Edgewood College to launch URED Program
Grassroots development
Grassroots development
| Dr. Charles Taylor, dean of Edgewood College’s business school, has established URED, a community- based economic development certificate program. |
By Jonathan Gramling
While some may pass by an economically blighted area in an urban or rural community
— dilapidated buildings with ‘For Lease’ signs adorning them, there are others who may
dream and ask ‘What if.’ The business school of Edgewood College is looking to empower
some of those dreamers to spur community-based economic development that will help
blighted neighborhoods turn the economic corner and become invigorated once again.
When he was appointed dean of the Edgewood business school two years ago, Dr. Charles
Taylor had a dream of his own to create the Urban and Rural Economic Development
(URED) graduate certificate program. After a lot of hard work and countless conversations,
Taylor’s dream is about to become a reality.
“When we set up this program, we called over 100 people in a five-county area to talk
to them about what we should include in the class, where they got their training and if there
is a need for a program,” Taylor said in an interview with The Capital City Hues. “To a
person, they all said yes. And almost to a person, they said they had no formal training and
that they learned through trial and error. They had to learn on the job and so they made a
While some may pass by an economically blighted area in an urban or rural community
— dilapidated buildings with ‘For Lease’ signs adorning them, there are others who may
dream and ask ‘What if.’ The business school of Edgewood College is looking to empower
some of those dreamers to spur community-based economic development that will help
blighted neighborhoods turn the economic corner and become invigorated once again.
When he was appointed dean of the Edgewood business school two years ago, Dr. Charles
Taylor had a dream of his own to create the Urban and Rural Economic Development
(URED) graduate certificate program. After a lot of hard work and countless conversations,
Taylor’s dream is about to become a reality.
“When we set up this program, we called over 100 people in a five-county area to talk
to them about what we should include in the class, where they got their training and if there
is a need for a program,” Taylor said in an interview with The Capital City Hues. “To a
person, they all said yes. And almost to a person, they said they had no formal training and
that they learned through trial and error. They had to learn on the job and so they made a
lot of mistakes. They wished something like our program had been in place when they started. Now they are saying in the future, if we can begin to
train people year in and year out, now we have a cadre of people that could come back to these communities with a skill set to bring about change
in those communities.”
Taylor and his staff also looked to see what was currently being offered in programs across the country. “We literally looked at programs all
across the country and cherry-picked the best from each,” Taylor emphasized. “We put together a model program. When you leave there, you
literally have the skill set to go into a community and say ‘I think I can help you launch an economic development program in your community, here’
s why and here’s how.’”
The beauty of URED is it combines classroom training with a hands-on internship to teach the students the theoretical underpinnings of
economic development and allow them ‘real-world’ experience to hone their skills and make them marketable. It is an intensive one-year
certificate program for college graduates. And it’s an evening program so the students won’t have to quit work in order to take advantage of it.
During the school year, students attend Monday and Wednesday night classes. “In the first class, the student will learn how to bring together
resources for a project. They will learn the different models for economic development and what works well in a particular community. In the
second class, they will learn how to market that. They would learn how to attract businesses, how to leverage what they have, how to expand
current businesses and how to create jobs. In the third class, they will learn how to bring all of the players together to the table who need to be
there, how to work with government agencies and how to find federal and state funding. In the fourth class, they will learn how to make sure that
anything they bring to a community is sustainable. We’re not talking about fast-food chains. We’re talking about businesses that create sustainable
lifeblood for a particular community.”
And then during the summer, they will be out in the field working with a government agency or a non-profit to implement what they have
learned. And as they develop their projects, they will have a lot of resources backing them. “They have all of the resources of the business
school,” Taylor said. “They have a library and our faculty. We also have a 45-member advisory board, which they can bounce ideas off of.” And
they will be able to look at economic case studies Edgewood has compiled with which they can analyze the projects they will be working on.
Taylor expects many of these internships to turn into paid positions after the students get their certificates.
The first URED class will begin this fall. There are three slots remaining. While the cost of the one-year program is $10,000, there are
scholarships available. And in some cases, Taylor anticipates that some students will be sponsored by their employers. “You have to look at it as
an investment,” Taylor emphasized. “It is obtaining a skill set that will enable you to essentially almost become a developer so that you can work
with economic development people and work with communities. And you will have a set of knowledge that is extremely marketable. If you look at
the types of jobs that this certificate prepares you for, it is quite extensive.”
In order to register, people can visit Edgewood’s website at http://www.edgewood.edu/academics/graduate/URED/. For more information and
to find out about upcoming URED open houses, call Damon Dorsey at 663-3445.
train people year in and year out, now we have a cadre of people that could come back to these communities with a skill set to bring about change
in those communities.”
Taylor and his staff also looked to see what was currently being offered in programs across the country. “We literally looked at programs all
across the country and cherry-picked the best from each,” Taylor emphasized. “We put together a model program. When you leave there, you
literally have the skill set to go into a community and say ‘I think I can help you launch an economic development program in your community, here’
s why and here’s how.’”
The beauty of URED is it combines classroom training with a hands-on internship to teach the students the theoretical underpinnings of
economic development and allow them ‘real-world’ experience to hone their skills and make them marketable. It is an intensive one-year
certificate program for college graduates. And it’s an evening program so the students won’t have to quit work in order to take advantage of it.
During the school year, students attend Monday and Wednesday night classes. “In the first class, the student will learn how to bring together
resources for a project. They will learn the different models for economic development and what works well in a particular community. In the
second class, they will learn how to market that. They would learn how to attract businesses, how to leverage what they have, how to expand
current businesses and how to create jobs. In the third class, they will learn how to bring all of the players together to the table who need to be
there, how to work with government agencies and how to find federal and state funding. In the fourth class, they will learn how to make sure that
anything they bring to a community is sustainable. We’re not talking about fast-food chains. We’re talking about businesses that create sustainable
lifeblood for a particular community.”
And then during the summer, they will be out in the field working with a government agency or a non-profit to implement what they have
learned. And as they develop their projects, they will have a lot of resources backing them. “They have all of the resources of the business
school,” Taylor said. “They have a library and our faculty. We also have a 45-member advisory board, which they can bounce ideas off of.” And
they will be able to look at economic case studies Edgewood has compiled with which they can analyze the projects they will be working on.
Taylor expects many of these internships to turn into paid positions after the students get their certificates.
The first URED class will begin this fall. There are three slots remaining. While the cost of the one-year program is $10,000, there are
scholarships available. And in some cases, Taylor anticipates that some students will be sponsored by their employers. “You have to look at it as
an investment,” Taylor emphasized. “It is obtaining a skill set that will enable you to essentially almost become a developer so that you can work
with economic development people and work with communities. And you will have a set of knowledge that is extremely marketable. If you look at
the types of jobs that this certificate prepares you for, it is quite extensive.”
In order to register, people can visit Edgewood’s website at http://www.edgewood.edu/academics/graduate/URED/. For more information and
to find out about upcoming URED open houses, call Damon Dorsey at 663-3445.
