Northeastern, Connors Combine forces at Muskogee campus

MUSKOGEE Higher education opportunities in the Muskogee area will receive a major boost as Connors State College and Northeastern State University combine their operations at the NSU-Muskogee campus.

The two higher education institutions have agreed to co-locate on the NSU campus and create a base of service for their combined 23 academic programs now offered to regional residents.

NSU President Don Betz hailed the expanded collaboration as setting the stage for an enhanced partnership as the two institutions seek to produce more college degree holders who will help to meet the regions needs and advance its residents annual earnings.

This cements, both symbolically and literally, the long-standing relationship between our two institutions. The proximity of our two educational operations will enhance the seamlessness of educational opportunities for Muskogee-area residents as they begin their careers at Connors and complete it at NSU, Betz said.

Connors President Donnie Nero also lauded the agreement. This is a win-win for both institutions, as we have developed a great alliance and partnership through the years, Nero said. Im optimistic that more students will take advantage of the opportunities that are presented as the two institutions continue to collaborate and align their academic programs.

A groundbreaking ceremony will occur December 18 on the NSU-Muskogee campus for the proposed Student Services facility that will house a campus bookstore, library, child development program and administration offices. The estimated cost for the project is $2.2 million, which will be funded through the Oklahoma Capital Improvement Authority bonds allocated to Connors. The one-story facility will comprise from 8,000 to 10,000 square feet. Oakridge Builders, Inc., of Tulsa is the construction project manager.

The downtown Muskogee campus on Court Street, which houses 1,100 students, will revert to the city of Muskogee, which provided the facility to Connors State College.

NSU-Muskogee features two academic buildings, constructed in 1993 and 2001, with 70,000 square feet of classroom and laboratory space. NSU offers degree programs including the master of business administration, master of education, and bachelor of science in education, as well as course offerings in business administration, social sciences and education at its Muskogee campus. About 600 students take classes there each year.

Nero said he expects Connors nursing program to begin offering its classes at NSU-Muskogee facilities in January 2010. The transition for the other programs is in the planning stage, with the intent to have all of Connors operation in place by January 2011.

The two campuses are already collaborating through an educational program to serve Muskogees health care industry cluster, one of the largest and fastest growing in Oklahoma. Connors career ladder nursing program produces graduates who earn licensed practical nursing or registered nursing degrees. Many of those graduates then continue at NSU to earn their bachelor of science in nursing degrees.

According to Dr. Martin Venneman, dean of NSUs College of Science and Health Professions, both the masters degree in nursing education and the masters degree in occupational therapy are being planned for the Muskogee campus, which will offer additional educational choices for Connors graduates.

Venneman anticipates that the co-location on the NSU-Muskogee campus will further health care initiatives currently under consideration in the region. NSU and Connors have been leaders in regional health care conversations with nearly a dozen partners that could lead up to 13 more health care educational programs being offered in the Muskogee area, he noted.

Oklahoma has been described as nearing the verge of a health care crisis with a projected shortage of more than 4,500 practitioners by 2012 in a score of professional areas.

This co-location of our two educational institutions will strengthen our ability to systematically address how Connors and NSU can partner together and with others to reduce the threat that our regions residents will face if we do not act in concert, Venneman said.

11/17/2009

Published: 2009-11-17 00:00:00