Primary Media Contact

William "Chip" Sawyer is the Senior Outreach Professional for the Center for Rural Studies and is the primary media contact. However, all CRS staff are prepared to answer questions or assist you in your quest for information or opinion on rural issues. Give us a call at 802-656-3021.

Press Releases

When suvey results come in, public reports completed, or new information is posted in an online resource, CRS informs communities via media, direct outreach, and also posts the announcements here.
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When CRS issues a press release, Subscribers to the RURAL listserv are informed. Don't miss out when survey results or census data come in!
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About CRS

Mission: CRS addresses the challenges faced by rural people and communities through applied research, evaluation, consulting and community outreach.

The Center for Rural Studies is a nonprofit, fee-for-service research organization at the University of Vermont that addresses the social, economic, and resource-based challenges faced by rural people and communities. Founded in the UVM's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in 1978, CRS supports the research and teaching missions of the university through its work in applied research, program evaluation, consulting, and outreach. CRS is also the US Census Bureau's State Data Center.

CRS offers its clients- small businesses, academics, UVM Extension and other UVM offices, community organizaters, health and social service organizations, planners, town governments, and state and federal agencies- professional assistance with:

• Survey Research
• Program Evaluation
• Community Data
• Community Planning
• Focus Groups
• Outreach & Capacity Building

Over the years, CRS has developed and maintained key online data resources about and for Vermont communities, including Vermont Indicators. In partnership with the Vermont Center for Geographic Information, CRS makes readily available (through Vermont Indicators) over 40 social and economic indicators for each of Vermont's villages, towns, and counties.

About the Annual Vermonter Poll

The Vermonter Poll is a statistically representative, statewide telephone poll conducted annually by the Center for Rural Studies at the University of Vermont. Responses are limited to Vermont households with telephones, not including cell phones*. Households are selected randomly using a list of telephone numbers generated from Vermont telephone directories.

*According to the most recent estimates, 5.1 percent of Vermont households have at least one wireless cellular phone, but no landline telephone. As a state, Vermont has the lowest level of "wireless-only" households in the country. Citation: Blumberg et al. (2009). Wireless Substitution: State-level Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, January - December 2007. National Health Statistics Report, 14.