From an interdisciplinary perspective, this proceedings of the National Rural Studies Committee examines how rural people, communities, and institutions have and are adapting to the enormous changes of recent decades, especially the 1980s. The specialized scholarly presentations cover such diverse issues as rural family, public policies, communities, social institutions, labor market, industrial development, natural environment and agricultural changes, rural education, and community leadership. The following titles and presenters are included in the proceedings: "Rural Families in Transition" (J. Jenson); "Dilemmas Confronting Rural Policies in the U.S." (L. Swanson); "Rural Communities in Transition" (S. Salamon and K. Davis-Brown); "Institutional Diversity and Rural Development in America" (R. Oakerson); "The Shape of the Center: Thoughts on Heartland" (W. Howarth); "Rural Labor Market Changes in the U.S." (G. Summers, F. Horton, and C. Gringeri); "The Nuts and Bolts of Subsidized Development: Industrial Homeworkers in the Heartland" (C. Gringeri); "An Emerging View of the Natural Environment: Implications for Rural Communities" (J. Ikerd); "Rural Education in a Period of Transition" (P. Nachtigal); "The Response of Public Institutions to the Changing Educational Needs of Rural Areas" (G. Pulver); "Tomorrow's Leaders Today: Redefining the Rural Community" (T. Borich and M. Foley). (KS)