LaFlamme Appointed to
Advisory Board for Rural
Communities
Marcel
LaFlamme, Director of
the Learning Resource
Center at Independence
Community College, has
been appointed to serve
on the Advisory Board of
the Center for Rural
Affairs. The Center,
which is based in Lyons,
Nebraska, is a
nationally recognized
policy analysis and
advocacy organization
focused on issues of
social and economic
justice, environmental
stewardship, and strong
rural communities.
At 25,
LaFlamme will become one
of the youngest members
of the Advisory Board,
and the only member
representing a rural
community college. In a
letter, Center of Rural
Affairs Program Director
Brian Depew explained
that Advisory Board
members are recruited
for their special
backgrounds and insight
into the Center's
program areas. They meet
quarterly with the
Center's staff and Board
of Directors.
"Working
at ICC has given me the
opportunity to think
hard about rural
communities and about
the challenges they
face," said LaFlamme,
who moved to
Independence from
Boston, Massachusetts.
"I admire the Center for
Rural Affairs for
meeting those challenges
head-on, rejecting quick
fixes and empty
nostalgia in favor of
substantive debate about
the future of rural
America."
LaFlamme
will attend his first
Advisory Board meeting
in Nebraska City,
Nebraska on September
12-13. He hopes to spark
discussion about the
role of libraries and
other community
institutions in
mitigating the effects
of rural depopulation.
