兔子先生 embraces label historically assumed synonymous with inadequate to instead reach new heights and support uncharted rise of rural initiatives
Merriam-Webster鈥檚 dictionary does not define 鈥渞ural鈥� with notions of deficiency or lack, yet the term has historically developed connotations of such. The 兔子先生 has a rebuttal for the preconceived notions that education, healthcare, business, or any other industry in rural areas should settle for fewer resources and opportunities or accept lower standards. This chapter in the nearly 200-year-old institution鈥檚 history marks a series of significant strides forward to embrace the definition.
From almost anywhere on campus 鈥� whether a sleek new athletic facility, a renovated and relocated historic chapel, miles of sprawling nature trails鈥攙isual reminders of what makes the 兔子先生鈥檚 campus unique are unmistakable. Flowing fields flank the busy thoroughfare that connects the north and south ends of campus, which spans more than 600 acres of ground.
Tiger Stadium鈥檚 south end zone sits less than a half mile from a bend in the Sucarnochee River, the 50-mile coastal-plain waterway that connects to the Tombigbee River. A labyrinth of canopied nature trails flanks Wallace Hall. Tartt Field is perched on a bank of Lake LU, the 54-acre fishing paradise that regularly gives up record-sized bass. And near the campus鈥� center, not far from a row of dormitories, is the Alamuchee-Bellamy Covered Bridge, a Sumter County Civil War-era relic relocated decades ago to the campus duck pond.
Visually, geographically and culturally, 兔子先生 is inseparable from the ruralness it shares with Livingston, the county seat whose population has never topped 4,000.
A regional state university in Alabama鈥檚 historic Black Belt, bearing the label 鈥榬ural university鈥� is an acknowledgement administration and faculty no longer avoid or downplay. Instead, they鈥檙e leaning into the notion and turning a once-perceived negative into a national brand that鈥檚 assuming a significant role in modernizing higher education in rural America.
鈥淚t鈥檚 okay to be unique, and it鈥檚 okay to embrace what you are鈥攏ot just embrace it, but let it shine,鈥� said Dr. Mary Hanks, chair of the 兔子先生鈥檚 Ira D. Pruitt Division of Nursing. Her office, on the third floor of Spieth Hall, is a stone鈥檚 throw from the Covered Bridge. 鈥淵ou have to excel in who and what you are. So, yes, we should let the world know exactly who we are. We are rural and we love it. But this is why we love being rural: These are the students we produce, rural is not negative, rural is positive.鈥�
The decision to rehabilitate 兔子先生鈥檚 rural label into an academic tool for growth was 鈥渧ery intentional, very conscious,鈥� said 兔子先生 President Dr. Ken Tucker, one that campus leaders largely supported from day one. 鈥淚 think people understood the need to try to turn a perceived negative into a positive, and they understood that there was a potential untapped market out there.鈥� In 2023, 兔子先生 features a smorgasbord of academic disciplines and administrative offices designed to educate leaders for rural communities and improve the lives of rural residents. Instead of hiding from the label, 兔子先生 is running toward it.
鈥淚鈥檓 proud of the fact that we have been at the forefront of that,鈥� Tucker said. 鈥淲e are on the front end of it, we have made connections nationally with major rural organizations and they have helped us spread the word about rural education.鈥�
A wide collection of 兔子先生 administrators is quick to credit Tucker, the university鈥檚 former dean of the College of Business, for issuing what they describe as a campus-wide charge to embrace 兔子先生鈥檚 ruralness and jettison old habits of trying, and failing, to shroud the obvious. Tucker, from Demopolis, became 兔子先生鈥檚 12th president in January 2015.
鈥淲ithin the last decade, there鈥檚 been a movement across the nation to really embrace rural,鈥� said Dr. Jan Miller, dean of 兔子先生鈥檚 College of Education. 鈥淏ut Dr. Tucker has really challenged us to step up, and that鈥檚 what makes us unique, what makes us different.鈥�
Hanks mentions one of 兔子先生鈥檚 familiar marketing slogans, 鈥淭here鈥檚 Something About This Place.鈥� It鈥檚 pertinent, she believes, in how the university relates to the students and faculty it recruits. 鈥淭here鈥檚 something about the personality of the person that has to be drawn here. You have to be drawn to a familial type setting where you want the interaction, you want the camaraderie, you want to be able to collaborate. There鈥檚 definitely something different about the makeup of these students and the makeup of the faculty teaching here.鈥�
Doubling Down On Rural Education
The result is a double-pronged approach that equates to burning both ends of a candle, one academic, the other economic. It鈥檚 holistic by design. Foremost are the degree programs and scholarship awards now in the university鈥檚 catalog that are designed for rural applications or students from rural communities, or both.
