Delta Leadership Institute invites new applicants

August 25, 2013

Community Leaders Invited to Apply for year-long Executive Academy, Delta Leadership Institute

One of the priorities of the DRA is to improve the leadership skills of the region’s current and future leaders. The DLI is the vehicle through which the DRA pursues these efforts. The mission of the Delta Leadership Institute is to recognize, train, and develop 21st Century leadership skills in participants across the eight-state region in order to face the global challenges of the future. DLI and its alumni organization, the Delta Leadership Network, have and will continue to create a cadre of leaders that work together for future improvements to the region by “thinking and acting regionally.”

The application period for the upcoming DLI Executive Academy will be open Tuesday, August 20 – Friday, September 20. This is the first year the application will be available online, (check out www.dra.gov) through which applicants will be able to create a profile, complete an application, and upload recommendations to the DRA website. The opening session of the 2013-2014 Executive Academy will take place November 4-7, in Oxford, MS.

The University of Mississippi’s McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement will be the administrative lead for this innovative collaboration and will partner with Arkansas State University’s Delta Center for Economic Development and the University of Louisiana at Monroe for DLI program delivery. These three institutions will leverage additional expertise from several other entities and partners.
The Delta Regional Authority is a federal-state partnership that serves 252 counties and parishes in parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee.  The Delta Leadership Institute is possible through a strong relationship with the United States Department of Agriculture.  The Rural Communities Advancement Program funds regional initiatives with the guiding principle to create greater leverage for additional funding, collaboration, and partnerships with private