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OU - Kansas City Turns 50!

Celebration Highlights Past and Plans

The location of ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ – Kansas City’s 50^th anniversary celebration on October 16 was itself a symbol of the campus’s story. With OU – Kansas City’s upcoming move to the Aspiria campus in Overland Park, the event’s venue exemplified the continual growth, progress and forward vision of the ground and online divisions of the University throughout its 50-year history.

Hosted in one of the new campus’s large event spaces, “Celebrating 50 Years” brought together alumni, current and former faculty and staff, donors, board members, current students, and community partners to commemorate where OU – Kansas City has been and where it is going.

Following a welcome, invocation and dinner, Dr. Chantell Link, president of ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Online, recounted the history of ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ - Kansas City from its humble beginnings in 1974. She also recognized and honored the many people who have played a role in its success, including former campus directors Dr. Gus Breytspraak and Dr. Jim Billick, as well as faculty members Dr. Karen Mitchell, Dr. Peter Sandstrom, Dr. Neal Harris, Dr. Mike Sancho, Dr. Sybil McClary, and long-time professor and event sponsor Tom Edwards.

Because of the pioneers’ passion, dedication, and academic prowess, OU’s innovative “college without campus” (CWC) was designed for nontraditional adult learners and proved to be one of the most successful enrollment drivers in the entire history of OU. In fact, the launch of CWC in Kansas City was the spark that drove additional adult campus locations in Arizona, Indiana and Wisconsin, offerings in the Pacific Rim, as well as the University’s online division to meet the growing educational needs of adult learners around the world.

“The evening was about honoring the past, while looking toward the future of OU in Kansas City,” shared Link. “It was truly amazing to celebrate our history with faculty, staff and OU alumni. We’ve created 50 years of memories here in Kansas City and we continue to evolve, transforming lives and leaving a lasting impact on our community.”

As Link noted during the 50th celebration, the CWC model was unique because of the full-time tenured faculty who were hired to ensure and inform adult education, then and now, despite tough competition from the Internet, for-profit schools, and recent state schools that have entered the adult marketplace. The model was a direct result of the OU belief that all students, no matter their age or background, were to benefit from the school’s commitment to the liberal arts and its belief in education of the whole person.

Those beliefs have driven both the academic and strategic decisions for the campus model throughout its history. First located in the heart of Kansas City on the second floor of the Skelly Building in the famous Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, MO, the CWC moved in 1984 to the more visible and accessible campus in the Corporate Woods office park in suburban Johnson County, Kansas. After more than two decades, the adult and online campus moved again to 109th Street in Overland Park, Kansas, where it has operated since 2006.

Pivoting to current and future plans for OU – Kansas City, Link was joined by Director of Nursing Dr. Ruth Burkhart, Director of the Physician Assistant Program Dr. Susan Salahshor, Chancellor Dr. Bill Tsutsui, Vice Chancellor of University Advancement Janet Peters, and Trustees Robert Evans and Jeanne Krug to showcase what is in store for the campus in the coming days.

As noted, after nearly 20 years, OU – Kansas City is beginning a new chapter in a new location within the Aspiria Campus at 6450 Sprint Parkway, Overland Park, KS. Prior to the celebration on October 16, there was a ribbon-cutting for the new campus at 4:00 p.m., where all those involved in making the move a reality were recognized and invited to officially launch the new site by helping cut the ribbon.

Among them was Chad Taldo, who is the director of the Kansas City campus and OU online operations. Taldo was the driver of locating a new campus location (after ~40 site visits!) in conjunction with commercial real estate broker JLL; negotiating a lease with the Aspiria campus; coordinating the space’s design with Perspective Architecture; and serving as a liaison with construction companies Occidental Management Co. and Titan. Representatives from each of these entities attended the ribbon cutting, as did Overland Park’s Executive Vice President Kevin Walker, Council Member Inas Younis, and President Logan Heley, who opened the ceremony with their remarks about the benefit of OU’s growing presence in the community.

“This relocation represents our commitment to building a brighter future for our community, students, and staff member,” commented Link. “I can’t think of a better way to celebrate 50 years of our campus being here in Kansas City than opening this amazing new facility.”

Occupancy for the enlarged space is set for early November.  While it will be a clear benefit to existing programs, including the new Doctor of Business Administration, Burkhart and Salashor shared during the evening’s 50^th celebration how the campus will be particularly well-suited for OUKC’s newly added Master of Science in Nursing and soon-to-be added physician assistant program (2026), along with its Bachelor of Science in Nursing and RN to BSN program.

Formerly Sprint’s headquarters, the Aspiria campus boasts an increase of square footage from 20K to 29K for OU – Kansas City that will allow for the addition of six exam rooms, a skills lab, a 3D anatomy lab, as well as a wet lab with two operating rooms, two patient rooms, and observation rooms for faculty to view and evaluate students in action. The space will also include all new offices and classrooms for current programs along with the latest technology.

Hoping to provide a balanced work/live space, Aspiria provides a host of other amenities that will enhance the student and staff experience, such as free covered parking, retail shops, green spaces, a fitness center, coffee shops, a cafeteria, conference rooms, 24/7 access, and even living spaces.

With these bold and exciting investments in OU – Kansas City’s future, Tsutsui and Peters made a special presentation during the 50th celebration to announce the launch of a $35M comprehensive fundraising campaign, OU Forever More, that will run through 2027 to benefit people and programs throughout the University. Contact Janet Peters at janet.peters@ottawa.edu for more information.

Intern Program Benefits OUAZ, Students, City of Surprise

Partnership Plaza a Direct Mutual Outcome

OUAZ alumnus Mike Hoover MBA '21 serves as the economic development assistant director for the City of Surprise (COS) and works closely with the University on a number of collaborative efforts. He understands first-hand the value of learning opportunities that provide professional development and workplace experience within a live project. That’s why he initiated a summer internship program for the City of Surprise that utilizes students, recent graduates and more experienced candidates from diverse educational and professional backgrounds to help design projects, assist in their implementation, and develop effective solutions to ongoing City projects. 

“The summer internship program was an outgrowth from OUAZ student recommendations from Spring 2024,” said Hoover. “The OUAZ leadership program and OUAZ engineering students shared insights from their desire to have professional work experience that also gives back to the OUAZ campus environment. The internship program aligned with areas of study and interest, all while working in a City Hall office setting. The projects ranged from the creation of a professional development program to an engineering live project learning lab, as well as several campus enhancements projects, such as the multi-phase Partnership Plaza.”

Maggie Lewis '21/MLM '24 was the first OUAZ intern in the initiative. She now serves as the development services assistant for the COS. “Mike viewed the University as an incredible asset to starting this initiative,” she shared. “While Economic Development is the department that operates the internship, interns have the opportunity to work in many different departments depending on their skills and the requirements needed.”

Lewis was able to utilize her communications and leadership background across multiple areas. She gained hands-on exposure to emergency management, operations, administration, city council meetings, safety exercises, and more. “The City provided me the position to assist in a variety of departments, which helped me gain an immeasurable amount of insight on the innerworkings of government careers,” she described.

Professor of Engineering Jack McMorris '22/MBA '22 was instrumental in securing internships in the new program for some of his students. “Students went through an application and interview process,” he explained. “Interview questions focused on their reasons for applying and what they hoped to gain from the experience. The pool was then narrowed down to six candidates who were hired. Among those candidates were OUAZ students Joseph George and George Lopez, and recent graduate Daniel Oseguera '24.”

“My internship in Economic Development was focused on engineering,” shared Oseguera. “I was involved in various projects, with the most significant being the development of a program for current engineers at ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ that aims to provide them with hands-on experience on live projects while collaborating with professional partners. Although we’ve just started implementing the program, I’m confident it will offer students valuable practical experience and help them build their professional networks,” he added.

[Joseph] George, a senior engineering student, used his major’s knowledge and skills to spearhead a project that directly benefits both the COS and OUAZ. As noted by Hoover, the project has been dubbed the Partnership Plaza, a small area of land that lies between City Hall and the OUAZ campus that originally served as a construction mobilization site for Veritas Hall. The plaza was conceived to provide a leisure space available to the Surprise community and OUAZ students and staff that celebrates the City and University partnership.

