Because rural colleges are small, isolated, relatively tax poor, and are staffed primarily by public school trained and experienced personnel, their staffs usually possess values, attitudes, and beliefs that are directly contrary to the philosophy of the community college. This address calls for the beginning of effective staff development planning at each rural college in order to develop within the staff those qualities of competence, creativity, and leadership that are more commonly found in larger, more affluent, urban institutions. Quality of service in the community college depends primarily on the quality of the staff; staff development must be part of an evolving plan of institutional development, based on carefully defined service-program goals. Staff development planning should occur in four stages: (1) establishing a receptive climate when the commitment to staff development is made and objectives are defined; (2) organizing and training a staff development planning committee with membership drawn from every sector of personnel; (3) plan development and implementation; and (4) plan maintenance and evaluation. Each of these phases is discussed in detail. (MJK)