Rural Economic Development Center

In 1986, the North Carolina Commission on Jobs and Economic Growth undertook a year-long study to identify the major economic challenges facing the state. Chief among its findings was the growing disparity between rural and urban North Carolina. While the cities were experiencing an economic boom that was bringing high-paying jobs and a range of social and cultural amenities, most rural areas found themselves in economic stagnation or even decline. In short, the future of nearly half the state's population--more than 3 million people living in 85 counties--was growing dimmer. Especially at risk were the half million rural North Carolinians who were living at the poverty level and the thousands more struggling just to remain at the economic edge. In response to these conditions, the commission recommended the creation of an aggressive non-profit organization to develop and carry out an action agenda for state rural economic development. The organization was to be charged with carrying out research, demonstration projects, training, and information dissemination, and it was to work hand-in-hand with public and private organizations across the state involved in rural economic development. Led by the lieutenant governor, a broad-based committee of state leaders--representing business, government, the foundation community, public universities, and others--began taking steps to create the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center. The committee secured the leadership of William C. Friday, widely respected former president of the University of North Carolina, as the chairman of the center's board of directors, and start-up funds from the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation, the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco. In January 1987, the Rural Center was established as the first organization in the country devoted exclusively to state rural advancement.