STEPHENVILLE, Texas —Tarleton State University’s Center for Rural Resilience recently co-hosted the inaugural Rural Resilience Summit, bringing together leading experts from across The Texas A&M System and beyond.
The two-day event joined experts together in education, agriculture, healthcare, emergency management and economic development to work collectively to address the challenges and opportunities facing Texas’ rural communities.
“Rural Texas plays a vital role in sustaining our state’s prosperity. It produces the food, fuel, and resources that help drive an economy now ranked as the eighth largest in the world,” said Texas A&M University System Chancellor Glenn Hegar.
The Center for Rural Resilience, an A&M System-wide initiative anchored at Tarleton State, serves as a hub for research, collaboration and innovation focused on rural communities.
Acting Provost Dr. Barry Lambert, one of the center’s founding deans, said the summit featured a multifaceted offensive to take on issues specific to Texas’ rural population, including healthcare availability.
“The Rural Resilience Summit brought together experts from across The Texas A&M System as well as numerous state and federal partners with a goal to identify, develop and implement solutions for the challenges facing rural communities in Texas,” he said. “Tarleton State’s Center for Rural Resilience played a central role in the summit and will serve as a champion for several resulting strategies that have emerged from the working groups.”
Dr. Jean Lonie Dudley, Co-Director for the Center for Rural Resilience, said the new entity adds credibility to the university’s already strong commitment to the state’s rural communities.
“We have more rural residents in Texas than 18 states have in total population,” she said. “We believe bolstering our rural communities and addressing the challenges and opportunities they face has to be a collective effort,” she said.
The closing of the summit featured action items to strengthen rural resilience and develop initiatives involving the center, The Texas A&M System partners, and other organizations, leaders, and communities across Texas.
A founding member of The Texas A&M System, Tarleton State University is breaking records — in enrollment, research, scholarship, athletics, philanthropy and engagement — while transforming the lives of more than 21,000 students in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Bryan and online. For over 125 years, Tarleton State has been committed to accessible higher education opportunities for all while helping students grow academically, socially and professionally through programs that emphasize real world learning and address regional, state and national needs.