ERIC ED435516: Southern Connections: Connecting with Each Other, Connecting with the Future. The Final Report of the 1998 Commission on the Future of the South.

100 Pages·1999·1.9 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
RC 022 131
ED 435 516
Morrison, Ed
AUTHOR
Southern Connections: Connecting with Each Other, Connecting
TITLE
with the Future. The Final Report of the 1998 Commission on
the Future of the South.
Southern Growth Policies Board, Research Triangle Park, NC.
INSTITUTION
PUB DATE
1999-00-00
NOTE
98p.
Southern Growth Policies Board, P.O. Box 12293, Research
AVAILABLE FROM
Triangle Park, NC 27709 ($10). Tel: [phone]; e-mail:
[email protected]; for full text: <http://www.southern.org>.
PUB TYPE
Opinion Papers (120)
EDRS PRICE
MF01/PC04 Plus Postage.
*Blue Ribbon Commissions; *Child Welfare; *Economic
DESCRIPTORS
Development; Education Work Relationship; *Educational
Needs; Elementary Secondary Education; Higher Education;
Labor Force Development; Policy Formation; Preschool
Education; *Public Policy; *Regional Cooperation
IDENTIFIERS *United States (South)
ABSTRACT
Supported by the state governments of the South, the
Southern Growth Policies Board creates strategies for regional economic
development. Every 6 years, the Board's chairman (a state governor) appoints
a blue-ribbon commission to analyze the condition of the South, develop
regional objectives, and recommend approaches to regional problems. This
report of the 1998 commission begins with an overview of the ways in which
regional cooperation is working for economic development, as well as areas of
concern: pockets of poverty in rural counties and inner cities and the need
to improve the knowledge and skills of the work force. The next four chapters
outline four interrelated goals and the strategies to address them:
(1)
(2) building healthy environments for
building vibrant, secure communities;
children (investing in early childhood education, comprehensive prenatal
care, and high-quality child care); (3) building quality education and
world-class work skills (combining high standards with strong incentives for
experimentation and high-quality teaching, implementing a continuous
improvement program for elementary and secondary education); and (4) building
broader economic partnerships focused on infrastructure, university research,
the needs of inner cities and rural areas, entrepreneurship, international
markets, and tourism. For each goal, recommendations outline what regional,
state, and community partnerships can do. (Contains commissioner biographies,
a list of institutional members, and an index.)
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Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
from the original document.
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The Southern Growth Policies Board is a public, nonprofit, interstate organization
Southern
charged with creating strategies for economic development that address the diverse,
Growth
interrelated factors affecting the Southern economy. It is supported by the state gov-
ernments of the South and by Associate Members from the private sector, local gov-
ernments, educational institutions, and other organizations interested in the region's
continued progress.
Policies Board
git
The Southern Technology Council, one of the Board's two advisory bodies,
strengthens the region's economy through the development and use of technology.
The Southern International Trade Council develops long-range, capacity-building strategies to strengthen
the South's environment for international businesd:
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Copyright © 1999 by the Southern Growth Policies Board
All rights reserved.
This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without permission for non-com-
mercial use, provided that acknowledgment is given to the 1998 Commission on the Future
of the South and this copyright notice is included.
Ordering Information
Copies of the Final Report of the 1998 Commission on the Future of the South are available
for $10, which covers shipping and handling. Prepayment is required.
Single copies of the Summary Report may be obtained free of charge.
Ordering information is available by calling [phone], by e-mail to
[email protected] or from the Southern Growth Policies Board web site,
http://www.southern.org.
Electronic Version
This Final Report and the Summary Report are available on the Internet at
http://www.southern.org. They can be downloaded without charge.
