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True North – A RegionalEconomic Development Strategy

Rural Community College Institute

August 2-5, 2004Nashville, Tennessee

Dr. Sue Collins, Provost – Vermilion Community CollegeDr. Tina Royer, Dean of Academic Affairs – Mesabi Range Community and Technical College

Dr. Aaron Kelson, Instructor – Mesabi Range Community and Technical College

Northeast Minnesota Higher Education Distrtict

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THE ARROWHEAD REGION:

A Landscape in Transition

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The 3 T’s = Taconite, Tourism and Timber in

northeastern Minnesota.

Natural Resource Based Economy for 100 Years

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Early 1980’s: Today: 50% Jobs 10% Jobs 60% Income 10% Income

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Economic Decline with Businesses

Up for Sale

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Regional Legislative Delegation

Trustees Create Northeast Minnesota Higher Education District Effective October 1, 1999

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Mission is To Provide Quality Higher Education to the Communities

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Northeast Minnesota

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Mesabi Range Community& Technical College

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Consequence of Challenges

• Turn problems into progress

• Allow our deep traditions to emerge• Get smart about how our economy is making itself up as we go along• Get in behind it quickly to support it

and

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Motivation = motive for action

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LTV mine closed in 2000

1400 workers lost their jobs

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John and Joe conclude that as communities go – so go their colleges … and vice versa

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NORTHEAST MINNESOTA HIGHER EDUCATION

DISTRICT PLAN

Five Principles:

1) Institutional Autonomy

2) Student and Community Access

3) Institutional Cooperation

4) Institutional Stability

5) Promote effective relationships with the community including advocacy and service to business and industry and connections to regional and statewide economic development initiatives

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5 colleges in 6 towns

500 – 600 college employees

serving

8,000 to 10,000 learners (5,000 FYE’s)

13,000 square miles

130,000 residents

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A sense of place involves people, culture, environment

Bonding and Bridging

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Rural America Matters

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Recognized for Decades

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Can rural folks get what they need in a reasonable period

of time?

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Health &Social

Services

Education &Training

CommunityInfrastructure

Government $TheEconomy

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Northeastern Minnesota

Move toward the 4th “T” of

Technology

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Private Sector Assessment in

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• 1997 Regional Initiative

• Globalization

• Chair of 20 member board

• New economy

• Iron Range Resources

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True North:

Workforce Strategy

Education, and

Community,

Economic,

A Regional,

TrueTrueNorthNorth

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Regional branded term for public, private and higher education institutions

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• Rural

• 60 Yr Regional Advocate• Strong Work Ethic…• …Despite Winds of Change• Reflects on Core Values & Tradition

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Northeast Minnesota

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Video 2

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True North: New Perspectives

Making Northeast MinnesotaA Viable Place to Live, Learn, Work & Grow.

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Visionary Leaders with clear economic development strategies

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Place-based capacity

Local autonomy preserved

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• Investment

• Relating to others in new ways

• Win – Win Strategies

Building Trust

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A low threshold inclusive collaborative not interested in replacing or taking over for other people or organizations.

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Arrowhead Growth Alliance Economic Leadership Conference

October, 2002

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Lead town meetings on regional thinking and be willing to tell the story and carry the vision.

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Manning, et al (2004) says collaboration led by college leaders with their communities and better focused missions will result in survival for rural regions.

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TechNorth Prep Center became the flagship enterprise for True North

A favored project of the late Senator Paul Wellstone

Myth Makers and Agents of Change:

How Did the Creation of True North change the Region?

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Northeast Entrepreneur Fund

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Entrepreneurship by owning and operating a business through its college

Aaron Kelson, Mesabi Range Community and Technical College

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Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota

Virginia, Minnesota Site

Back-office contract service providers

vs

off-shore outsourcing

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Designation for cells of workers competing globally

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TechNorth Prep Centers

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Ely Area Business Development Symposium

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Dr. Mike Johnson, Provost – Itasca Community College

Co-Chair of JOBS 2020

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Triangulating regional planning to allow government to highlight quality of life as well as tax forgiveness

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Private

Government

Higher Education

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But whereare wenow?