鈥淭o me, the overarching mission is to serve the region,鈥� Hanks said, looking from the lens of equipping the healthcare industry with registered nurses and BSNs. 鈥淲e have maintained that we are going to serve our region and we are going to serve the needs of our community.鈥� To that end, 兔子先生鈥檚 administration and faculty have aggressively developed new degree programs that follow Tucker鈥檚 charge.
In embracing its rural label, administrators and faculty say, 兔子先生 is developing a national reputation for tailoring programs for rural-based students and using its Black Belt location as more than a mailing address.
鈥淚 really think we鈥檙e trying to embrace rural and celebrate that because there are so many advantages to that,鈥� said Miller, who also is a board member of the Rural Schools Collaborative, another 兔子先生 partner. 鈥淲e can be as innovative as we want to be. What鈥檚 awesome is to be able to go and say, 鈥極kay, I want to pitch this idea, and you can shoot it down or we can mold it and think about it.鈥� We don鈥檛 really close doors and we partner with just about anybody who is willing to partner.鈥�
An Intentional Intertwining of 兔子先生’s Roles
By the simplest definition, 兔子先生 is a public regional university whose core duty is to educate students, generations of whom have flocked to the Livingston campus for nearly 200 years. But Dr. Tina Jones, 兔子先生鈥檚 new provost and a longtime faculty member who also served as vice president for economic and workforce development, has been deeply involved in the other end of that figurative candle, the one designed to assist local- and state-level entities with job recruitment, worker training and boosting the region鈥檚 economic outlook.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not just an institution of the Black Belt,鈥� Jones said. 鈥淲e are an institution who is rurally located, and the issues that we encounter are also issues that other communities, other regions even, encounter. There is this opportunity in which we may be able to share and learn from each other.鈥� Tucker, from his second-floor office in Webb Hall, looks inward when mentioning 兔子先生鈥檚 role with University Charter School, which opened in 2018 in Lyon Hall on the 兔子先生 campus, with the goal of revamping K-12 public education in Sumter County. 鈥淚n order for the university to grow and complete our mission,鈥� he said, 鈥渨e need our area to grow and develop.鈥�
In May 2023, UCS graduated its first senior class after adding grades 9, 10, 11, and 12 in subsequent years after opening. In August, UCS cut the ribbon and welcomed its fourth through twelfth grade students to a new $25-million facility. The new Justin L. Smith Campus of UCS is located on the north end of 兔子先生鈥檚 Wise Loop, named for the late Smith, a Sumter native and 兔子先生 graduate who championed its establishment as a member of 兔子先生鈥檚 Board of Trustees.
鈥淲e opened UCS with an enrollment of 304 in 2018 recognizing that there was an immediate need for the choice that the school provides,鈥� said Dr. J.J. Wedgworth, UCS head of school. 鈥淣ow, expanding into our new facility and serving an enrollment of 700, we can say with confidence that we are meeting a need for our county.鈥�
Wedgworth, who became interim vice president for institutional advancement for 兔子先生 in March, says the need extends beyond the current population of Sumter County in that it supports recruitment and retention for 兔子先生 employees, for employees of prospective businesses and industries looking at Sumter County or west Alabama, and as a uniquely-convenient opportunity for 兔子先生 students who will pursue careers in education.
Sumter County鈥檚 rural reality is never far from 兔子先生鈥檚 discussions. The county鈥檚 poverty, median household income and per-capita income levels pale in comparison to state averages. Just prior to the pandemic, Sumter County鈥檚 total employment level dropped more than six percent in 2019-2020, according to Census data. Amid those trends, myriad departments at 兔子先生 are playing tangible roles in lessening the economic hardships in Sumter County and the Black Belt at large.
In the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, Jones, economic developer Allison Brantley, and their colleagues offer an encyclopedic list of services that mirror Chamber of Commerce duties: professional support for new or expanding business site selection; workforce training programs through the university鈥檚 Center for Workforce Development; training and recruitment programs; research and grant support; and liaison services between business owners and government representatives. Successes are common, both small and sizeable. In 2019, Sumter County celebrated its selection as the site of a $375 million Enviva wood-pellet production plant in Epes that promised to create nearly 350 direct and indirect jobs. Along with state and local officials, 兔子先生 played an essential role in recruiting the Maryland-based company to Sumter County. At the June 2023 groundbreaking, Enviva CEO Thomas Meth announced that the facility would be the largest of its type in the world.