George’s internship involved serving as an economic service assistant and lead designer/planner of Partnership Plaza, which will contain cornhole, seating areas and mini golf to further connect the University and the community through recreation, relaxation and socialization. The first phase of seating and corn hole is slated to be operational this semester, while mini-golf (or other amenity) will be added in 2025.

“This program has given me the opportunity to experience a real working environment, showing me that education extends far beyond the classroom,” observed George. “It has been an ongoing process of learning and growth. By participating in actual meetings and seeing how professionals collaborate and take a project from the starting phase to finish, I have gained valuable insights into how theoretical knowledge translates into real-world scenarios.”

McMorris echoed the broad benefits of the internship program. “The finished product, along with other intern projects, will be a testament and legacy to the hard work of the interns and the commitment of the City to serve students and young adults in their professional and personal development.”

MSN Adds Ground-based Option

International Students Flock to Program

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ – Online has recently modified its successful online Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) leadership track for ground-based instruction on the Overland Park campus. The weekend intensive model uses the same curriculum as the online program; however, students take six courses online and six on-ground with intensive face-to-face instruction over a long weekend.

Not only does this new model provide good options for students who prefer some of their graduate learning in person, but it also opens up the MSN program for international registered nurses (RN) living and working in the United States, as it meets the educational requirements for on-ground instruction.

The University has seen a tremendous response to the new degree format, with 125 international student applicants and a minimum of 100 set to converge on the Overland Park campus during Fall I.

“The response to the on-ground option for the MSN Leader track has been phenomenal,” said OU’s Director of Nursing Dr. Ruth Burkhart, who was instrumental in the program’s revision. “This includes those who chose the option because they prefer a blended ‘in-person’ and online learning option. For those international nurses who plan a return to their home country, this is an amazing opportunity to strengthen global nursing leadership. As a nurse who has lived abroad and has held a faculty position in higher education in another country, I am absolutely thrilled that OU can be a part of increasing opportunities for strong nurse leadership on a global scale.”

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ first explored offering the on-ground cohort model in 2019, but market research conducted by Howell Management Services did not support the move. Demographics in 2023 proved a different story, as evidenced by the tremendous response.

“The Dean of Global Initiatives Dr. Marylou DeWald has been aware for many years of the number of Health Care Management or EMBA students who were nurses, as well as prospective MSN students, who requested a weekend intensive program for Nursing which met the requirements for U.S. graduate studies,” commented Burkhart. “This new on-ground cohort format for the MSN Leader track is a culmination of several years of inquiry regarding need and feasibility.”

Because of the large incoming class size, each term’s weekend intensive will be divided into four cohorts with four faculty simultaneously teaching the course content. This will provide students with the smaller class sizes and personal attention for which OU is known.

With three program intakes per year, the ground-based MSN is expected to burgeon with students from all over the world who are living and working in states across the U.S. Already, the Fall I cohort is comprised of students from 23 different states, with the most coming from Arizona, California, Texas, and Oklahoma.

To qualify for the master’s level program, international students must be fully licensed, live in the U.S., and hold a current nursing job. Jobs represented by the incoming students include nursing roles in a broad variety of U.S. health care settings, such as medical-surgical, oncology, pediatrics, nursing homes, clinics, and the esteemed Mayo Clinic. The majority pursue the Nurse Leader track because it provides them with the knowledge and skills to pursue management and executive-level positions.

“We are very excited to be expanding our ground-based offerings to give students from across the country and the world the opportunity to become OU alumni,” said DeWald. “OU’s international program played a huge role in getting the modified MSN program up and running, and it’s one I am particularly proud of as it has become a model and inspiration for opening up other programs in the same manner.”

Two Degrees of Success

Pathway Program Puts Shaffer on Career Fast Track

When the COVID pandemic robbed Cassidy Shaffer of her spring semester as a freshman and her full sophomore year at Imagine Prep high school in Surprise, Arizona, it was a set-back, without question. She was also sidelined from the various activities she was involved in, like student council, journalism, and cheer.

After a unique virtual learning experience that spring, Shaffer began to adapt, and eventually she embraced the educational flexibility the online classroom offered. In fact, with extra time on her hands due to the COVID restrictions, it was just before her sophomore year that she began to take full advantage of the format by enrolling in online college courses at Rio Salado College. Throughout that year, she took three college courses a semester while simultaneously completing her virtual high school curriculum. 

Shaffer realized she was on to something.

When she returned to in-person school her junior year, she continued with her college courses, despite resuming many of the activities she had to abandon during the pandemic. She added even more her senior year, serving on the yearbook staff and as student council president. But the rigor of Shaffer’s diverse pursuits suited her learning style, and it soon became her new norm. Even her summers were devoted to taking college courses.

Her principal, Chris McComb, took notice. “During COVID, Cassidy demonstrated a knack for working independently while showing an advanced level of maturity and intrinsic motivation that was well beyond her years,” he said. “She is no stranger to hard work and perseverance and is successful because she simply outworks her peers.”

As a senior, Shaffer knew it was time to start thinking about the next educational step – where to earn her bachelor’s degree. Since nearly everyone in her family had attended Arizona State University, she assumed that would also be her path, so she applied during the fall of her final year – and waited.

In the meantime, one of Shaffer’s former Imagine Prep teachers, OUAZ Director of Marketing Ben Andree, returned to the school with OU’s Chief Enrollment Officer Dr. Brian Sandusky to meet with select students and explain the University’s Pathway Program that allows highly motivated high school students to simultaneously earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree.

“In mid-October, I got called to Mr. McComb’s office to participate in a meeting with Mr. McComb, Mrs. Mecca [counselor], Mr. Andree, and Dr. Sandusky,” she shared. “We talked about the [Pathway Program and] Spirit Life events that occur every Wednesday at Ottawa and some alterations that could be made to benefit the students. It wasn’t until Mr. Andree gave me an ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ t-shirt that I decided I should apply there and give it a try.”

Shaffer applied that same day. “I selected to major in business and to participate in the leadership program,” she noted. “The next day I received a call and was told that I could get an amazing scholarship and so many opportunities with the programs I selected. I was so surprised because I had applied to ASU months ago, and still no word.”

By the time Shaffer graduated from Imagine Prep in 2023, she had earned 40 college credits, which made her a perfect candidate for what came next. “A little later I was offered a position in the MBA program with the opportunity to receive my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration in three years,” she said.  “The [Pathway] program offered everything that I needed.”

With an expected graduation date of December 2025, Shaffer will hold two degrees in just over two years out of high school. Still highly ambitious and hard-working, she plans to push the envelope even further. “I believe I can finish my graduate courses before then,” she asserted. “I am going to try to finish as early as May of 2025, but we will see!”

“Cassidy has always been an insightful and intellectual person,” said Andree. “She was a stellar student and became a pioneer in the Pathway Program. She is now the program’s posterchild, exemplifying all the traits that we look for in those taking advantage of this accelerated educational opportunity.”

Though Shaffer isn’t exactly sure what career path her future holds, earning two degrees in two years has put her on the fast track for figuring it out. “I've always known I wanted to be some sort of manager or a project organizer,” she said. “Even though I do not have the specifics yet, I know that I the love being in business. I want to work in an industry that offers challenges as well as beneficial feedback and opportunities to consistently improve my skills and character.”

 

OU Launches BSN Pre-licensure Program

Inaugural Cohort Receive White Coats During Ceremony

Three years ago, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, it became increasingly clear that there was a nursing shortage of dire proportions. Following multiple requests from regional health care leaders in the Kansas City region, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ – Kansas City began exploring the possibility of offering a Bachelor of Science, Pre-licensure Nursing (BSN pre-licensure) program in addition to its already accredited BSN program to help alleviate the growing problem.

Initial discussions and planning began in 2021 and involved the nursing leadership team – Director of Nursing Dr. Ruth Burkhart, MSN Program Director Dr. Diann DeWitt, and BSN Program Director Dr. Samantha Young - along with then OU Online Executive Vice President Nancy Wingert.

