The University of Central Arkansas will host the 20th annual Community Development Institute (CDI) from July 30th to August 3rd in the Brewer-Hegeman Conference Center on the UCA campus in Conway.
CDI trains local officials, board members, and citizens from all walks of life to strengthen their local economies and build communities.
UCA is home to the nation’s first Community Development Institute, which was founded in 1987. Since that time, CDIs have been established in Texas, West Virginia, Idaho and Illinois, and a national governing and certification body, the Community Development Council (CDC), has been created. Now referred to as CDI Central, the Arkansas program has attracted sponsors such as Entergy, AT&T, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and the Arkansas Community Development Society.
The complete institute experience involves a curriculum of over 100 hours with corporate, academic and governmental community and economic development professionals serving as faculty. Participants complete one-third of the total curriculum each summer for three summers. At the end of the third summer, many participants take the Professional Community and Economic Developer (PCED) test, which is sanctioned by the Community Development Council (CDC), a professional certification organization which sets curriculum guidelines for Community Development Institutes throughout the country. Graduates of CDI are invited back to continue their education each summer through participation in the Advance Year Option, which offers in-depth study of key current community education topics and best practices.
Students can also earn continuing education units and graduate credit by attending CDI. The CDI curriculum is now linked to the UCA?s Master of Science in Community and Economic Development (MSCED) graduate degree program.
Registration information is available by contacting Mary Ellen Klotz at 501-450-5372 or e-mail mklotz@uca.edu. Visit the Academic Outreach web site for a brochure and application at www.uca.edu/aoep/cdi. This project is coordinated by the UCA Division of Academic Outreach, which offers educational opportunities to Arkansas communities.