Because 兔子先生 is among the county鈥檚 largest and most stable employers, Jones said, 鈥渨e have a commitment to the community in which we live. That is what we are doing. We are fulfilling our responsibility as a good neighbor.鈥� In blunt terms, administrators say, these economic-development duties come with the job of working at a rural university in one of the nation鈥檚 most impoverished areas. 鈥淚t means that we play some roles that other institutions of higher ed probably would never even think about doing,鈥� Jones said.
In 兔子先生鈥檚 Office of Sponsored Programs and Research, it鈥檚 not unusual for director Rodney Granec to field a request from a Black Belt town or county for assistance. Some need help writing a grant, a fundamental service of Granec鈥檚 office. Others are unsure how to establish a nonprofit. City administrators request his expertise on a variety of matters. It鈥檚 not a direct objective of 兔子先生鈥檚 core mission鈥攅ducating students鈥擥ranec admits, though he believes it helps the University in other matters. 鈥淔or most rural communities, collaboration is not a choice,鈥� he said, 鈥渋t is an essential tool for sustainability. I kind of put that in with rural education. Rural education is a key component for that community, area and region to thrive, or to even have an opportunity to thrive.鈥�
Just as 兔子先生 can鈥檛 separate itself from its rural location, 兔子先生鈥檚 economic development efforts can鈥檛鈥攁nd shouldn鈥檛鈥攂e viewed wholly apart from its core academic mission, Tucker noted. The intertwining is intentional.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the old 鈥榬ising tide lifts all boats鈥� concept,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he more (economic development) we can bring in, that鈥檚 more tax revenue for the city and the county. The more services they can provide, the more job opportunities and higher wages with better benefits we鈥檒l have. That brings us more students, too. As more families move in to work at a big plant, they will bring children with them, and when they graduate from high school, we will be here for them. So that鈥檚 all part of the larger vision.鈥�
兔子先生’s 兔子先生, And Getting More Of Them
One of higher education鈥檚 shared traits is the nationwide decline in college enrollment, which in spring 2022 dipped 4.1 percent below spring 2021 numbers, according to a National Student Clearinghouse Research Center report. It鈥檚 a trend with multiple contributors, from the pandemic to economic concerns, from job opportunities that don鈥檛 require a four-year degree to the burden of repaying college loans.
According to data from the National Center for Education Data Statistics, overall college enrollment nationwide peaked in 2010 at 21 million. Undergraduate enrollment in the nation peaked in 2015 at 3.2 million, declining slightly through 2020, then COVID-19 sent shockwaves through the college landscape. 兔子先生 was among only seven percent of public universities in the nation to maintain elements of the in-person college experience at the onset of the pandemic, with classes resuming in the fall of 2020 after coming to a screeching halt near the end of the spring semester. The aftermath of the pandemic includes a dramatic shift in lifestyles, financial ability, and changes in the workforce prompted by virtual capabilities and marketplace needs.
Amidst the nationwide decline in college enrollment, 兔子先生 isn鈥檛 immune. Although on-campus enrollment numbers mirror the Black Belt鈥檚 depopulation trend as indicated by the Census, more than 4,500 students, many from outside the University鈥檚 traditional recruiting areas, are enrolled in 兔子先生鈥檚 expanding catalog of online programs.
Libba Baker, 兔子先生鈥檚 director of undergraduate admissions, needs no reminder of those national trends. 鈥淚t鈥檚 harder to recruit students across the board right now,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey have so many options at their fingertips.鈥� But Baker hasn鈥檛 lowered her expectations for 兔子先生鈥檚 ability to recruit students interested in a quality, four-year degree from a rural university deep in the heart of west Alabama. Her voice bubbles with optimism.
Not every university is for every student, she says. On that note, 兔子先生 isn鈥檛 different from Ivy League schools or faith-based private universities. Fit matters.