Next, the University engaged an external marketing consultant to conduct a market study which verified the need and viability of an additional BSN pre-licensure program in the Kansas City region. With that assessment in hand, the nursing leadership team got to work developing the program and curriculum, which is designed for individuals seeking to become a registered nurse (RN). Upon completion on the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, students are eligible to take the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN).

The Kansas State Board of Nursing (KSBN) approved the new BSN Pre-Licensure program by unanimous vote at the quarterly board meetings in Topeka on March 22, 2023, acting on the recommendation of the KSBN Education Committee. Then, in January 2024, the new program launched at OU – Kansas City, and the first cohort of 18 students commenced their 16-month pre-licensure pursuit.

Though the group entered the program in January, they were formally inducted and presented with their white coats during a ceremony on Tuesday, May 7 at the Overland Park campus. The ceremony included many of the original program developers, including a welcome by Burkhart, acknowledgements by Young, and recognition of the inductees by Executive Vice President Wingert. University Chancellor Dr. Bill Tsutsui also recognized dignitaries at the event, including Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Dr. Kevin Maret and OU Board of Trustees Chair Danny Trent, before spurring on the students with his encouraging remarks.

Prior to receiving their white coats from Burkhart and Young, inductee Makuochukwu Anunwa reflected on her personal journey into the program and what it meant to her to be earning her nursing degree with OU. Following the induction, speaker Julianna Reischick, chief nursing officer of Providence Medical Center and president of the Kansas State Board of Nursing, gave the keynote address and charge to the students. Reischick also led the students in their Inductee Pledge, which read:

As I begin my nursing educational journey, I solemnly pledge to use all the knowledge, skills, and understanding that I possess when providing professional nursing care. I will honor the sacred duties and traditions of the nursing profession. I pledge myself to the service of humanity and will endeavor to serve with honor, respect, and dignity.

To conclude the ceremony, Wingert presented student Abigail LaTessa with the first ever Nancy Evans Nursing Scholarship. The $5,000 scholarship was established by ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Board of Trustees member Bob Evans and other generous donors in memory of his wife, Nancy, a 1973 ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ graduate. Nancy’s life passion and motto was “Women helping women reach for the stars,” which was the goal of the Philanthropic Educational Association, to which Nancy devoted 50 years of service.

“The significance and sacredness of this event is difficult to describe in words,” shared Burkhart. “Certainly, the presence of families and friends of the students, as well as various guests and dignitaries, contributed to a sense of celebration and sacred honor of the moment. There were several noteworthy highlights, and many stayed for the reception after the ceremony, where hugs, tears, smiles, and picture taking were on full display.”

Burkhart believes the new BSN pre-licensure program is particularly inviting to students due to several of its unique features. For example, the program is built on 8-week terms, with two courses taken each term on a continuous rolling calendar, which serves as an advantage over the traditional four or five courses taken over a semester of 15-16 weeks. “The time-accelerated curriculum allows for continuous progressive learning across courses and clinical experiences,” explained Burkhart.

The time-accelerated program is also well-suited for individuals, like many of the current cohort, who are already employed in health care regionally but who wish to further their education or seek a second career. With three admission points throughout the year (January, May, August), students who are admitted at those intervals are able to progress through the 16-month program together, providing mutual study and emotional support to one another.

Yet another advantage of the program is the mentoring approach to nursing education taken by the experienced OU nurse educators and leaders. As part of that approach, online curriculum enrichment learning is employed to assist students – and faculty – in identifying areas of academic weakness and provide opportunities for progressive remediation.

 “Those with a passion to become a nurse, and who are academically qualified to do so but may need additional attention and support to be successful in an academic program, will benefit from the mentoring approach,” said Burkhart. “It provides opportunities for personal as well as professional growth and places the student at the forefront of their adult learning experience, building the critical thinking and reasoned analysis necessary for a role as a professional nurse.”

As part of the mentoring and progressive remediation approach to learning, several on the nursing team, including Clinical Coordinator Dr. Cynthia Lancaster, faculty member Jennifer Thom, and Young, provide after-hours tutoring to address student classroom and clinical educational needs.

The structured clinical component of the degree largely takes place in the Skills and Simulation Labs, which provide opportunities for the development and assimilation of nursing knowledge through hands-on learning experiences under clinical faculty guidance and supervision. To provide students with professional clinical experiences during their degree pursuit, OU – Kansas City also holds agreements with several esteemed health care establishments in the area. Those currently include AdventHealth Ottawa, Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, Olathe Medical Center, Providence Medical Center, and Saint Luke’s Health System.

Burkhart is extremely grateful for all involved in getting the BSN pre-licensure program off the ground. “The phrase ‘it takes a village’ () comes to mind as the nursing team reflects on the unique journey of the last three years,” she said. “There are many individuals to thank for the guidance and support along the way.” In addition to the experienced nursing team, she noted the support of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ executive leadership and Board of Trustees, campus science faculty, the registrar, coaching staff, the instructional design and technology team, marketing, and all of the Overland Park, Kansas, campus faculty and staff.

“The program launch would not have been possible without this entire ‘village,’” she acknowledged. “On behalf of the nursing leadership and faculty, we are honored to be a part of the solution.”

To both the current nursing students and those for whom a nursing degree would provide a new and fitting start, Burkhart encourages them to take famous soccer player Pele’s words to heart:   “Success is no accident” (). So, she adds, “Plan now for your future!”

Learn more about the new BSN pre-licensure program.

Discovery Day Showcases ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

Students Present Research Projects to Peers

While college athletes have cheerleaders and fans to spur them on, those who focus on their academic pursuits are seldom championed so vocally. The second annual Brave Discovery Day on the OUKS campus on Wednesday, April 10, was designed to change that dynamic by offering a campus-wide celebration of scholarly and creative works produced by ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ undergraduate students under the tutelage of faculty sponsors.

As the culminating academic event of the school year, Brave Discovery Day is a model of liberal arts education that requires students to confront a variety of challenges, and, in their process of puzzling out solutions, experience the thrill of discovery.

OUKS Chair of the Humanities Division and Professor of English Dr. Andy Hazucha kicked off this year’s event with opening remarks in the Fredrikson Chapel at 9:00 a.m. “This day is meant to celebrate the richness of the life of the mind,” said the event’s co-organizer. “It is a day to honor the centrality of our university’s purpose, to act as a counter-narrative to the well-worn story that, at a school like ours, students have no time for anything other than eating, breathing, and playing sports. In truth, the students whose work you will see today have found world enough and time to create art, write poetry, conduct scientific experiments, perform analyses of rhetoric, and measure various kinds of human knowledge. The projects they will present this morning span the gamut of disciplines and exemplify what it means to be liberally educated.”

Following the welcome and instructions for the day by Hazucha and fellow-organizer Amanda Fields, Assistant Professor of Biology, 27 students presented twenty projects across campus throughout the morning during Session I between 9:30 and 10:15 a.m. Each 15-minute presentation was given twice in the same room to two different audiences. The entire student body was required to attend to hear and gain an appreciation for their fellow students’ work. Faculty and community respondents were also present in each classroom to time and evaluate the projects using a rubric scoring system. At the end of each presentation, students were able to ask questions, and respondents provided the presenters with positive feedback and tips for improvement.

During Session II of the event, between 10:30 – 11:15 a.m., presenters could also showcase their work through posters and displays in the Goppert and Zook Conference Rooms of the Gangwish Library. Both students and community attendees were able to examine visuals of the presenters’ research theories, methods and outcomes, along with their diverse creative works, with peers providing feedback on the displays through a survey. The intimate setting also allowed attendees to visit with and ask questions of the participants.

Freshman Jane Ertl learned of the opportunity to present at Discovery Day from her Associate Professor of Art and event co-organizer Brianne Fulton-Miller. She decided to take advantage of the day in order to practice her oration skills and platform her work on the neurological condition called synesthesia, which she experiences. Synesthesia is a condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, as when the hearing of a sound produces the visualization of a color.

