by BRITTANY PENLAND
News Reporter

Appalachian State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Government will be sharing a grant to aid economically distressed communities across the state.

The $764,348 grant given by the Golden Leaf Foundation will provide funds for four master of public administration graduates to continue on to become North Carolina town managers.

“The main goal is jobs. North Carolina is struggling right now and a lot of people have lost their jobs,” government and justice studies professor Marvin K. Hoffman said. “Unless the universities engage in real-world problem solving, I don’t think we’re doing our job.”

Appalachian’s two students participating in the pilot program N.C. Local Government Service Corps are Tyler R. Beardsley and Amanda M. Reid.

Graduates will receive the title of managerial advisor and be responsible for a cluster of two to four neighboring towns in the state, Hoffman said.

“[Our goal] is to economically develop towns by trying to bring jobs to these communities,” Beardsley said.

There are currently 18 towns submitting proposals to participate in the program to receive town managers.

Communities chosen to partake in the pilot program will be matched appropriately with a graduate student’s personal goals, professional qualities and education, Reid said.

In recent years, Appalachian has contributed 110 of the 450 existing town managers in North Carolina, however, there are still 225 towns lacking the position, Hoffman said.

Much of the pilot program is modeled after the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program, which restricts teachers to classrooms in the state.

“It’s all about public service and going in and increasing the quality of life,” Reid said.

According to the Golden Leaf Foundation Web site, the non-profit organization began in 1999 as a result of the court consent decree to administer one-half of North Carolina’s share of the Master Settlement Agreement with cigarette manufacturers.

Today the organization is “devoted to the economic well-being of North Carolinians and endeavors to strengthen the state’s economy through diverse grantsmaking.”

The grant money provided will also fund the participant’s last year of graduate school and their salary for two years.

During the time period the graduates will earn an income of $40,000 a year, which the town will contribute 20 percent of, Hoffman said.

“I certainly hope [the program] will continue. It comes at a difficult time and the state budget is in a variety of stress,” Hoffman said.

Appalachian and Chapel Hill participants will be notified where they will be located in the middle of March, Beardsley said, and will begin working in their assigned communities by September.

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