Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

During the second annual meeting, Nina Glasgow and Eddy Berry reported on progress toward the publication of the committees collaborative research on the causes and consequences of rural aging. An overall framework has been established, a detailed outline written, priority issues identified, and chapter assignments made. Members stressed the importance of developing common themeshow aging contributes to place-makingand common approaches to analyzing the data, such as emphasizing urban-rural differences. Efforts will be made to demonstrate the effects of the current recession and housing crisis on the well being of the rural elderly, despite limited data. The committee discussed ways to highlight policy ramifications, including ending the book with a summary policy chapter authored by Marlene Lee. A central theme for developing linkages among the committees three research areas is emerging: the demographic forces affecting land use change, and how these effects are mediated by a range of socioeconomic factors (including aging, race/ethnicity, and vulnerability) at different scales. Peter Nelson, Matt Foulkes and Chris Lepczyk began work showing the links between population size and population structure and how this leads to distinct land use outcomes. Potential outputs were discussed at the annual meeting. Changing Ruralities: The Intersection of Aging, Diversity, and Landscapes is the working title for a planned mini-conference (tentative date is January 2011) to bring together research findings and plan policy-relevant outputs. During it second year, committee members published roughly two dozen refereed journal articles and an equal number of policy briefs or similar outreach articles (see attached publications list). Findings were presented at international conferences and in organized sessions at the annual meetings of the Rural Sociological Society, the Population Association of America, the Association of American Geographers, and several other professional groups. An extensive number of outreach and research dissemination efforts were undertaken, including participation in: 1. discussions of strategies to increase Latino/a participation in outreach programming in Washington State; 2. town hall meetings on race, ethnicity and migration in Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas 3. a forum on livable communities sponsored by the Congressional Quarterly and AARP, including a presentation of results at the National Press Club in DC 4. debates on the sustainability of biofuels production and processing in the Central Plains 5. weekly meetings of the National Economics Councils Committee on the Presidents National Broadband Strategy Briefings were made to a wide range of policymakers and stakeholder groups, including the White House Domestic Policy Staff; USDA Rural Development Administrators; the U.S. Census Bureau; the USDA Forest Service; the annual meeting of State Rural Development Directors; several State and National Extension Professional Groups; and several State executive and legislative task forces, advisory councils and commissions.