Oklahoma State University: Second Annual Rural Renewal Research Symposium Is Approaching

Press release from Oklahoma State University:

September 29, 2021

Media Contact:
Alisa Boswell-Gore | Communications Coordinator, OSU Ag Research | 405-744-7115 | alisa.gore@okstate.edu

Oklahoma State University will host the second annual Rural Renewal Initiative Symposium
on Oct. 12 in a virtual format, uniting researchers from across the U.S. to share
current rural renewal research.

Sharing research with colleagues and communities is one of the three aspects of the
Rural Renewal Initiative, according to Audrey King, assistant director of the OSU research initiative.

The initiative is a TIER 1 research initiative that began in 2019 and its mission
is to “catalyze the renewal of rural communities and places in Oklahoma and beyond
through interdisciplinary research, student mobilization and community engagement.”

The symposium is meant to foster collaboration among rural renewal scientists on issues
facing rural communities and bring awareness to this type of research.

“Wanting to see rural communities thrive is what inspired this initiative. Many of
the problems that rural communities face cannot be solved by one discipline or by
one researcher,” King said. “It takes interdisciplinary efforts, and it takes engaging
with the communities themselves. Researchers do not have all the answers, but we are
excited to work with communities to help make things happen. We hope this work can
be used to help rural communities thrive.”

King said the 2021 Symposium will include three pre-sessions from 1 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.
on Oct. 11 for those interested in the following topics:

To register for the no-cost pre-symposium session, email ruralrenewal@okstate.edu.

The Rural Renewal Research Prize and the Rural Renewal Citizenship Prize will both
be awarded as part of the symposium. University of Minnesota Rural Sociologist Ben
Winchester will receive the research prize for his “brain gain” research that uses
demographic analysis to understand the nuances of rural population changes and reframe
core rural issues.

Through his research, Winchester discovered that rural areas experience slower but
steady inclines and that people ages 30 to 49 move in disproportionate numbers to
rural areas. JaNae Barnard of Fairview, Oklahoma, will be awarded the citizenship
prize for her work as executive director of the Major County Economic Development
Corporation and for being “Fairview’s biggest cheerleader.”

The following is the agenda for the 2021 RRI Symposium on Oct. 12:

This year’s symposium will be held virtually. To participate, register on the symposium website for $25. Oklahoma’s AARP chapter, the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives
and OSU Extension are the event sponsors.

“Our symposium went really well last year. We had attendees from nine different states
and a couple of different countries,” King said. “For our rural scholars, it was a
great opportunity for them to share the research they make happen. I am excited for
those collaborations to continue to grow, and I am excited about these pre-sessions.
I think they will include a lot of tangible concepts that participants can readily
apply to their own unique, local communities.”

This press release was produced by Oklahoma State University. The views expressed here are the author’s own.