For Further Information
Southern Growth Policies Board
P.O. Box 12293, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
Fax [phone]
Telephone [phone]
Acknowledgments
Underwriters
The Report of the 1998 Commission on the Future of
the South is the culmination of an effort which
BellSouth Corporation
began under the leadership of Kentucky Governor
GTE Corporation
Paul Patton, the 1997-98 chairman of the Southern Growth
LG&E Energy Corporation
Policies Board, and concluded under the guidance of West
Virginia Governor Cecil Underwood, the Board's 1998-99
State of Florida
chairman. Former Kentucky Governor Martha Layne
Commonwealth of Kentucky
Collins, the chairman of the 1998 Commission, provided
Commonwealth of Virginia
Economic Development Partnership
committed leadership throughout the Commission's
of Alabama
deliberations.
Southern Economic Development Council
The Southern Growth Policies Board wishes to thank not
only the Commissioners for their dedication and hard work
Partners
throughout this process, but also all of those who
contributed to the report that is now before you.
Ashland, Inc.
Bell Atlantic - West Virginia
This Final Report was written by Ed Morrison, president
Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation
of the Morrison/Dodd Group, a consulting firm based in
Brown-Forman Corporation
Shreveport, Louisiana, with the assistance of Tack Cornelius
Churchill Downs, Inc.
and John Manuel.
Jewish Hospital HealthCare Services
The Board and the Commission deeply appreciate the
Kentucky Utilities Company
NationsBank
major funding provided by BellSouth Corporation, by GTE
PNC Bank
Corporation, and by LG&E Energy Corporation and its
Wachovia Bank
Chairman and CEO, Roger Hale, who served as Finance
Chair of the 1998 Commission. Special recognition is due
Sponsors
to all of the corporations, state governments, and economic
development organizations that generously supported the
Alliant Health System
Commission's work.
A.T. Massey Coal Company
CelPage, Inc.
Cyprus Amax Coal Company
Deloitte & Touche
Humana, Inc.
SCANA Corporation
Southern Company
Springs Industries, Inc.
Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc.
Vencor, Inc.
Additional support provided by Burke-Parson-Bowlby Corporation,
Delta Air Lines, Inco Alloys International, Norfolk Southern Corporation,
Thomas Industries, and Thornton Oil Corporation.
3
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
3
Dedication
7
The 1998 Commission
8
From the Governors
10
Executive Summary
13
Recommendations
17
Chapter 1: An Overview
21
Chapter 2: Building Vibrant, Secure Communities
25
Chapter 3: Building Healthy Environments for Our Children
37
Chapter 4: Building Quality Education and World Class Work Skills
47
Chapter 5: Building Broader Economic Partnerships
61
Chapter 6: Next Steps
83
Commissioners' Biographies
87
About the Board
95
Associate Members
97
Index
101
Dedication
It is not by chance that the South is one of
The South's successes have not come by chance.
the South's
the most sought after places in the world to do business. Nor is it by chance that
South's
communities are among the most sought after places to live, to raise a family. The
dedication. They are the result of the many Southerners
successes are the result of hard work and
neighbors, to their communities,
who have committed themselves to "giving something back" to their
to their states.
the many
The 1998 Commission on the Future of the South would like to dedicate this report to
walks of life
Southerners who exemplify this spirit of "community" in the SouthSoutherners from all
Sanford and Oseola
who have helped make the South such a special placeSoutherners like Terry
McCarty.
Oseola McCarty
Terry Sanford
Despite her more
A former governor,
modest path in life,
senator, state legislator,
Oseola McCarty's contri-
author, presidential
butions to the region are
candidate, and university
no less inspiring. Now
president, Terry Sanford
over 90 years old, Ms.
has been hailed as one of
McCarty spent her entire
the great leaders of our
life washing and ironing
time. Upon Sanford's
other people's clothing,
death in April 1998,
having dropped out of
President Clinton
school in the sixth grade
observed that "his work
to care for a sick aunt. Upon her "retirement" in 1995 at
and his influence literally changed the face and future of
age 87, she donated $150,000the bulk of her life's
the South, making him one of the most influential
earningsto start a scholarship fund at the University of
Americans of the last 50 years." He was instrumental in
Southern Mississippi. She wanted others to have a
the creation of the Southern Growth Policies Board as
chance at the education she never had. "I can't do every-
well as the Education Commission of the Statesa testa-
thing:' she commented. "But I can do something to help
ment to his lifelong commitment to education and pro-
somebody. And what I can do I will."
gressive economic development. But perhaps his greatest
legacy is his "spirit of boundless optimism and commit-
ment to excellence for our children and our public
schools:' a spirit and commitment that, North Carolina
Governor Jim Hunt noted,"have changed us forever."
this spirit
Let these and the deeds of other Southerners be an inspiration to all of us. Let us capture
of the South and use it to make our region even better in the future.
