2014 New Mexico Economic Development Course participants (Courtesy Photo)

By Mary Alice Murphy

The New Mexico Economic Development Course presented by Western New Mexico University in cooperation with the New Mexico Economic Development Department, the New Mexico Small Business Development Center Network, and the New Mexico Rural Alliance will be held in Silver City from July 19 through July 23.

The one-week intensive training event has been an annual occurrence at WNMU since 1993.

Linda McArthur, the course administrator, took that first course, and she has served as the organizer since 1995.

"We hold it from Sunday through Thursday," McArthur said. "We have almost always had international students among the course members. One year, we had two from China; for the past three years, we have had two or three each year from Ghana; over the years, we've had several from Mexico. Because the course is also open to Western students, sometimes we get international students in the class."

She said most participants are from the Southwest, but "we also get students from other parts of the country."

The course was originally brought to Western because of Linda Kay Jones and former WNMU President John Counts. "They worked with other economic development groups to get an accredited course. It is an especially important course for those looking to become working economic developers. We are accredited to teach the course anywhere in the world. We have done five classes in Mexico by partnering with universities there."

She said the founders, with Chuck Strang as the first course director, wanted to make the course affordable for participants from rural communities. "The registration for the course is lower than a lot of others. There is a basic accredited economic development course in just about every state. It's a first step requisite to becoming certified as an economic developer.

"The reason the founders wanted to establish a course in New Mexico was with the idea to give information for New Mexico," McArthur continued.

"This year, we will have 16 presenters," she said. "The course is a series of two-hour seminars on various aspects of economic development. Participants who receive university credit must pass a test. Graduate students have to complete a project. The tuition is $150 for three hours university credit. The cost of registration, meals and the field trip is $650 for the whole course. Those who wish to stay on campus in one of the new residence halls pay $160 for the week. Some scholarships are available."

The class is limited to 30 people, so that each person has the advantages of networking, not only with the other students, but also with the expert presenters.

For more information or to download an application, visit  http://wnmu.edu/events/edc_2015/