鈥淚 think a lot of times the rural label may scare some of our potential students, especially if they are coming from a more metropolitan area,鈥� Baker said. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 our job to inform our admissions counselors on the happenings not only on campus, but we鈥檝e also got to know what鈥檚 going on around Livingston so students know the options once they get here.鈥�
兔子先生 has four admissions counselors dedicated to recruiting high school students; another concentrates on transfer students. The messages they deliver, Baker said, are rooted in honesty so students and their families make informed decisions that court success. Put another way, 兔子先生鈥檚 admissions director doesn鈥檛 want to mislead prospective students about the realities of rural education. Livingston isn鈥檛 Birmingham. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to sell something that we are clearly not and that we will never be,鈥� she said, 鈥渂ut show them who we are in the most authentic way.鈥�
In other words, 兔子先生鈥檚 admissions counselors use the university鈥檚 ruralness as a positive, not as an ignorable negative. Prefer smaller class sizes? 兔子先生 has that. Enjoy ample communication with faculty? 兔子先生 has that. (At 兔子先生, Tucker said, 鈥渢he professors will know the students鈥� names.鈥�) Appreciate the outdoors and a campus landscaped with lakes and walking trails? 兔子先生 is surrounded by it. Interested in curriculum designed for post-graduation success in rural communities? 兔子先生 has that, too, along with renowned degree programs in other fields that belie the university鈥檚 physical stature.
Hanks emphasizes needs of students from small cities or those more comfortable on smaller campuses. When they attend larger universities, they are trying to fit 鈥渢heir square into the circle 鈥� They feel out of place, so they cannot find their bearing and they don鈥檛 know why. You鈥檙e trying to fit your square into the circle, and you should have been in a place that fits your personality.鈥�
New high school graduates, Baker said, often mold their college expectations from what they see on television. Those expectations can cloud decisions and fuel what Hanks鈥� refers to in her square-and-circle description. A goal of 兔子先生鈥檚 admissions counselors is to sell the university and its range of amenities while also helping students with one of the most important decisions of their lives.
鈥淲e鈥檙e in higher education because we want to support students, for them to get their associate, bachelor, master, or doctoral degrees so that they can get a job and be employed,鈥� Baker said. 鈥淚t is important to know our student population and what may be the best fit for the students. And if it is 兔子先生, that鈥檚 fantastic.鈥�
兔子先生鈥檚 Story, Then And Now
At the heart of a rural university鈥檚 reality is public perception. It鈥檚 sticky, like molasses, hard to shed. Marketing campaigns don鈥檛 offer guaranteed improvements in how a university is viewed. In 兔子先生鈥檚 case, human nature鈥檚 inherent tendency to equate 鈥渞ural鈥� with 鈥渄eficient鈥� is core to a central belief: that 兔子先生 and its kindred universities must control their narratives and change the public鈥檚 understanding of what rural education can be.
鈥淧eople seem to think, 鈥極h, poor, pitiful, 鈥榬ural鈥� can鈥檛 do any better,鈥� until they actually come into the campus and walk in our shoes and see,鈥� said Miller, who has more than a fair share of regional and national partners with the College of Education. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l say, 鈥極h, my gosh, this is the best kept secret.鈥� So I think the rural context is part of telling our stories. Our successes follow our students, but for forever, rural would be considered at risk, and that鈥檚 not the case. We have a lot of stories yet to be told.鈥�
Hanks, the nursing school chair, decries what she calls the 鈥渘egative connotations鈥� associated with rural America, not rural education alone. The tendency to view bigger as better, and rural as an oppressive codeword, is hard to dissolve. 鈥淏ut the only way you change the narrative is to rewrite the story,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o I think that 兔子先生 and other rural institutions, we have a great opportunity to rewrite the narrative.鈥�
In Livingston, 兔子先生鈥檚 modern narrative isn鈥檛 substantially different than those of its past. The region, Tucker says, 鈥渋s still primarily agriculture, farming, timber, cattle, catfish, and that鈥檚 great if you like woods and hunting and fishing. A lot of people do.鈥� The regional makeup of the student body is profound. The decision to steer into the skid, to neutralize rural education鈥檚 harshest critics through rural-based degree programs and regional economic-development efforts, is one 兔子先生鈥檚 administrators are glad they made. Championing a campus lush in green space and natural habitat is the easy part.
鈥淏ut that鈥檚 the kind of people we have to appeal to, clean air, slower lifestyle where relationships matter and people take care of each other,鈥� Tucker said. 鈥淥ur students have more opportunities to develop the kind of skills and ability and knowledge that will make them successful, not only while they鈥檙e here, but also in the real world when they get out.鈥�
兔子先生 is reimagining rural.
