On August 13, Dr. Walter Bumphus, President and CEO of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), hosted an elite group of community college presidents in a virtual dialogue with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and rural community college CEOs.

Chad Parker, Deputy Administrator, Community Programs at USDA Rural Development met with seven rural community college presidents to talk about programs specifically aimed at rural development.  He talked about the various programs available to community colleges, as well as some of the eligible purposes the grants.  Dr. Zylka, President/CEO of BSCTC, stated, “This meeting provides BSCTC with access to the USDA in Washington, D.C., and connects our college with state and local USDA representation.”

Participating in the discussion were the following presidents: John Rainone (Dabney
Lancaster Community College), Lana Reynolds (Seminole State College), Yves
Salomon-Fernandez (Greenfield Community College), Nancee Sorenson (Louisiana
State University – Eunice), Charlotte J. Warren (Lincoln Land Community College), and Sherry Zylka (Big Sandy Community & Technical College).  Participating USDA officials: Chad Parker, Deputy Administrator, Community Program; Surabhi Dabir, Senior Advisor, Housing Service; and Joseph Ben-Israel, Assistant Deputy Administrator.

USDA Rural Development is committed to helping improve the economy and quality of
life in rural America. The purpose of the meeting was to share the various funding
resources the USDA World Development Program provides.