WASHINGTON, March 2, 2012 – Officials from USDA

Rural Development today signed an agreement (MOU) with

rural community colleges to strengthen the rural economy by

increasing rural residents’ access to skills training and higher

education, an outcome of the White House Rural Council

to better coordinate federal

resources to promote economic

prosperity in rural communities.

“We need well-trained and

properly educated students to

compete and win in the world

market and build a strong economy,”

said Dallas Tonsager,

Under Secretary for Rural

Development. “This agreement

calls for rural community colleges

and USDA to work together

more closely to improve the

accessibility and quality of education

in rural communities.

This partnership will help businesses

create jobs and grow

the rural economy.”

“Partnerships such as these

will help us get students interested

in science, technology

and math, which we’ll need for

the next generation to take their

place in food and agriculture

science,” said Dr. Catherine

Woteki, USDA’s Chief

Scientist and Under Secretary

for Research, Education and

Economics. “With such training,

students can keep our farmers

producing, our families fed,

and our country an international

leader in agricultural exports.

That’s a strategy I applaud.”

Dr. Woteki attended the signing

ceremony on behalf of REE.

USDA Rural Development,

the American Association of

Community Colleges (AACC)

and the Rural Community

College Association (RCCA)

will share resources and expertise

to increase educational

and training opportunities for

rural residents. Tonsager said

the Obama Administration and

USDA continues to recognize

the importance of higher education

in providing businesses

with the highly skilled employees

they need to create economic

opportunities, and this

MOU furthers that effort.

The agreement, formally

referred to as a Memorandum

of Understanding (MOU),

spells out ways the colleges

and USDA will work together to

provide training opportunities to

rural residents.

The MOU calls for the participants

to:

Establish working groups to

coordinate Rural Development’s

financial and technical resources

with private sources of assistance

to better help rural educational

institutions;

Develop outreach and technical

assistance models for rural

educational institutions;

Co-sponsor events such as

conferences, seminars, webinars

and other networking

events;

Hold joint events to identify

and remove potential barriers to

resources or services.

The agreement, signed by

Under Secretary Tonsager is

another step in a continued effort

by Rural Development to assist

rural colleges through its programs.

Earlier today at a White

House Rural Council briefing,

Deputy Under Secretary

for Rural Development Doug

O’Brien discussed the importance

of community colleges to

supporting the economy of rural

America.

Tonsager noted that through

the Community Facilities

Program, USDA can provide

colleges with loans and grants

to construct and renovate classrooms

and dormitories, and to

purchase school student transportation

vehicles. Distance

Learning and Telemedicine

grants can cover the cost of

video conferencing and distance

learning equipment. The

Community Connect program

provides grants to build broadband

infrastructure and establish

community centers that

offer free public access in rural

areas where broadband service

is least likely to be available.

Each of these programs helps

meet President Obama’s objective

to grow the economy by

out-building and out-educating

the competition.

The American Association of

Community Colleges is a nonprofit

organization representing

almost 1,200 two-year, associate

degree-granting institutions

and more than 11 million students.

It was founded in 1920

for charitable and educational

purposes to support the nation’s

community colleges. The Rural

Community College Association

is a non-profit organization that

helps colleges partner with their

communities to improve education

access and local economic

conditions.

Since taking office, President

Obama’s Administration has

taken historic steps to improve

the lives of rural Americans,

put people back to work and

build thriving economies in rural

communities. From proposing

the American Jobs Act to

establishing the first-ever White

House Rural Council – chaired

by Agriculture Secretary Tom

Vilsack – the President is committed

to a smarter use of existing

Federal resources to foster

sustainable economic prosperity

and ensure the government

is a strong partner for businesses,

entrepreneurs and working

families in rural communities.

USDA, through its Rural

Development mission area,

administers and manages

housing, business and community

infrastructure and facility

programs through a national

network of state and local

offices. Rural Development

has an active portfolio of more

than $165 billion in loans and

loan guarantees. These programs

are designed to improve

the economic stability of rural

communities, businesses, residents,

farmers and ranchers

and improve the quality of life in

rural America.