“I presented a body of artistic works titled More Than a Feeling: Shining a Light on Synesthesia,” Ertl shared. “I have been using synesthetic tendencies within my creative process throughout my entire journey as an artist, but I never realized them until I created this lecture. Through my presentation, I was able to connect with myself and uncover those tendencies through my creative process. From an academic perspective, I had to adapt my information and oration techniques for the student body to understand. I had to deliver the information in a way that was professional and simple enough to connect to my audience.”

As an architectural design major, Ertl says she was humbled by the Discovery Day experience. “I saw how other students were just as driven and excited as I was to conduct research, create a lecture, and present it to their peers,” she said. “Braves Discovery Day is a lot of hard work, but the payoff is worth it. It is such a great opportunity to be able to present your work to your peers in a professional environment. This event gives OU students the opportunity to connect to their community and provide perspective, not only on their research, but also on themselves as the presenter.”

The other academic presentations and displays on Discovery Day included:

• Nutritional Knowledge of Collegiate Student-Athletes and Non-Athletes at a Small NAIA University – Presentation and Poster by Staci Bond and Ben Pope
• Nutritional Knowledge of Collegiate Sport Coaches at a Small NAIA University - Presentation and Poster by Chrissy Dudley, Lily Meyer and Shelby Bearden
• My Comic – Display by Skylar Alley
• Comfortable Fiber: Exploring Neurodiverse Fashion – Display by Norah Langston
• Go Cry About It – Presentation and Display by Ellise Romine
• Brushstrokes of Healing: Navigating Emotions through Landscape Art and Art Therapy – Presentation and Display by Allison Witt
• Effectiveness of Fluoride Treatments at Preventing Cavities in Artificial Saliva and Decay Solutions – Presentation by Rees Robinson
• Effect of Sublethal Insecticide on Ant Survival and Tunnel Behavior

– Presentation and Poster by Hailee McKay

• Effects of Birth Control on Weight Gain and Body Temperature in Juvenile Female Rats – Presentation and Poster by Will Carroll
• Remembering Jerry Campbell: Poetic Ruminations – Presentation and

Performance by Cleo Feltner

• The Trump Card: A Rhetorical Analysis of the Modern-Day Right (Reich) – Presentation by Hannah Deware and Ryan Gentry
• Optimal Control Problem of Vaccination Strategy to Minimize Infection – Presentation by Patrick Burke
• Mathematical Model for Optimization of Solar Panel Placement for Maximum Energy Harvesting – Presentation by Savannah Holland
• Impact of Performance-Based Stress on Athlete Motivation – Presentation by Ciera Cory and Marko de sa Faria
• Educators Exploring Honduras – Presentation by Xavier Gaines and Katla Gardarsdottir
• Persuasive Analysis: Barbie is Me and I am Barbie – Presentation by Macey Morris
• Operation Save the Runt: A Persuasive Communication Example - Presentation by Riley Smith
• Analysis of Persuasive Communication: Picking the Right Company – Presentation by Carson Towey
• Persuasive Communication Analysis: How I Got My Parents to Let Me Achieve My Dream – Presentation by Estela Ladron de Cegama Santafe

Following the morning of academic presentations, the presenters, their professors, Discovery Day organizers, and respondents were treated to a luncheon in the Hasty Conference Room of the Gangwish Library, along with an address by alumnus Dr. Shailendra “Raj” Selvaraj ’17. Selvaraj was introduced by co-organizer Dr. Steven Boese, who is the OUKS Chair of the Math and Natural Sciences Division and Professor of Biology.

Selvaraj spurred on the students to continued research and academic growth by sharing wisdom he has gained through his accomplishments both as a student and in his career as a pharmacist. While at the University of Nebraska Medical College, Raj created the “Project Rural Outreach Patient Education” and co-founded the Omaha Hand Sanitizer Organization, which served the Nebraska community during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and for which he was presented the Student Impact Award. He went on to earn his doctorate and complete a PGY-1 Fellowship in Executive Leadership and Association Management. His career has encompassed being a long-term care pharmacist with the Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital; work with Walgreen’s Specialty Care and advanced health practice initiatives for HIV, organ transplant, cancer and other unique health care conditions; and serving as the Executive Fellow at the Nebraska Pharmacy Association.

Hazucha closed out the luncheon with some final comments, though he perhaps summarized the day best before it even started: “Today we get to witness the fruits of [these students’] intellectual labor, and in seeing their creative and scholarly work come to fruition, we draw inspiration from them as they model the life that often lies buried as we marvel at other things: the shooting prowess of Caitlin Clark, the sweet swing of Shohei Ohtani, the dribbling magic of Lionel Messi.  No offense to Clark, Ohtani, and Messi, but today we get to witness their counterparts in the intellectual arena: 27 students at ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ presenting their original work.”

EMBA a Favorite Among International Students

Mesta-Garcia Sees Career Bump through Program

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ’s EMBA (Executive Master of Business Administration) degree has become a favorite among international students, with nearly 300 enrolled across the University’s Arizona, Kansas and Wisconsin campuses. Designed to provide a business immersion experience, the EMBA gives students the opportunity to both work and study in the U.S. through the Curricular Practical Training (CPT) consortium, which provides temporary authorization to gain employment training or to work in paid internships while earning a degree from a U.S. college or university. This also allows international students to keep their status active with the possibility of gaining a work visa in the future.

Students choose from four concentrations in the Executive MBA (Business Data Analytics, Health Care Management, Information Technology, Operational Effectiveness) and enjoy a format that fits easily into their work schedule. Coursework credits are earned through core courses, concentration courses, as well as a capstone course. The core and capstone courses each require a practicum (work experience) of a minimum of 5 hours per week each 16-week semester in order to earn the executive practicum credits. This means the practicum requirements are completed throughout the duration of the two-year program.

Emma Mesta-Garcia is currently enrolled in the EMBA on OU’s Overland Park, KS campus. Originally from Torrdon, Mexico, she attended high school at Montverde Academy in Florida and trained at the Gary Gilchrist Golf Academy before earning a full golf scholarship to the University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley. Over her four years there, she played every single tournament, winning once and placing in the top five on multiple occasions. After earning her bachelor’s degree in business administration, Mesta-Garcia completed one year of Optional Practical Training (OPT), which the government allows any international student to do following a degree earned in the U.S.

Once that year was up and a golf career seemed unlikely to materialize, she began to focus on her future and changed course to pursue her MBA at NW Missouri State University (NWMSU) in Maryville. While at NWMSU, Mesta-Garcia served as a graduate assistant coach for the women’s golf team. “That was a very fulfilling time in my life,” said Mesta-Garcia. “I wasn’t playing, but I got to help mold other players and help shape them into better people. It was wonderful to see them grow throughout their time at school.”

Another year of OPT in medical sales followed her MBA degree, but Mesta-Garcia was soon faced with giving up all she had accomplished and worked so hard for when she didn’t get a lottery-based H1B visa to remain in the U.S. “I have built so much of my career in the U.S., so leaving felt like I would have to start all over again. That’s when I started exploring my options for continuing my education and working at the same time. I was so grateful when I came across OU’s EMBA program. After I learned how it works, I realized I could continue my job while pursuing my next level of education.”  Mesta-Garcia entered the program in July of 2023.

“Emma is incredibly intelligent and disciplined,” said Mesta-Garcia’s academic advisor Ivan Damnianovic. “She has been motivated, curious, and dedicated to learning new concepts. She also manages her time effectively and prioritizes her academics. She is a great student who respects everyone, takes responsibility for her education, and continues to strive to improve herself professionally and personally.”

Mesta-Garcia shared that her drive to work so hard comes from her family. “They have sacrificed so much for me my whole life to make sure I have everything I need to succeed. So, I want to make them proud so they know how grateful I am for all they have given me.”

Not only has Mesta-Garcia proven to be a superior student, but she has also thrived in the largely international cohort model EMBA program. The learning model involves a contact weekend for each course students are enrolled in. These weekends are immersion style classes conducted over Friday, Saturday and Sunday every 8 weeks. In addition to instruction, the model allows students to develop professional relationships and networking opportunities with peers from around the world as they take their core business classes with the same group of students and work together on a variety of projects and presentations during the contact weekend.

