PRINCESS ANNE, MD – (November 11, 2019) – The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) was designated as a Center of Community Prosperity by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). UMES is one of several institutions around the country partnering with USDA to help increase the capacity of rural and underserved communities.
The Centers of Community Prosperity will host Community Prosperity Training Summits and capacity-building workshops to help communities engage in a bottom up, locally driven process to address challenges in their region and foster hope, opportunity, wealth creation, and asset building. Centers will convene stakeholders including local, state, federal and tribal partners; land-grant universities; Hispanic-serving institutions; tribal colleges and universities; historically black colleges and universities; national development organizations; non-profit organizations; faith leaders; veterans; and youth organizations. Local Centers around the country include Sitting Bull College in Fort Yates, North Dakota; Alcorn State University in Lorman, Mississippi; and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in Princess Anne, Maryland.
Past trainings with USDA have resulted in grants and leadership endowments to address community challenges such as veteran outreach, improving regional food systems, and combating substance abuse.
These efforts stem from the White House Rural Prosperity Taskforce, chaired by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and the White House Executive Order on Establishing Communities of Faith and Opportunity. The program is administered by the USDA Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement (OPPE).
UMES is scheduled to launch its program Spring 2020. To learn more, contact Alex Cordova at alex.cordova@usda.gov.
About UMES
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore, a research and doctoral degree-granting institution on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, is a historically black university and home to some 3,000 students. The 745-acre campus, which includes a 350-acre research and teaching farm, has been nationally recognized for the beauty of its grounds. Its low student-to-faculty ratio, well-funded research programs, historic tradition of inclusiveness and constituent membership in the University System of Maryland combine to make UMES a strong engine of growth and development in its community, providing students with opportunities to learn from a well-balanced array of academic programs that respond to local needs as well as more global concerns.
