John J. Gruidl
John J. Gruidl
Ph.D., Professor
Stipes 505
309-298-2984
JJ-Gruidl@wiu.edu
John Gruidl is a Professor in the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs. John manages training and outreach programs and conducts research in the area of community economic development. John directs the Midwest Community Development Institute (CDI), one of five CDI sites in the country that provides comprehensive training in community development for community leaders and development professionals. Gruidl has published extensively on community economic development, including local development process and policy, inter-regional migration, entrepreneurship/new firm growth, and the role of the service sector. He also teaches community economic development to graduate students.
John serves on two national Board of Directors, the Community Development Council and the Community Development Society. He serves on the evaluation team for the Kentucky Entrepreneurial Coaching Institute which is sponsored by the University of Kentucky. Gruidl is the editor of Community Development Practice, a web-based publication of the Community Development Society.
From 1994-2005, Gruidl created and directed the award-winning Peace Corps Fellows Program (an internship program for Returned Peace Corps Volunteers). In the early 1990s, John helped to create the MAPPING the Future of Your Community, a strategic visioning program for Illinois communities. He has done community development work in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Mexico. He received a Ph.D. in Agricultural and Applied Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1989, with a major in the field of Community Economics.
Return to "IIRA Personnel"
