- Fall commencement set for Dec. 19 at Ramsey Center
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- WCU novelist Ron Rash wins second Sir Walter Raleigh Award
- Senior named top mathematics education student in region
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- Board of trustees approves proposed tuition, fees for 2010-11
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A special project designed at Western Carolina University to help economic development professionals approach their jobs from a regional perspective was featured at the National Meeting of Economic Developers Aug. 29-Sept.1.
The Know Your Region Project is a partnership between the U.S. Economic Development Administration and Western Carolina University’s Public Policy Institute. The project helps economic developers understand and apply daily the concept of regionalism to promote sustainable regional prosperity.
“It is a project to help economic developers do a better job,” said Chris Cooper, director of the Know Your Region project and of the Public Policy Institute. “It is like a toolbox for economic developers.”
Since the project’s inception, Western Carolina’s Steve Ha and John Hensley also have contributed to its success. Ha, associate professor of economics, has worked as a consultant on the project while Hensley, who recently left WCU to work on his doctorate, handled the project’s daily upkeep.
The models for economic development have changed as technology has increased the speed of globalization, as the economy has shifted from manufacturing to service-based, and as there is more demand for higher-skilled workers, Cooper said. These dynamics, among others, indicate developers can no longer practice local, regional and state economic development in narrow, jurisdictional terms, he said. The Know Your Region Project is designed to enable practitioners to understand and apply core concepts of regionalism and clustering to the strategic planning process.
Materials developed for the project are available to economic and workforce development specialists online and through self-study materials, as well as in national and regional workshops. In addition to the presentation at the National Meeting of Economic Developers, upcoming training opportunities include the National League of Cities’ 17th Annual Leadership Summit held Sept. 10-12 in Louisville, Ky., and the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship Seventh Annual Conference held Oct. 11-14 in Chicago.
For more information about the Know Your Region Project, visit www.knowyourregion.com or contact Cooper at (828) 227-3861.
Maintained by the Office of Public Relations
Last Modified: Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009