“I feel like we can all relate because we are in this program knowing that it’s giving us an opportunity to leverage our careers while also providing a chance to work in the U.S.  It’s easy to bond with everyone because, even though we are from different countries and have unique stories, our career, education and status situations are similar.”

Mesta-Garcia has also appreciated the smaller class sizes at OUKS and the personal attention from her professors. “I am an Excel wizard,” she intimated. “I learned at a very young age and I love it. Sifting through data is so cool and fulfilling to me, which is why I love the classes that let me use that skill, like data analysis. I have especially enjoyed Professor [Charles] Neal, my Financial Modeling teacher. It was my first 1o1 course, but he was very caring and made sure I understood everything as we went through the chapters. He gave great advice and real-life working scenarios. I definitely consider him one of my mentors.”

All of Mesta-Garcia’s hard work is paying off, as she recently started a new job that she feels is more in line with her career aspirations. DEEL is a global human resources platform that equips businesses with the tools, features, and guidance they need in a single platform to eliminate hiring and management borders. She will use the same drive and discipline she exhibits in her studies and previous job, as well as her bilingual skills, to help companies in the U.S. find competitive talent from around the world to fill their employee needs.

Scheduled to graduate in the summer of 2025, Mesta-Garcia would love to earn a second EMBA concentration in leadership and maybe enroll in OU’s new Doctor of Business Administration program.

 

OU Professor Publishes New Book About Famous Environmental Writer

 

The world’s turned upside down. Famines and epidemics weaponize the nation’s deep religious and political divides, causing civil war. A military dictator seizes power and outlaws your church. Most of your friends either flee the country or go into hiding. How will you survive?

Trapped within such a nightmare in 1653, the English writer Izaak Walton took bold action: he went on a fishing trip and then published an account of his experience entitled The Compleat Angler.

As Dr. Marjorie Swann, Professor of English at OUKS, explains in her new book , Walton thus created one of the most important and influential works ever written about humanity’s relationship to the natural world.

Over the centuries, generations of outdoors enthusiasts have made The Compleat Angler so successful that it now rivals the King James Bible as the most frequently republished book in the English language. But, Swann observes, “Most scholars have interpreted its grassroots popularity as the very reason they should ignore the Angler: they snobbishly assume a book about fishing that ordinary people read for fun can’t possibly be a great work of literature.” Swann’s new monograph is the first book-length scholarly analysis of the Angler to appear in nearly four decades.

Swann—who grew up fishing for perch and pike in Canada—has been fascinated by Walton’s book since she was a graduate student. Funded by a Commonwealth Scholarship, Swann earned her master’s and doctoral degrees at Oxford, where she specialized in English literature of the 1640s and 1650s—the period when civil war eradicated the British monarchy and the Anglican church.

“We now realize that climate change underpinned this tumult,” says Swann. “The Little Ice Age, a prolonged drop in annual temperatures accompanied by erratic and violent weather, hit England especially hard during Walton’s lifetime, catalyzing the hunger, disease, and social unrest that erupted into armed rebellion.”

A political and religious conservative, Izaak Walton was devastated by the outcome of the civil war. “Walton was a staunch royalist and devout member of the abolished Church of England,” Swann observes, “so when he wrote The Compleat Angler, the war had destroyed everything he had ever believed in.” Walton dealt with this trauma by immersing himself in the natural world to find a way to heal himself and his country.

The plot of Walton’s book seems straightforward. As Walton walks to his favorite fishing ground north of London, he meets a novice angler who happily accepts Walton’s offer of free angling lessons. Joining some other fisher-friends of Walton’s, the two men stay at a rural pub where each night the whole group eat fresh trout, sing songs, and drink lots of beer.

Although the torrential downpours of the Little Ice Age often interrupt their daytime angling, Walton uses these rain-delays to teach his pupil about the place of fish and fishermen in God’s beautiful, complex Creation. The newbie angler falls in love with fishing, and as the book ends, he and Walton plan their next adventure. Swann argues that in The Compleat Angler, Walton presents “a blueprint of how we can restore our politically and ecologically shattered world by establishing a new kind of sustaining—and sustainable—society rooted in people’s shared experience and stewardship of the natural environment.”

Walton was a prosperous small businessman. But he fervently believed that the uncontrolled exploitation of nature—and thus the unchecked pursuit of profits—both violated God’s commands and jeopardized all the inhabitants, human and non-human, of the Earth. “Walton’s vehement demands for conservation and governmental regulation of our use of natural resources are amazingly modern and continue to inspire environmentalists around the world,” Swann notes.

Earlier in her career, Swann published and multiple articles about other seventeenth- century English authors. But like the novice fisherman in the Angler, she’s now a permanent member of  Walton’s fan club. In 2014, Swann published . “Hundreds of editions of the Angler have appeared since 1653, but mine is the first to focus on Walton’s environmentalism,” says Swann. “I develop the ideas that shape the introduction and notes of my edition in much more detail in my new book.”

Swann’s work on Walton is not yet “compleat,” however. “Each time I read the Angler, I end up with a long list of new questions about it,” Swann laughs. And she finds her research more compelling than ever. “Over the years I’ve been going steady with Walton, The Compleat Angler has become even more relevant to life in twenty-first-century America,” Swann reflects, “and I take comfort from Walton’s inspiring example that we can survive the double whammy of civil strife and environmental crisis.”  

Preparing for Real Life

OUAZ Students Learn Life Skills through PGD Workshops

When OUAZ opened its doors to students in the fall of 2017, it was a priority from day one to set students up for not only career success, but also for life success. To help achieve that goal, the campus implemented Personal Growth Days (PGD) that require students to complete workshops that provide them with work-ready and life-ready skills that they would not necessarily learn in their regular college classes.

These Beyond Classroom Learning (BCL) courses are part of students’ graduation requirements. Every three PGD workshops the students complete meets the criteria for one BCL course. So, students must complete three PGD workshops for every BCL credit they need to graduate, which could vary depending on their status.

Each semester there are between 10 and 15 workshops to choose from. The workshops run for two weeks on Wednesday afternoons from 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm, with multiple workshop sessions throughout the semester to accommodate schedules. Students may attend extra workshop sessions to make up for workshops missed in prior terms or to earn credit toward future semesters.

Workshop topics are chosen by Campus President Dr. Dennis Tyner and Assistant Dean for Academic Operations Carrie Philippon, sometimes on the recommendation of students and staff.  Presenters are then identified from the OUAZ faculty/staff, or from within the Surprise community. The three categories of offerings include Adulting and Life Skills, Career Development & Professional Knowledge, and General Interest & Personal Development.

The 2024 spring semester is serving up some interesting options that allow students to get hands-on experience and engage in topics highly relevant to their education and future careers.

Adulting and Life Skills

In this category, engineering and mathematics adjunct professor Jack McMorris is presenting “Basic Home Electricity,” a hands-on workshop that allows students to gain a better conceptual and visual understanding of home electricity essentials such as switches, sockets, and wiring. “All of us, at some point, have experienced electrical issues within our home, such as light switches not working properly or light bulbs needing replacement,” explained McMorris. “It can be very useful to understand how to rectify these issues rather than pay someone to assist. In addition, many people are curious as to how home electricity works in our everyday appliances. How do we get electricity from the energy companies? How do switches work? What is power? Our workshop aims to clear up some of these queries.” 

Also in this category is “Sewing 101,” presented by Kristin Steele, OUAZ head volleyball coach and grandmother of nine who has been sewing and making quilts for 20 years. This workshop was first offered in the spring of 2023 and was brought back by popular demand. In the first week, students learn a basic running stitch and how to sew with both thread and fibers by making a little pouch for coins or other items.  In week two, sewing machines are introduced, with students learning the machine basics. Students make either a pillow or a simple quilt block. Steele covers others basics, as well, such as how to sew on a button, repair a seam, hem a pair of pants, and backstitch for monogramming. When asked what made her a sewing expert, Steele replied, “If the grandma part didn’t make me an expert, I also sewed masks during the pandemic . . . that certainly did!” 

Other spring Adulting and Life Skills workshops include “Automotive Maintenance,” which covers everyday skills to maintain, repair, and improve your vehicle, as well as “First Aid CPR AED,” which trains participants to provide first aid and CPR and use an automated external defibrillator (AED).

