In college towns across America, a mutual dependence exists between colleges and their communities. In recent years, colleges have started taking on larger roles in the economic development of their regions—but in doing so, must face challenges beyond those faced by some colleges and universities.

Katharine Sheaff, research associate at the Center for the Study of Rural America, and Stuart A. Rosenfeld, president of Regional Technology Strategies, Inc., explore some of the strategies that make regional colleges successful in this role in the May edition of the Main Street Economist. The Main Street is published by the Center, which is based at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

Regional colleges have various economic goals, but the authors said a handful stood out from the rest. These goals range from producing skilled and professional workers to becoming a source of innovation and technology diffusion.

The authors describe five representative programs that embody the economic development goals, ranging from spurring a resurgence in the local loom weaving industry in northern New Mexico, to helping small manufacturing firms in northeastern Oklahoma land defense contracts.

The article and past issues of the Main Street Economist are available at the Center’s web site at www.kansascityfed.org.

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