Higher Education as ED Strategy

A town of 1,105 building a new college? And this is their second one in less than a decade? What is in the water there?

Grundy, VA is the largest town in a county of only 25,200 in far western VA. It is less than 20 miles to either the KY or WV border from Grundy, but over an hour and a half to the nearest interstate.

And this is not a rich enclave in the mountains. This is a poor county! They’ve lost 20% of their population since the 1990 census, have 23% of their population living under the poverty level and have a median household income of only $23,682.

This past month seventy-seven students entered the new University of Appalachia College of Pharmacy’s (http://www.uacp.org) pioneer class. The goal of the college is to turn out pharmacists who will serve rural and underserved areas.

The county plans to open a private forensic laboratory in partnership with the pharmacy school. Its focus would be on outsourcing work for state forensic labs and private organizations.

Grundy opened its first college, the Appalachian School of Law (http://www.asl.edu) in 1997. Today it has 169 full-time students. It has spurred housing growth and allowed several small businesses to open. The pharmacy college is expected to have the same type of impact.

Bobby May, a local resident, said it best, “How many small towns can say they have a law school and a pharmacy school?”

Even more impressive…how many can boost of having started both in the past ten years? And in a town of 1,105!!!!!

Don’t you love small towns like this?