The University of Minnesota, Morris, in partnership with the Otto Bremer Foundation, offers the Small Town Faculty and Student Fellows Program. This program connects community-based problems and/or issues with the research interests of Morris campus faculty to enhance regional community development activities across western Minnesota. The Center for Small Towns, with its more than 15-year history of working on community-based, locally identified issues, utilizes its staff, methodology, and resources to provide needed assistance to communities in the region while at the same time encouraging outreach activities to be better woven into the fabric of academic life at Morris.
The Center for Small Towns is pleased to announce that it will be offering this program, which ended in the fall of 2010, again starting July 2011.
A sample of past projects:
Project 1: Collaborative School Bus Routing
Led by University of Minnesota, Morris Professor of Mathematics Dr. Peh Ng, the goal of this project is to develop models of school bus routes both within a school district and between five school districts in west central Minnesota.
The project entails determining optimum models for vehicle routing across our area in a cost- and time-effective way. By determining the location and number of students in the dispersed areas, together with time, models can be built to determine routes, and flows, of student pickups. Mathematically, these are referred to as combinatorial problems. The solutions would allow our school districts to save transportation funds (at the approximate rate of $1.60 per mile) while at the same time providing an efficient solution to overlapping geographic areas brought about by open enrollment. The schools involved in this project are Chokio-Alberta, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley, Cyrus, Hancock, and Morris.
Project 2: Skills, Careers, Employees and Employers
Led by University of Minnesota, Morris Professor of Statistics Dr. Engin Sungur, the goal of this project is to identify gaps between employers in the region who have entry-level positions that will lead to higher-wage positions and those individuals seeking employment. Employers report they are unable to find workers who have the necessary skills to enter employment. Prospective employees report they are not able to find entry-level positions in the region. In order to build skills that qualify family members to hold better jobs within the region, it is imperative that we understand what skills are required for positions that allow individuals to move into high-demand, higher-wage positions, directly or through career ladders. This will be completed through interviews and/or a survey of employers, employees, and employee training programs.
Led by University of Minnesota, Morris Professor of Statistics Dr. Engin Sungur, the goal of this project is to identify gaps between employers in the region who have entry-level positions that will lead to higher-wage positions and those individuals seeking employment. Employers report they are unable to find workers who have the necessary skills to enter employment. Prospective employees report they are not able to find entry-level positions in the region. In order to build skills that qualify family members to hold better jobs within the region, it is imperative that we understand what skills are required for positions that allow individuals to move into high-demand, higher-wage positions, directly or through career ladders. This will be completed through interviews and/or a survey of employers, employees, and employee training programs.
Project 3: The Value of Culture and Education
Led by University of Minnesota, Morris Associate Professor of Education Carol Marxen, the goal of this project is to work with the Long Prairie-Grey Eagle High School to demonstrate the value of culture and education to the Hispanic community. It has been found that Hispanic students that finish high school generally do not pursue post-secondary educational opportunities. The Willmar School District will provide a basis for models to develop curricular, co-curricular, and community-based integrative strategies. The objectives are to provide professional development opportunities for teachers, connect the community to the school to provide role models and mentors, as well as develop and implement a team teaching environment.
Project 4: Assessment of Local Food System in Kandiyohi County
Led by University of Minnesota, Morris Associate Professor of Anthropology Donna Chollett, this community-based collaborative process will systematically analyze a broad range of local foods initiatives to inform planning actions. These planning actions can occur in environmental, health, economic, and policy settings. Other agencies involved include the Willmar Area Food Shelf, the West Central Regional Partnership, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Mid-Minnesota Regional Development Commission, Heartland Community Action Agency, U of M Extension, Farm to School, STEPS to a Healthier Willmar, Kandiyohi County and Willmar Economic Development Commission, and the West Central Integration Collaborative.
Project 5: Morris Area Child Care Center
Led by University of Minnesota, Morris Instructor of Economics Tom Guasman and Associate Professor of Management and Economics Steve Burks, the goal of this project is to conduct research associated with the Morris Area Child Care Center to determine the future feasibility of the facility by assessing market conditions and business structures in rural areas such as Morris. A group of concerned citizens and businesses from Stevens County approached the Center for Small Towns to obtain help in understanding the rural context of child care—especially as it relates to the Morris Area Child Care Center. A number of facilities have closed in the region and the fiscal models now being utilized do not appear to be sustainable. The goal of this project is to conduct research associated with the Morris Area Child Care Center to determine the future feasibility of the facility by assessing market conditions and business structures in rural areas such as Morris.
This program serves non-profit groups, schools, and local units of government in west central Minnesota. For more information contact us at the Center for Small Towns at 320-589-6451 or email us.