But whereare wenow?

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Lessons Learned: A Work in Process

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Checklist of 20 Lessons Learned1. Rural America is at a “tipping point,” and economic decline is pulling people together.2. Traditional historic and government lines can be blurred.3. Folks around the country and world can identify with the True North Story.4. Entrepreneurship built the past as we know it in rural America, and we need to create new “engines of innovation.”5. Communities must become or remain healthy as part of the community development that leads to economic growth.6. Rural communities can create or regain high-skill jobs.7. New technologies can bridge the rural divide.8. Business, education, and government working together is not a new idea.9. Rural community colleges around the nation have emerged as powerful economic catalysts for the communities they serve.10. Partnerships can be hard work.11. In a New Governance model, it’s important to tell others you don’t want to lead, but are interested in a collective movement toward the New Economy.12. Take the long view – invest 8 to 10 years for a major transformation.13. Build off of assets already in the region.14. Use business language.15. There is scarce research or solid evaluation on business outreach among partnerships.16. Never throw money at a problem – hoping it will hit a solution.17. Everyone wants/demands clear communication.18. Keep a sense of humor.19. Get support from people who have bully pulpits.20. Invest your own time and resources first.

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Rural America Matters

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Rural America is at a tipping point

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Dr. Chuck Fluharty

Dr. Bill Scaggs

“There is a congealing set of forces to combat the sense of hopelessness rural people are experiencing.”

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Sharing the True North Story

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The Rural Community College Alliance is a network and advocacy group that helps build the capacity of member community colleges to improve the educational and economic prospects for rural America. The Alliance is an advocate for its members and the distressed communities they serve. An Alliance goal is to position and fund rural-serving community colleges as catalysts and coordinators of community development that leads to sustainable regional economies.

THE RURAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE ALLIANCE POLICY AGENDA

We believe America's rural community colleges offer a unique "place-based' capacity to engage rural people, institutions and communities in the process of building and sustaining better places to live, learn, work and grow. To that end, rural-serving community colleges must build an ability to influence and support policies across multi-sector appropriation and authorization processes.

We believe America's rural community colleges offer our governmental jurisdictions a yet-to-be realized community-centered platform that can focus policies of education, commerce, health, human services, agriculture, homeland security, defense, transportation, labor, interior, housing, workforce development, small business development, telecommunications and others.

We believe the significant role of rural community colleges in workforce training and in community economic development must be formally recognized in federal and state policies and practices.

Advocacy Principles of the Rural Community College Alliance

Center advocacy on developing cross-sector, multi-jurisdictional. place focused revenue streams to support the currently unfunded community and economic development mission of rural community colleges.Forge a research and policy development partnership with regional and land-grant universities and engage member institutions in relevant research.Build upon and do not duplicate the work of others.

Advocacy Strategies of the Rural Community College Alliance

Position rural community colleges as place-based catalysts and coordinators for regional community development leading to the sustainable economic growth of our rural communities.Collaborate with the American Association of Community Colleges' Rural Roundtable, the Association of Community College Trustees, and other advocates for community colleges and rural America.Maintain mutually supportive relationships with MDC, Incorporated, the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development, the Southern Rural Development Center, the Rural Policy Research Institute, and the MidSouth Partnership for Rural Community Colleges.Build additional linkages with regional and land-grant universities, rural development organizations and agencies, and rural policy research and advocacy organizations.Participate in public dialogue with federal and state policy makers on rural campuses and other venues including the Annual Conference of the Alliance.11/20/D6

Rural Community College Alliance

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Entrepreneurs innovate and companies become engines of innovation

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• Multi-point multi-channel distribution systems

• Broadband satellite

• Third generation wireless

Abraham (2003)

Connectivity

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Build off of existing assets

e-learning at Hibbing Community College

E-learning to “innovation acceleration”

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Now is the time for leaders to play forceful roles in community

development that leads to economic growth for the rural regions they serve.

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QUESTIONS?