United States  

The sixth meeting of the Connecting Rural and Urban Learning Initiatives ( a PASCAL LCN network) will be held online on Thursday 23 September, 2021, starting at 9.30 pm (AEST); 12.30 pm (BST). The topic is: Illinois Institute of Rural Affairs: building the capacity of community leaders and policy makers.

Guest Co-Presenters:

• Norman Walzer, PhD, Professor Emeritus founder of the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs (IIRA)
• Christopher Merrett, PhD, Director and Professor of the Illinois Institute of Rural Affairs (IIRA)

PASCAL Associate, Professor Norman Walzer will discuss how the Institute was created. IIRA started in 1989 with Professor Walzer as its director for 15 years. Professor Merrett, current Director of IIRA for the past 16 years, will discuss how the IIRA programs are interlinked to deliver a holistic program for rural communities. The Institute continues to follow the initial mission and vision with suitable adjustments in programming along the way to meet changing needs. IIRA has won several awards over the years for outreach, and research on rural issues.

Audience: this presentation is of interest to universities who work with rural communities and/or rural communities interested in strengthening their links with universities.

Reference: IIRA - http://www.iira.org/

To join this meeting please contact Dr. Leone Wheeler, Hon. CEO of the Australian Learning Communities Network, and Co-Convenor of the PASCAL Connecting Urban and Rural Learning Initiatives LCN. Email: [email protected].

A summary of the discussions at the fourth and fifth Connecting Rural and Urban Learning Initiatives LCN meetings is featured below and attached.

Leone Wheeler