FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
To be archived (Community, Economic & Workforce Development) after May 15, 2008
Have you spotted a community problem—or opportunity—that someone should tackle? That needed change could begin with you and the skills you hone at Community Development Institute East, a national training program that will be held April 28 through May 2 at the Lakeview Golf Resort and Spa in Morgantown.
For six years, CDI East was held in Charleston. When the national institute opens in Morgantown this year, it will be in a new home but still close to home for West Virginians.
West Virginia University Extension Service organizes the nationally recognized seminar to provide close-to-home training for West Virginians and community development professionals from the East Coast.
Though in a new setting, CDI East will continue to offer a tiered three-year program—via one week a year—for anyone interested in community and economic development. Participants have included local development directors, state and federal agency staffers, elected officials and community activists.
The courses meet the needs of the novice and the experienced, said Michael Dougherty, the WVU Extension specialist who oversees the institute in his role as course director.
At each institute, he said, participants begin their discovery at their respective starting points. For new participants, that may mean being introduced to different aspects of social and economic growth. For returning participants, that may mean initiating their last steps toward certification as a professional community and economic developer.
Most participants, Dougherty said, will begin working somewhere in between
those two points.
At all levels, he said, participants increase their skills.
The goal, he said, is to build people’s capacity to make the positive
changes they want in their communities.
“We make minor adjustments to the course listing every year,” Dougherty
said. “That way we can ensure we meet the needs of the attendees while
making sure our curriculum is up to the standards set by the national Community
Development Council.”
More than 30 speakers are scheduled to present for the three-tiered courses.
The Year 1 curriculum includes principles and processes of community development, workforce development, team building, community assessment, facilitation skills, group dynamics, diversity awareness, conflict resolution, community profile development, global trends, personal leadership styles and visioning/strategic planning.
The Year 2 curriculum includes trends and issues in community development, tourism, conflict management and negotiation, trends and issues in public policy, telecommunication and technology infrastructure, community asset mapping, impact analysis, business retention and expansion, health care and community development, public sector/government funding, regional development and community surveys.
The Year 3 curriculum offers working with economic modeling, community marketing, sustainable development, housing, politics and lobbying, media relations, community development financing, land use planning, new community development corporations, commercial and industrial development, community indicators and the Community Reinvestment Act.
CDI East is one of six institutes endorsed by the Community Development Council. The other national institutes are held in Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Illinois and Texas.
The registration fee is $600. Registration closes April 21. Those who register before April 7 pay the discounted registration fee of $525.
Additional registration details are available on the Web (www.ext.wvu.edu/cdi-east/). Also learn more about WVU Extension Service community development programs and opportunities (www.wvu.edu/~exten/depts/cewd.htm).
For more information about CDI East courses, contact Dougherty by phone at (304) 293-6131, ext. 4215, or e-mail at Michael.Dougherty@mail.wvu.edu.
—WVU-ES—
CONTACT: Ann Bailey Berry, WVU Extension
Communications
Phone: (304) 293-5691; e-mail: Ann.Berry@mail.wvu.edu
fsm—2/15/08
Last modified
March 26, 2008
Comments to: Extension Service Web
