Jenlink named dean of NSU-Broken Arrow campus

TAHLEQUAH, OK Following a nationwide search for prospective candidates, Northeastern State University has named Dr. Christee Jenlink as dean of the Broken Arrow campus.

On faculty at NSU since 2000, Jenlink became interim dean of NSUBA in January, and previously served as assistant dean for the NSU College of Education. She assumes her duties in the wake of a university-wide enrollment surge that has resulted in a 6.6 percent increase in the number of students attending classes at NSUBA this year, and projections of double-digit increases for fall 2010.

Jenlink is passionate about what this university and this campus can do for people, she said following the announcement of her appointment by NSU President Don Betz on Wednesday.

Great things have happened here during the past nine years, but we have only scratched the surface of what this campus can do, she said. Im looking forward to working with surrounding communities and discovering ways we can help them encourage their citizens to pursue higher education degrees.

Progress throughout society depends on education, Jenlink said. Any study or analysis of economics shows that economic development is tied to education. Our Broken Arrow campus has the potential to be the central pulse point for higher education in the Tulsa Metro area.

More than 185,000 people in the Tulsa area have some college credit or an associates degree, and are prospective candidates for bachelors degrees, she noted.

We have the capacity and the potential to be the adult learning center for northeastern Oklahoma and the choice for masters degrees. The door is wide open for opportunity here.

Jenlinks extensive experience in the Broken Arrow and Tulsa communities, and the fact that she is highly regarded as a responsible leader in the field of higher education, drove the decision by the universitys selection committee, Betz said.

Christee Jenlink has demonstrated a deep commitment to fulfill our mission of helping students become socially responsible global citizens and sees clearly our role in Broken Arrow as an important locus of educational and community development opportunity in the Tulsa metro area, Betz said. She has accepted the responsibilities of this key leadership role at a dynamic and transformative time in the institutions history. I have great confidence in her experience and in her ability to represent NSU well within the Broken Arrow community and throughout the Tulsa metro area."

Betz cited NSU Broken Arrows unique ability to address local and regional development opportunities and the institutions evolving partnership with Tulsa Community College to provide seamless transition for students seeking four-year degrees as areas that will define the universitys impact in the next several years.

The majority of our students on the Broken Arrow campus are working adults and our degree programs there are designed to address students needs to prepare for careers that are still being defined by changes taking place in our economy and in society, he noted. "We are constantly looking at ways to create the optimum environment for learning and discovery for students. Christee Jenlink is a collaborative leader who anticipates changes that will impact students and consistently puts their needs first."

Jenlink's connection to NSU began in spring semester of 2000 as an adjunct instructor in the Department of Teacher Education, when classes at the newly-created branch campus were still meeting at South Intermediate High School in Broken Arrow. She joined the faculty in the fall as assistant professor of Education.

A native of Carmen, Okla., she began her career as a public school administrator at Skelly Elementary School where she was named assistant principal in 1996. A year later, she was appointed principal of Cherokee Elementary School in Tulsa and served there four years.

She is a graduate of Northwestern Oklahoma State University, where she earned a bachelor of arts in Music Education and a master of education in Music. She holds a doctor of education in Educational Administration from Oklahoma State University.

In addition to her duties as assistant dean of the college, Jenlink was associate professor of Education and taught graduate level courses in school administration at Northeastern State prior to her appointment as interim dean.

Chief among Jenlink's leadership roles at NSU is her service on the University Planning Group and the Higher Learning Commission Accreditation Steering Committee, a group convened by Betz to prepare for NSU's re-accreditation site visit in 2012.