Career Development & Professional Knowledge

AI (artificial intelligence) is much in the news these days, and ChatGPT is one component particularly relevant to college students. That’s why a workshop titled “A Conversation about ChatGPT: Friend or Foe” is being offered this spring. Co-taught by Associate Professor of Psychology Dr. Patricia Marsh and Associate Professor of English Dr. Lauren Curtright, the workshop covers debates and policies about the uses and abuses of ChatGPT and allows students to experiment with and discuss generating content with the technology.

Marsh applies her extensive experience grading academic papers in psychology courses, along with several AI screening tools, to evaluate college-level writing when fabrications are suspected in students’ work. She explains the importance of having a handle on this new technology. “Understanding which contexts are more open and accepting of AI-generated content vs. those that prohibit it is important, not just in the classroom but also within various applied settings, such as sports, health, careers, entertainment, and politics.”

Curtright concurs. “Teaching college-level writing for more than two decades, I’ve helped students to understand and avoid plagiarism, as well as to use guides and tools for documenting sources, developing ideas, complexifying diction and syntax, and correcting errors. Since the recent release of ChatGPT, I’ve participated in discussions with colleagues on both incorporating and limiting this tool within writing instruction to meet English course objectives.”

Both presenters believe giving students an opportunity to voice their understanding, knowledge, and thoughts on ChatGPT through the workshop is a key component to its ethical use.

“Life’s Little Advices” is a first for the PGD workshop lineup. Admissions Advisor to Athletics Will Thompson is the presenter, who draws from his own life’s experiences and mistakes to provide advice to help students navigate some of life’s challenges. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, and as an executive chef in the hospitality industry, I was frequently asked about advice on many issues,” he shared. “But most people don’t listen to advice given if it’s not asked for. This workshop allows students to hear advice not only from faculty and staff, but also from their peers.”

In previous semesters, Thompson has taught the very popular “Basics of Cooking” workshop, which covers knife skills, cooking chicken properly, making a one pot meal, and cooking eggs a few different ways.

Other spring workshops in this category include “FREE MONEY! FREE MONEY!”, which explores outside scholarships, how they work, and how to get them, and “Skills Needed to Land a Job,” where students explore various skills that will give them the best chance of gaining employment.

General Interest & Personal Development

None of us operates in a void. Instead, we utilize our practical skills in the context of greater meaning, purpose, and social engagement. In this category, students are able to explore issues that help them integrate life skills with personal growth and development. This spring, they have the following workshops to choose from:

“Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” – Students discuss the definition of DEI, its purpose, and how they can have unity in light of diversity at OUAZ.

“Enlightened Faith” – Students explore the relationship between faith and reason, as well as the reasons they have for their faith.

“Expressive Art” – Students explore and embrace the process of creating through self-expression through various artistic mediums such as sketching, pen/ink, watercolor/acrylic painting and sculpture.

“Mindfulness, Meditation and Centered Prayer” –This workshop teaches methods for slowing things down, learning to focus to reduce anxiety, and deepening students’ relationship with Jesus Christ.

“Self Defense” – Students learn effective techniques for self-defense, fitness and awareness using Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ).

“The Personal Growth Day idea is very effective because not only does it teach the students new skills, but it also addresses a gap that we are seeing in industry,” suggested McMorris. “Many students leave school with a degree but often lack confidence in the soft skills, such as time management, presentation skills, communication skills, Microsoft office skills, or smart dress vs casual dress. Practical experience and skills are also missing. These workshops allow students to become more well-rounded and ready for their chosen career.” 

PPEfest Draws Prospective Students

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ’s Gwartney Institute hosted its third annual Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) fest on Friday, November 17. The event is made possible through a grant from the Menard Family and is designed to draw prospective students from high schools across the country. The event allows students to participate in an economics-related video game competition as well as interactive philosophy discussion involving thought experiments in both ethics and politics. Students are also introduced to a variety of economics concepts and get to spend time with Drs. Russ McCullough, Justin Clarke, and Peter Jacobsen, the Institute’s faculty.

The high school attendees came away with new knowledge, a positive experience, and potentially a college major. Ottawa High School (OHS) student Addison White said, “This was a great experience! I learned so much about economics! I loved debating with the philosophy professor. Thank you!”

OHS student Allie Dillon expanded on that sentiment. “My experience was great, and Dr. Fike [the keynote presenter] was an amazing speaker! I have been considering OU as a possible school for my post-secondary plans and specifically their PPE program. I am hoping to go into law, and I think this program sounds amazing and extremely interesting! I had a great time at this event and on campus today!”

Another local student said, “I swear my head grew three times bigger!” while Nicholas Kuehl from Fargo, ND, commented, “I thought it was a very interesting experience. Seeing the connections between philosophy, politics, and economics was a great time."

This year’s event closed out with a dinner and keynote speaker in the Schendel Conference Center, which was also attended by OU business students. The speaker was Dr. Rosemarie Fike, a former student of the Institute’s namesake, OU alumnus and renowned economist Dr. James Gwartney. She spoke on “Economic Freedom and Women’s Wellbeing.”  Fike is an instructor of economics at Texas Christian University and a senior fellow of the Fraser Institute. Her current research focuses on understanding the effects that different types of economic institutions have on the lives and status of women.

Each of the 32 high school participants left with a $50 honorarium for attending, along with a copy of Dr. Gwartney’s book, Common Sense Economics. Anyone choosing to enroll in OU’s PPE degree program as a result of the event will also receive a 50% tuition scholarship.

The Gwartney Institute was founded in January of 2018 as part of the Angell Snyder School of Business. Its namesake, Dr. James Gwartney, exemplifies the Institute’s principles and beliefs for creating a unique scholarly environment that expands people’s knowledge of economic freedom, justice and flourishing. Its goal is to open the minds of students and others to enhanced critical thinking while providing opportunities for personal growth. 

The Gwartney Institute offers a variety of opportunities for students to enhance their learning in the area of economics, including a Faith & Economics Podcast hosted by economics professors Dr. Russ McCullough and Dr. Peter Jacobsen, along with philosophy professor Dr. Justin Clarke. Other regular offerings include a book club; an annual day-long colloquium to discuss readings on a given topic; business-related game and movie events; the Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) League with inter-university competitions; PPEfest for high school students; sponsored academic trips to countries like India, Guatemala, and Australia; a Humanomics event at Creighton University; and a days-long economics trip and workshop at the Vermont home of economist Milton Friedman.

To date, the Gwartney Institute has held more than 30 events with over 500 participants, taught more than 5,000 students, published 15+ professional articles, and recorded more than 220 .

Revived International MBA-IT Program Underway

The Angell-Snyder School of Business has revived its international MBA-IT program at ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ’s Overland Park campus with seven students from India. Currently in their first term, the adult students were attracted to the program because of its 14-month completion time, its in-person instruction, and the fact that it is STEM eligible – a 50/50 mix of six business foundation courses and six IT courses. The traditional MBA + concentration program includes eight MBA and four concentration courses.

The India students are all working adults who took a break from their jobs to come to the U.S. to earn their MBA-IT degree. The program uses a cohort model, with the students staying together as a group throughout the degree program, which includes 3.5 hours of in-person instruction per week for each course. Students then meet outside of class to study and collaborate on projects.

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ partnered with One Window Overseas Education, a recruiting agency, to find candidates for the program. While the OU international department worked to vet the student applicants, secure visas and help them through the enrollment process, the students were responsible for their own housing, transportation, and everyday provisions once they arrived. Kelli Anderson, who is the senior marketing manager of OU Online, has been the point person for the students throughout the vetting, enrollment and cohort process, handling all of the details for getting the program off the ground and addressing the students’ needs.

“The students are very bright, kind individuals, and we love having them on campus,” said Anderson. “I believe that they are enjoying their experience thus far, and we look forward to growing this community of students in the future.”

Dr. Marylou DeWald, dean of the Angell Snyder School of Business, concurred. “It is exciting to begin rebuilding a contingent of students that come to our Overland Park campus on a regular basis,” she said. “This is just the beginning of a concerted effort to grow our on-ground student base at OU’s adult campuses.” The vision for the MBA-IT program is to diversify recruitment efforts beyond India and connect with recruiting partners in places like Nepal, Vietnam, and Bangladesh. 

