NERCRD in the News

West Virginia town with people enjoying a bike path and creek.

WVU Extension leads efforts to enhance sustainability of tourism in rural communities

July 8, 2026

This article by Hannah Booth (West Virginia University Division for Land-Grant Engagement) highlights the Tourism, Resiliency and Indicators for Post-Pandemic Planning (TRIP) project and a recently published study by the TRIP project team. NERCRD Director Stephan Goetz, Associate Director Stephen Alessi, and Faculty Affiliate Luyi Han are members of the project team. The TRIP project is led by WVU’s Doug Arbogast, who is also a member of the NERCRD Technical Advisory Committee.

News and Events

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If you’re looking for past or future events in the NERCRD webinar series, visit: https://nercrd.psu.edu/tag/webinar/.

Energy price shocks slow state economies; spur energy efficiency investments

July 17, 2026

Rising energy prices in the U.S. reduce the economic output of states, but they also set in motion investments in more efficient equipment and technologies that partially offset those output losses over time, according to a new study by NERCRD researchers.

Congratulations to Northeast Extension professionals honored with community development awards!

July 16, 2026

In June, several members of the National Association for Community Development Extension Professionals (NACDEP) were recognized with awards. The awards were presented at the 2026 NACDEP meeting, which was hosted by Kansas State University in Wichita, KS. Among this year’s awardees were a number of Northeast NACDEP members – please join us in congratulating them on the well-deserved honor!

WVU Extension leads efforts to enhance sustainability of tourism in rural communities

July 8, 2026

Call for Presentation Proposals for the Northeast Housing Summit

Northeast Housing Summit Call for Presentation Proposals

June 4, 2026

NOTE: Deadline extended through July 10, 2026! The NERCRD and Land-Grant partners are pleased to announce a call for proposals for presentations on the topic of housing for inclusion in the upcoming Northeast Region Housing Summit, which will take place virtually on September 15 or 22, 2026, from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM ET.

Welcoming Dr. Daniel Centuriao to NERCRD!

June 3, 2026

The NERCRD team is pleased to welcome Dr. Daniel Centuriao, who joined the Center as a postdoctoral scholar after receiving his doctoral degree in economics from West Virginia University in May. Daniel Daniel will contribute his expertise to several NERCRD research efforts, including agricultural policy, local conditions and farm survival, determinants of local development, innovation and resilience, and the connections among agricultural production, nutrition, and population health.

Aerial view of AI hub and Data center amid agricultural fields.

June 23rd summit to focus on data center development and digital infrastructure

June 1, 2026

NERCRD’s Stephen Alessi collaborated with colleagues at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and the Center for Rural Pennsylvania on an upcoming Rural Economic Development Summit focused on data center development and digital infrastructure. The June 23rd event will take place in Harrisburg, PA, but a remote option will be available.

aerial view of mixed forested and farmed landscape

Finding new ways to measure the local sustainability of rural tourism

May 27, 2026

Tourism affects local populations differently in counties across the U.S., but measuring these effects may now be easier thanks to a new tool developed as part of a study by researchers at Penn State/NERCRD and West Virginia University Extension. For the study, published in the journal Tourism Economics, the researchers developed a sustainability index to assess how tourism affects counties according to a number of factors that measure the areas’ economic, social and environmental well-being. They found that counties relying heavily on tourism varied widely in their ability to keep it from overwhelming local resources, with no destination performing well on every dimension.

Yuan (Timothy) Zhuang awarded NARSC Graduate Fellowship in Regional Science

May 11, 2026

Congratulations to Yuan (Timothy) Zhuang, Ph.D. student in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education at Penn State and NERCRD graduate researcher, who has been selected as the winner of the North American Regional Science Council (NARSC) 26th Annual Benjamin H. Stevens Graduate Fellowship in Regional Science!

Person grocery shopping but faced with several empty store shelves

Hunger affected mental health more than income, job loss amid COVID-19 pandemic

April 14, 2026

Not having enough food may have had a greater negative effect on mental health in the United States than unemployment or loss of income during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study published in Plos ONE. The study was led by Linlin Fan, associate professor of agricultural economics at Penn State, and NERCRD Director Stephan Goetz. Yuxuan Pan, a former NERCRD postdoctoral scholar and now at the University of Kentucky, also contributed to the study.

An orderly flower and vegetable garden set against an urban backdrop

Planning for Community Food Access

March 30, 2026

In this Penn State Extension article, authors Claudia Schmidt, Harry Crissy, and John Turack explore food deserts, food swamps, data gaps, and innovative mapping solutions to strengthen food access across Pennsylvania’s urban and rural communities.

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