Rural Studies Program
Land use research projects examine the social and ecological implications of land ownership change and land conversion and ways in which communities can cultivate and capitalize on potential synergies emerging from alliances between old and new while simultaneously mitigating the conflicts that can arise with increasing rural heterogeneity.
Migration and rural youth research projects explore the effects of education and local economic conditions on migration and poverty, the impact of community characteristics on physical activity of rural youth, and on community strategies to better serve homeless youth in rural communities.
Rural Studies Program faculty and students explore both global and local food and agricultural systems (including local connections of production, processing and consumption in rural communities and their surrounding regions) and factors affecting food insecurity in rural and urban places.