The 1998 Commission
governors and appointed by Kentucky Governor Paul
The Commission on the Future of the South is a
Patton, the Board's 1997-98 chairman. The Commission,
unique undertaking of the Southern Growth Policies
which has met seven times since the Board's 1997
Board. The Interstate Agreement which formed the
Conference on the Future of the South, was chaired by
Board specifies that the Board prepare a Statement of
former Kentucky Governor Martha Layne Collins.
Regional Objectives every six years, including recommend-
ed approaches to regional problems. This mandate has
Each Commission has left a lasting mark on the region.
taken the form of an analysis of the condition of the region
The first focused on growth management, which was the
and a statement of goals and objectives for the Board
top agenda item for the Board when it was formed. The
and the regionto address.
Commission's final report spelled out a vision for the
region which was
The first Southern
beginning its now
Growth chairman to
d us to a bold, exciting
The road ahead will lea
very rapid rate of
respond to this
transformation of the S
outh.
growth. One of the
mandate was Georgia
recommendations of
Governor Jimmy
Commission Chair
the 1980 Commission
Carter in 1974. He
Martha Layne Collins
precipitated the
chose to empanel a
movement towards
blue-ribbon group of
regional banking. The 1986 Commission firmly linked
Southerners that he called the Commission on the Future
human resource development to economic development.
of the South. Six years later, South Carolina Governor
And the 1992 Commission drew attention to the impor-
Richard Riley created the second Commission, and six
tance of measuring our progress as a region.
years after that, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton formed the
third. The fourth Commission was created by West
The 1998 Commission holds similar hopes for the report
Virginia Governor Gaston Caperton in 1992.
that is now before you. It is up to all of us to make this
report come aliveto ensure that these findings are
Members of the 1998 Commission, the fifth to be
embraced and implemented throughout our region.
convened by the Board, were nominated by the Southern
Constantine Curris
J. Ronald Geoghegan
Norma Burgos
ChariesBudcy"Clarkson
Rebecca McDowell Cook
J. Veronica Biggins
President,
Executive Director with
Secretary of State,
Secretary of State,
Founder, C8uM Investors
Partner,
Kentucky's BellSouth
Clemson University
Missouri
Puerto Rico
Florida
Heidrick & Struggles
Communications
South Carolina
Georgia
9
Martha Layne Collins, Chair
Scholar in Residence
Georgetown College, Kentucky
Robert Reintsema
Kenneth Oilschlager
Daniel "Duke" McVey
Martha McInnis
Carl Kell
Michael Hooker
Commissioner,
President, Kentucky
President,
Alabama Dept. of
Professor,
Chancellor,
West Virginia Bureau of
Chamber of Commerce
Missouri AFL-CIO
Economic &
Western Kentucky
University of North
Commerce
Community Affairs
University
Carolina-Chapel Hill
I
Isaiah Tidwell
Wayne Sterling
Calvin Smyre
Irby Simpkins
Betty Siegel
William Sawyer
Executive Vice President
Executive Director,
Georgia House of
Chairman of the Board,
President, Kennesaw
Chairman, Sawyer
Wachovia Bank
Virginia Economic
Representatives
Edge Net Media
State University
Industrial Plastics
North Carolina
Development Partnership
Tennessee
Georgia
Louisiana
Donald Zacharias
Frank White R. Michael Williams
Pamela Warren
President Emeritus,
President, Florida
Bank Commissioner,
Cabinet Secretary of
Mississippi State
Arkansas State Bank
Building Trades Council
Administration,
University
Department
Oklahoma
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