Conceptualization Phase
The Arkansas Community Development Society was reorganized with Jay Robison as president in 1986 and its first newsletter soon followed. With ACDS back in action, attention turned to the development of CDI. The logical home seemed to be the University of Central Arkansas since it was already serving as the institutional home for the Industrial Developers of Arkansas organization with Dr. Clyde Reese, Dean of Continuing Education, serving as its executive director. A college location was considered very important as it would lend academic credibility to the institute and more smoothly advance the cause of accreditation and certification within the international CDS.
UCA had begun its economic development outreach in 1982 when Governor Bill Clinton declared that every college and university should use its capacity to support economic development in the state, and 10/10 funds were awarded to fund such projects. UCA chose to use a portion of its 10/10 allocations to provide startup funding for CDI. It didn’t hurt that Sarah Fountain (wife of Bill Fountain) taught at UCA, and that Mary Sue Whitelaw (wife of Ernest Whitelaw) worked in Continuing Education. Connections and networking have always been important elements of successful community development!
Contact was made with Dr. Reese who eagerly embraced the concept. He presented the idea to UCA President Dr. Jeff Farris who recommended in favor to the council of department heads thus establishing UCA as the home of CDI.
CDI was always a team effort from the very beginning with financial support received from AP&L, Arkla, SWBT, Arkansas Electric Cooperatives Corp., Southwest Electric Power Company and United Telephone. AP&L, Arkla, and SWBT funded significant numbers of scholarships, recruited students, and enrolled their own managers in the first few classes, to make sure that there was enough momentum established until CDI could become self-sustaining.