DeWald was instrumental in developing the original MBA-IT program in 2014, along with Jaime Fuentes, assistant professor of management information systems and founder of OU’s Information Sciences and Technology Institute (ISTI). Refreshing the program to be STEM eligible, tapping OU’s veteran business professors, and adding the robust adjunct IT faculty that Fuentes has aggregated has significantly added to the professionalism and credibility of the program. “Because we have this Institute and the contingent of adjunct faculty with real-world expertise in the IT field, we are able to offer this program at the caliber and level we see currently,” said DeWald. “Graduates will be equipped to lead within the challenging and ever-changing world of IT management right out of the classroom.”

Drawing from his work in developing OU’s EMBA program, Fuentes spoke to the similar learning model of the MBA-IT. “The cohort learning model fosters genuine relationships, rich discussions, and meaningful collaborations,” he said. “I am continually amazed by the students’ unwavering commitment to their graduate work. Their dedication is a testament to the program's ability to inspire and challenge.”

Sitnah Joe Sheeba Garapati and Syed Sufyan Zama are two of the students enrolled in the revived MBA-IT program who exemplify what Fuentes described. Both are in the U.S. for the first time. 

“We had just arrived in the US, complete novices on foreign soil,” intimated Sitnah. “But we were welcomed very warmly, reassured, told about the ways, food habits, great food places, how to get health insurance and driving license, and so on. At no point did we feel uncomfortable and no question was too obvious. All the staff were really appreciative, supportive and altogether wonderful.”

Both students chose ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ because of the unique MBA-IT program. “I had done my bachelor's in civil engineering and had worked for Google,” said Syed. “I wanted to pursue a master’s program in computers. However, I am also extremely interested in business and management. Because of this, I felt like the MBA-IT was the way to go if I want to succeed in the future.”

Sitnah’s reasoning was similar. “I had done my bachelor's in electronics and computer engineering. I wanted to pursue a master’s program in computers, but, as I had already been working for the past eight years, I did not want to spend my time learning the same IT subjects that I was experienced in. So, naturally, an MBA felt like a step up, a way to ascend to the managerial level. At the same time, it had to be related to my area of expertise. So, an MBA in IT felt like the right fit.”

Syed and Sitnah have already noticed a difference in the teaching style of their OU courses. “We've been diving into this course called ‘Value Systems and Ethics’ taught by Dr. Dunn,” shared Syed. “Let me tell you, it's quite the departure from what we're used to back in India. There's a lot of DIY action involved, like assignments, class participation, and team stuff, but you know what? We're really soaking in the knowledge. The way this course is set up and run is pulling more out of us than we ever thought possible.”

Following completion of their MBA-IT degrees, both Sitnah and Syed plan to seek a U.S. business to sponsor a STEM Optional Practical Training (OPT) work program. The program consists of 12 months of OPT training followed by a STEM OPT extension of 24 months. This provides the students with relevant work experience that they can apply in their home countries when they return. Sitnah hopes to find a management job in IT and Syed plans to start a business.

Grow Your Own – Teachers!

Amid a widespread Arizona teacher shortage, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ, in conjunction with the Fowler /Cartwright School Districts, has created a unique education initiative that provides a pathway for school support staff to obtain a Bachelor of Arts in Education, along with an Arizona teaching certification. The stream-lined, cohort model has been dubbed the Grow Our Own Teacher Program.

The first cohort began in March 2022 and consists of instructional aids/paraprofessionals, custodians, administrative assistants, and long-term non-certified staff who are teaching in classrooms with emergency substitute licensing. All are first generation higher education students.

The new program was sparked in 2021 when then Academic Dean Frank Nainoa received calls from area school districts seeking OUAZ students to teach in their classrooms. Unfortunately, because they were not yet certified, he could not meet the request. That is when Dr. Marvene Lobato, superintendent for the Fowler School District, got involved. Familiar with many teachers who had come out of OU’s highly reputable education program, she reached out to Nainoa following a Greater Phoenix Educational Management Council (GPEMC) consortium of 60 superintendents who met to address the teacher shortage. She proposed creating a pathway for support staff to obtain a Bachelor of Arts in Education with certification. 

Intrigued, Nainoa and Assistant Education Professor Michelle Simpson consulted with several others to explore the concept, including OUAZ Campus President Dennis Tyner and Fowler Early Childhood Program Director Vincent Medina. All agreed that OU was the right institution to create this unique degree opportunity for Valley schools that are seeing rapid rises in enrollment and are comprised of students with a high eligibility rate for free and reduced lunches. “We understood the need, and what better way to support these schools than through this program?” said Simpson.

In addition to the distinction of providing a degree pathway for support staff, the program sets itself apart in many ways. For example, to provide cohort students with the tools they can immediately incorporate into the classroom, School of Education Dean Dr. Amy Hogan tailored the Grow Our Own Teacher Program to complete all education courses and student teaching up front, as opposed to the core breadth areas that are normally taken first. Another unique aspect of the program is delivering instruction onsite at the schools, complete with technology support and study groups.

Following the onsite courses, students move to online instruction to complete their degree while continuing to meet in their cohort. They can choose to finish their breadth area courses at a community college, if desired, though all current students have decided to stay at OU. Of the original 20 students, 11 remain in the pilot program, with four on track to graduate in December.  All four plan on pursuing their master’s degree with OU. The others will graduate in May or December of 2024, or May of 2025, depending on how many college courses they had completed before joining the cohort.

“We aren’t just delivering an education to one person,” added Simpson. “We are creating effective change within families and communities and breaking cycles of poverty. A couple of our students have high school-aged children at home that are now looking at college – something they never would have contemplated until they saw their parents in the process. That is incredibly exciting.”

The cohort is also having an unexpected impact on the schools the OUAZ cohort students serve. “One of the first observations a student made was that she was immediately implementing everything she had been taught into her own classes,” shared Simpson. “She noted that her students were happier, and her instruction and her classroom scores were improving. Suddenly, other teachers were asking where she got her ideas. So, our pilot program is expanding into a professional development experience, as well.” Another student, who had been a building custodian, has become an example to other teachers by setting up a scholarship for fourth and fifth grade low-income students who want to play soccer in area leagues and by tutoring students in the gym during his breaks.

According to Simpson, OU has been in touch with a number of additional districts who want to start their own Grow Our Own Teacher Program. A second cohort will begin in January 2024 with an estimated 30 students. While the program is currently only open to elementary education students, plans are in place for adding secondary certification in the near future.

Dr. Ruth Burkhart Appointed to Kansas Board of Nursing

The Kansas Governor’s Office of Appointments recently informed ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ’s Director of Nursing, Dr. Ruth Burkhart, of her appointment to the Kansas State Board of Nursing (KSBN) for a four-year term.

After being informed of the need for a new Board member with nursing education expertise, Burkhart applied and was appointed on April 5, 2023. She then completed an onsite orientation to better understand the operations of the Board, which consists of 11 members – eight nurses and three non-nurse public members.

Burkhart brings a wealth of expertise to the role. She holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree and has more than 15 years’ experience as a nurse educator. Her professional background includes psychiatric and community nursing, counseling, and health care administration, as well as staff development and education. Her experience in higher education includes a three-year college/university teaching assignment in East Africa, and undergraduate and graduate nursing faculty positions in the United States since 2007, previously at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, NM, and currently as Director of Nursing/Associate Professor of Nursing at ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ in Overland Park, KS. 

“It is an honor to serve in this capacity,” said Burkhart. “I believe my broad life, work, and prior public service experience will be useful to the discussion and decisions presented to KSBN during my appointment.”

That experience includes several professional appointments to local, state, national and international councils and coalitions, including a past appointment to the New Mexico Governor’s Mental Health Planning Council, a two-year appointment to the Council of an international university in East Africa, and a past White House appointment as Native American Representative to the Binational Substance Abuse Coalition (US/Mexico border).

