Altus resident and

President of the Rural

Community College

Alliance, Dr. Randy Smith,

recently led a contingent

of rural community college

administrators to the

White House for discussions

on rural community

colleges. Smith, also

organized visits to key

Federal agencies for the

rural college administrators.

The highlight of the

visit was a signing ceremony

for a memorandum

of understanding (MOU)

with the U.S. Department

of Agriculture. The MOU

between the USDA and

the Rural Community

College Alliance will serve

as a template of communication

and cooperation

between the two groups.

“I am very excited about

the work we have done on

behalf of rural community

colleges with the USDA,”

states Smith. “The MOU

will provide a direct link

between our colleges and

the many programs, loans

and grants offered by the

USDA.” “We appreciate

the fact that the USDA

recognizes and understands

the important work

that rural colleges are

doing in our communities

and regions.” This is the

first time the USDA has

entered into an agreement

like this with an organization

of higher education

institutions. “Rural community

colleges are often

the drivers of economic

development and a major

clearing house of information,

they are so vital in

a rural community.” In

addition to the MOU signing,

the college administrators

also met with the US

Department of Education,

the Department of Health

and Human Services and

the Department of Labor.

The group held a special

meeting with Senior White

House Policy Staff and the

White House Rural Council

Staff during a visit to the

White House. “During our

White House visit we were

able to discuss the specific

challenges and opportunities

that are unique to rural

community colleges.” “This

included discussions about

the Pell Grant, Federal

Student Financial Aid, educating

allied health professionals,

the growing trend

of population shifts in rural

America and the huge shift

of funding away from the

states and onto the local

communities and counties,”

stated Smith.

“This is the first time

rural higher education

administrators have visited

the White House as a group

and we are very excited

about the discussions we

were able to engage in.

Operating a community college

in a rural area is vastly

different than operating a

college in an urban or suburban

setting,” Smith said.

“We appreciate the opportunity

to highlight the work

we are doing and outline

a few of the specific challenges

that will be with us in

the foreseeable future.”

“Often, policy makers in

DC are not from rural areas

and they don’t understand

our lifestyle or the challenges

facing rural America

and our rural institutions

of higher education,” Smith

added. “These important

meetings gave us an invaluable

opportunity to be able

to provide them with insight

into the wonderful work our

rural colleges are doing.”

The group visiting the

White House and the USDA

included 24 rural community

college administrators

from 15 states. Locally,

Smith is a member of the

Southwest Oklahoma Red

Cross Board, and an active

reserve deputy sheriff with

the Jackson County Sheriff’s

Office.