Gov. Riley Names JSU President Meehan
Education Committee Co-Chair for Region 4
of the Rural Alabama Action Commission (RAAC)

By Anne Muriithi
Graduate Assistant
JSU News Bureau

Dr. William A. Meehan, President of Jacksonville State University, was appointed by Alabama Governor Bob Riley to become an Education Committee Co-Chair for Region 4 of the Rural Alabama Action Commission (RAAC).

 

The Rural Alabama Action Commission is being formed to coordinate efforts aimed at improving the quality of life in the state rural areas. Governor Bob Riley announced in April 2007 that he would be forming the Rural Alabama Action Commission to coordinate efforts aimed at improving the quality of life in the rural Alabama states. The governor also appointed former Senator Gerald Dial to serve as the commission’s executive director.

 

The Rural Alabama Action Commission is being formed to build upon the community-based model of the Black Belt Action Commission in order to create new partnerships to improve the lives of all citizens in Alabama. The Black Belt Action Commission was created two years ago by the Governor to focus exclusively on the 12-county region characterized by persistently high rates of poverty and economic stagnation.

 

The Black Belt Action Commission has worked with local and state officials to expand economic growth, improve access to health care and improve education in the region. The members of the Black Belt Action Commission helped recruit new and expanding industries to the Black, Belt bring free computers to school systems in the Black Belt, and offer free health care fairs and vision screenings in every Black Belt County.

 

Governor Riley stated that, “Like the Black Belt Commission, membership of the Rural Alabama Action Commission is open to everyone.”

 

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