Charles W. Fluharty is the Founder and President Emeritus of the Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI), the only national policy institute in the U.S. solely dedicated to assessing the rural impacts of public policies.  He currently services as RUPRI's Director of Policy Programs.  Since RUPRI's founding in 1990, over 250 scholars representing 16 different disciplines in 100 universities, all U.S. states and 25 other nations have participated in RUPRI projects, which address the full range of policy and program dynamics affecting rural people and places.  Collaborations with the OECD, the EU, the German Marshall Fund, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, the International Rural Network and other international organizations are framing RUPRI's comparative rural policy foci.

A Research Professor in the Harry S. Truman School of Public Affairs at the University of Missouri-Columbia, he also holds an Adjunct Faculty appointment in the UMC Department of Rural Sociology.  The author of numerous policy studies and journal articles, he has presented dozens of Congressional testimonies and briefings. He is also a frequent speaker before national and international audiences, and has provided senior policy consultation to most federal departments, state and local governments, associations of government, planning and development organizations, and many foundations.

Education:
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut M. Div. (With Distinctions), 1973 The University of Steubenville, Steubenville, Ohio B.A. (Cum Laude), Honors College--Political Science/English, 1969

Honors:
2008 State Agriculture and Rural Leaders (SARL) Recognition Award 2007 Franciscan University Alumni Award for Distinguished Public Service 2002 Distinguished Service to Rural Life Award: Rural Sociological Society 2002 USDA Secretary’s Honor Award for Superior Service (Jointly to RUPRI) 2001 Friend of Rural Counties Award: Rural Action Caucus, National Association of Counties 1999 Friend and Partner Award: Rural Action Caucus, National Association of Counties 1999 National Rural Development Partnership Recognition Award 1998 Distinguished Service Award - National Association of Counties 1998 NOSORH Recognition Award - National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health Columbia Devlin Outstanding Educator Award Listed: Who’s Who in the World; Who’s Who in America; Who’s Who in American Education Board of Directors: National Center for Small Communities; Heartland Center for Leadership