W hen people think of the rural south, most think of agriculture. But that's only half the story.  

“We need to expand people's understanding of rural, which is agriculture, but rural is so much more,” said Dr. Veronica Womack, executive director of the Rural Studies Institute (RSI). “All of the things—technology, broadband infrastructure, businesses, entrepreneurs, healthcare access—you need to make Atlanta run, we need in rural communities, as well.” 

The Rural Studies Institute was officially launched January 2020 to address rural disparities and build a national reputation through thought leadership, education and outreach, research and scholarship, community engagement and student learning.

Womack has been researching the rural south for over 20 years and has been featured in several media outlets for her thought leadership on rural communities including Georgia Public Radio Georgia Today, The Wall Street Journal, Georgia Trend Magazine, The New York Times, The Nation and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Through collaboration, she strives to develop innovative approaches to change in rural areas.  

Recently, Georgia College’s RSI entered into a partnership with Fort Valley State University (FVSU) to prioritize rural regions throughout the state. The effort will focus on building the capacity of local communities.

“There are many ways we can collaborate and bring our institution’s uniqueness to the rural experience,” she said. “These communities need leaders with advanced skills and to be connected to all the wonderful things that these colleges have to offer.”

Fort Valley State University—a land-grant institution—is connected to an Extension Service, which allows it to work in rural communities throughout the state. Georgia College is a public liberal arts college with a focus on leadership development.

“Their relationships will provide increased connectivity to rural communities for the work that the Rural Studies Institute does,” Womack said. “In order for this initiative to be successful, it's got to become part of the DNA of both institutions, which is going to take time.” 

Many FVSU faculty members are nationally recognized researchers, which enriches their teaching coupled with the expertise of GC faculty, they can make an impact.

“At this point, it's about building partners on their campus and ours, who are interested in working with us,” she said.

One area that Womack is seeking partners is in her work on rural health disparities. Currently, she is working with several universities and community partners on Covid-related projects.  By working with researchers from John Hopkins, Emory, Tuskegee, Kentucky State Universities and the Medical College of Georgia’s Institute of Public and Preventative Health, Womack is building a national reputation around rural health disparities. She also believes in the expertise found in rural communities and partners with local organizations and residents, as well.  Her most recent work on COVID-19 hesitancy in rural communities encompasses two phases.

The first phase of the work assessed COVID vaccine hesitancy. The second phase includes outreach and education efforts in Tuskegee, Alabama, Albany, Georgia, Augusta, Georgia, and Western Kentucky. These geographies have been heavily hit by COVID-19 and have a history of medical misuse that has resulted in medical mistrust, such as the Tuskegee Syphilis Study and the Mississippi Delta involuntary sterilization procedures.

“When you have a history of those kinds of medical experiences, it's very difficult for those communities to trust the medical community and the vaccine that you're asking them to take,” Womack said. “To be able to partner with other institutions of higher education, community organizations and community members; giving residents the information, so they know the facts, so they're then able to educate and work in their community is a win-win situation.”

Womack’s research also focuses on the rural South and its people, including Black farmers through her study of The Farm Bill and agricultural policy.  The Farm Bill piqued her interest, as it impacts rural communities, including food and agriculture, as well as rural development. In an effort to effectively disseminate her research to the public, she founded The Black Farmers’ Network, which highlights the stories of Black Farmers in the Black Belt region of the south. 

The Black Belt region is identified as over 300 impoverished counties from Texas, up the Mississippi River, across Alabama and Georgia, dipping into Florida, then shooting through the Carolinas as far north as Virginia, according to Womack’s first book in 2013, “Abandonment in Dixie–Underdevelopment in the Black Belt.” 

“I feel like my research with the Black Farmers Network has shed significant light on the work Black farmers have done,” she said, “and those socio-economic and political factors that have negatively impacted their numbers and their ability to be successful.”

Womack recently received the Trailblazer Award from Dine Diaspora’s Fifth Annual “Black Women in Food” Awards for her work in changing the narratives of Black farmers in the Black Belt Region. 

“I try to tell the story through my research of people who may not have a voice at the table,” she said.

She can relate to growing up in the Black Belt Region and now working in the Black Belt region, which inspires her intentional support to take on research and educating others about the region and the rural south.

“To be able to provide some understanding and context to this rural area is the most rewarding thing I could ever do,” Womack said. “I'm very excited and fortunate to do this work. Most people who have my background and life experience, don’t get a chance to speak for themselves.”

As a social scientist, Womack recognizes and analyzes data of the Black Belt Region, she knows that's not the whole story.

“There are many assets in this area,” she said. “You have very resilient, innovative, genuine people who work very hard and have a long, distinct history in the region. So, it's important for me, as a researcher, to have a comprehensive understanding of who those people are.”

Growing up, Womack had a community invest in her. She wants the same for other rural residents.

“As a public institution with a public mission, the work I do helps us achieve that. My work is a return on investment in the rural south that was invested in me.”

As part of her investment in the next generation of scholars, Womack works with graduate students in the public administration program each semester by partnering with Dr. Kelley Ditzel, assistant professor of Public Administration, to provide students practical experiences in the community in grant writing.

“I work with the students to develop their grant writing skills as a way for them to research the region, learn about the deficits and assets within and enhance their skills of grant writing as part of a transformative learning experience,” Womack said.

And her work will yield results. In the next 20 years, she envisions a decent quality of life for the Black Belt Region.

“I hope the seeds we're planting now throughout this region will lead to broadband service, more young farmers, who can support their community and be supported by their community; investments in public education, so young people can continue their pursuits or be a part of the workforce; and will be a place tech companies draw on for their workforce.” 

“We're at a critical phase right now,” Womack said. “We're in a global, knowledge-based economy, where we have the chance for generations of the Black Belt Region to become part of this thriving southern economy.”