The Office of Community and Economic Development at Fresno State earned the Excellence in Community-Connected Campus Award for its San Joaquin Valley Rural Development Center.
The award, which recognizes the top university-based economic development initiatives in the country, was presented at the University Economic Development Association Annual Summit on Sept. 29 in Anchorage, Alaska.
Fresno State’s Office of Community and Economic Development was invited to present to a voting body of peers at the summit with other category finalists from Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis and University of Alaska Anchorage.
Finalists were evaluated by awards committee members and summit attendees on the following criteria: replicability and scalability, sustainability, originality, impact and overall quality and responsiveness of presentations. The Community-Connected Campus Award highlights an initiative’s “innovated approaches to campus and community planning that make the campus a magnet or ‘hot spot’ for the regional economy.”
The San Joaquin Valley Rural Development Center provides services aimed at building local capacity and improving quality of life for the Valley’s rural communities. The center acts as a resource hub for rural residents, small businesses, municipalities, special districts and nonprofits in underserved Valley communities by connecting them with information, resources, services and experts in specific subject matter.
For more information, contact Mike Dozier at 559.278.0727 or mdozier@csufresno.edu.
Related Links:
Office of Community and Economic Development: www.csufresno.edu/oced
San Joaquin Valley Rural Development Center: www.sjvrdc.org
University Economic Development Association: www.universityeda.org
