Ole Miss CEED places 11 students with Mississippi community groups

Eleven University of Mississippi students spent the summer working with chambers of commerce, nonprofits and state agencies across Mississippi through the Catalyzing Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Initiative, a program built to give communities extra hands on real economic-development projects.

CEED began in 2014 as part of the Grisham-McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement, after a $2.4 million investment from the Robert M. Hearin Support Foundation. Over the last decade, more than 100 Ole Miss students have interned through the program, which is aimed at increasing entrepreneurship and economic development in rural Mississippi communities.

The institute says its broader mission is to fight poverty through education, innovation and entrepreneurship. Laura Martin, the institute’s associate director, said CEED connects students with a wide network of partners, including local chambers and state agencies. Albert Nylander, the sociology professor who directs the institute and was its inaugural director, said the program is designed around the idea that every community has people who can drive change and that young people often bring fresh ideas for improvement.

That structure matters in places like Oxford and the rest of Lafayette County, where economic-development work often depends on small staffs, close relationships and organizations that can turn ideas into action. Ole Miss has already placed CEED interns with the Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce, and past host sites have also included the Mississippi Development Authority, Innovate Mississippi, the New Albany Main Street Association, the Pontotoc County Chamber of Commerce and the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi.

One of this summer’s interns, Greenwood native Kaylee Lemley, is studying business with a marketing minor. She said a talk by Nylander during her senior year of high school helped lead her to Ole Miss and into the program. Lemley is working with the New Albany Main Street Association, where she is helping with frameworks for community development and nonprofit growth.

New Albany Main Street says its work centers on downtown growth, local businesses, beautification projects and community events, the kind of day-to-day support that can shape whether a business district keeps momentum or loses it. In communities across north Mississippi, the CEED model gives local organizations a summer boost while giving students experience in strategic planning, organizational development and public service.