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/.

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.

NERCRD 2025 Annual Report

February 24, 2026

We invite you to explore our recent work, which leverages and transforms our federal investment into impactful research, synergistic partnerships, and greater capacity in the region and beyond.

Aerial view of data center in a rural setting.

Webinar Recording: Data Centers — Assisting Communities in Understanding the Challenges and Opportunities

February 24, 2026

This webinar recording is geared toward Extension professionals in the region who are interested in assisting their communities in understanding the challenges and opportunities that data centers present.

Older person teaching a younger person how to play a guitar

Northeast Region Kinship Care Extension Meeting

February 5, 2026

NERCRD is convening Extension educators, specialists, and professionals for a regional online meeting focused on grandparents raising grandchildren. The meeting will take place on Tuesday, February 10, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Four people gathered around an academic poster in a conference room.

2025 NETtra Tourism Conference Proceedings extends the reach of conference and tourism research

January 7, 2026

In a first-time collaboration between the National Extension Tourism (NET) Network and the Northeast Chapter of the Travel and Tourism Research Association (NETTRA), the NETtra Tourism Conference was hosted by the University of New Hampshire in October 2025. The two groups just released proceedings from the conference to extend the reach of the research and […]

aerial view of city next to a body of water

Penn State Spring 2026 Land-Use Webinar Series announced

January 7, 2026

The Penn State Extension Land Use Webinar Series, organized in partnership with the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Planning Association (PA-APA) and the NERCRD, offers five monthly webinars beginning January 21 on land use topics affecting the communities of Pennsylvania.

Map of the U.S. delineated by regions - Northeast, South, West, and North Central

Groundbreaking data initiative now encompasses all four U.S. regions

December 17, 2025

Earlier this year, the Regional Rural Development Centers (RRDCs) released open-access data from household surveys conducted in three U.S. regions. This month, with the release of data from the Western region, the Baseline Survey 2024 now encompasses all four regions of the U.S.

NERCRD welcomes new business manager, Carol DeArmitt!

December 17, 2025

NERCRD is pleased to welcome Carol DeArmitt as our new Business Manager! Carol brings a wealth of experience in fiscal management and administrative support, and is a graduate of the Penn State ACES program, which is designed to give research administrators the necessary skills and expertise to support faculty in research.

Group of award recipients with their prizes

NERCRD faculty receive award for high-impact research

November 21, 2025

NERCRD Faculty Affiliate Claudia Schmidt and Director Stephan Goetz co-authored a paper (with Steven Deller, University of Wisconsin-Madison) that was recognized as a high-impact research publication by Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences during its fourth annual Research Awards Ceremony held Oct. 28 at the Hintz Family Alumni Center on the University Park campus.

Annual leadership meetings focus on NERCRD 2026 plan of work

November 10, 2025

Over the course of two recent meetings, members of the NERCRD’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), Board of Directors (BOD), and staff gathered virtually to review the Center’s research and outreach accomplishments during the past year and to establish programming emphases for the coming year.

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