Burkhart has extensive public speaking experience in the areas of mental health, substance abuse, and cultural competency. Her professional service includes being a faculty advisor of the Student Nurses Association, a Sigma Theta Tau and Pi Omega (international nursing honor society) board member, member of the American Nurses Association, member of the New Mexico Native American Indian Nursing Association (NMNAINA), past president of District 14 and state board member of the New Mexico Nurses Association, member of the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI), and co-founder and faculty advisor for NAMI on Campus New Mexico State University (NMSU). She was a recent participant in New Mexico’s health care reform initiative, Health System Innovation, and its regional implementation through the Dona Ana Wellness Institute.

Now as a member of the KSBN, Burkhart will bring her diverse knowledge and experience to bear on the duties of the role, which governs nursing licensure and safe nursing practice through regulatory oversight and action on behalf of the state Nurse Practice Act. The Kansas State Board of Nursing also takes disciplinary action for professional misconduct when needed. The of the KSBN is to “assure the citizens of Kansas safe and competent practice by nurses and mental health technicians.”

The full Board meets quarterly in Topeka, KS, to review, recommend, and then make decisions on issues which cover the scope of the board’s functions. Various committees extend the work of the Board beyond the quarterly meetings. Burkhart has been appointed to the Education Committee, whose focus and function is regulatory compliance review and decision-making for nursing education and mental health technician programs in Kansas.

Burkhart’s appointment to the KSBN provides a new level of outreach for ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ’s highly respected nursing program. “As the Director of Nursing for OU Nursing, my understanding of the various functions of KSBN, the Kansas Nurse Practice Act, and regulatory compliance has already been strengthened,” shared Burkhart. “With the new BSN prelicensure program launch just ahead in January 2024, networking across a broad domain for sharing of information is viewed as a plus for OU.”

The Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) prelicensure program is designed for individuals seeking to become a registered nurse (RN). The program includes Skills and Simulation labs that provide opportunities for the development of nursing knowledge and skills through hands-on learning experiences under clinical faculty guidance and supervision. OU also has agreements with a number of esteemed health care organizations to provide students with clinical experiences. Upon completion of the pre-licensure program, students are awarded a BSN and become eligible to sit for the NCLEX-RN.

China MBA Cohort Visits OUAZ Campus

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ in Surprise, AZ (OUAZ) recently saw the completion of its first ever China cohort MBA program, culminating in 29 of the 140 Chinese students visiting the campus in June to complete their capstone course face to face. 

The program is a partnership between OUAZ, Cerwise Education in China and ZCo Global Partner Solutions in Washington, D.C. It provides ambitious, working professionals with access to quality education and brings solutions to companies wishing to increase agility and ability in their workforce teams with a Master of Business Administration degree.

The learners, who are usually working adults aged mid-20s to 50s, go through a rigorous acceptance process: 3.0 minimum GPA, ELAT test for English proficiency, successful completion of Level 7 business courses, MBA math courses, interviews, CVs, and more. Once enrolled, the mainland China students receive the flexibility and personalized support they need to complete the program, which is conducted online. Courses are taught by OU, OUAZ or adjunct faculty, with additional Zoom sessions during weeks one and seven.

The capstone course is a residency program which requires the students to come to OUAZ, if possible, to finish the class in person. The 29 students who received visas for this maiden program came to the Surprise campus for the month of June. The remaining 111 students completed the capstone fully online. The 140 students were divided into four cohorts, with cohort one starting in Spring 1 2022 and finishing their final class June 25, 2023.

“Part of our vision is to support ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ’s value proposition around the world, and this program is a unique model that allows us to serve hundreds of students both online and in-class,” said Dr. Brian Sandusky, chief enrollment officer for OUAZ. “The first group of Chinese students was highly motivated to earn their MBA with us.

“Their experience on campus in the classroom and especially their experience outside of the classroom while in Surprise, Arizona, expanded their knowledge while with us, “ related Dr. Sandusky.  “For example, they toured the Grand Canyon, met with the Mayor of Surprise and other city officials. They also toured Surprise Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals’ and the Texas Rangers’ spring training facilities. In addition, they toured business facilities and met with business leaders throughout the Phoenix area that directly related to the learning and course content that they experienced in the classroom, which added even more value to their program.”

The on-campus experience in June was a success, as all the students truly enjoyed the American style of teaching and learning. Many said the experience changed their lives. For the Chinese students, receiving an MBA from an American university was a major step towards reaching their professional and personal goals.

Dr. Kayong Holston, who taught the course Emotional Intelligence in Workplace, noted that the students upheld a high value of attendance and high level of critical thinking skills. “I enjoyed the overall learning attitude, she said. “The students demonstrated genuine curiosity, they were eager to learn, respectful and full of self-determination. I believe this is a good opportunity for students to experience the American graduate level classroom.”

Holston also related, “They were very happy to come and see the school, the city, and to enjoy activities with the locals, including playing pickleball for the first time. They were very proud to use some English, and many have registered to learn English after returning home to China. Some are already interested in our DBA program.”

First DBA Students Share Positive Experiences

The first ever doctoral program in ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ history launched in October 2022. The Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) combines precise scholarship and real-world practice to guide students as they pursue advancement in their careers in management, leadership and consulting. Students at differing stages of their careers are already benefiting from this cohort-based program.

Jacob Maichel

Jacob Maichel completed his undergraduate years with a double major in Business Economics and Business Administration while playing for the OUKS men's soccer team. He went on to complete his MBA in 2020 with a concentration in finance. During that time, he was a graduate assistant for the Gwartney Institute, an economic research institute at ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ which is focused on human flourishing and economic freedom. “As a GA for the Institute under Dr. Russ McCullough, I was able to travel for economic conferences, do economic writing, do some student teaching, and have discussions with some great minds which were very transformative, both academically and personally,” he shared.

Currently living back in his hometown of Topeka, KS, Maichel called Ottawa home for six years. The biggest draw of the DBA program for him was the ability to do it at OU. “I have great relationships with some of the faculty whom I deeply respect,” he said. “Ultimately, I want to publish, both before and after completion of the program. The faculty at Ottawa provides a great resource, given my research interests, and it makes sense for me. Further, it has allowed me to pursue a doctoral degree without having to be either a) online or b) far from home. It was a perfect combination of convenience and program fit.”

The program has also given him an opportunity to teach in Ottawa’s MBA program, which he says “is a blast!”

Maichel was impressed with the first residency weekend in October 2022 on Qualitative Research Methodologies. “I am very much a quantitative person, but the text, supplemental materials, and exercises provided by Dr. Peter Jacobsen really helped me wrap my mind around qualitative research in a more fulsome manner,” he explained. His proposed research is focused on the Federal Reserve interest rate policy on Commercial Real Estate (CRE) market cycles. He is also working on his Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation.

Paul Nowlin

DBA student Paul Nowlin, who hails from Juneau, Alaska, received his bachelor’s degree and his MBA in Business Analytics from ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ. As an Ottawa tribal student, his tuition was covered through the education agreement OU holds with the Ottawa tribe. So, when he found out OU was starting the doctorate program he felt, ”..it made sense to continue to grow there.”

Nowlin works full-time as a business analyst for an east coast company and previously worked on a five-year project for the state of Alaska, which saves the state millions of dollars each year.

Nowlin described the first residency weekend in October 2022, taught by Dr. Jacobsen: “I went into it a little bit nervous, not knowing fully what I had signed up for, and a little bit excited about the unknown adventure ahead of me. Dr. Jacobsen made us all feel welcomed, and walked us through everything, although he did give us a three-hour test our first day of residency, which my cohort and I still joke about. That first residency gave me confidence that I was in the correct degree program.

“I am not sure how to describe the amount of knowledge absorbed during this course. It was intense. We basically learned enough to perform the research for a qualitative paper from scratch.  Dr. Jacobsen gives so much of his time and energy…he is an amazing resource.”

Jamie Fields

After working in many diverse areas of the business world, staff member Jamie Fields's career path eventually led to the job she loves at ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ. Originally from Missouri, she moved to the Kansas City area in 2006. Fields has been with OU for five years, the past three as director of student services and academic advising.

“After completing my master’s degree and moving into the world of higher education, earning a doctorate became a goal of mine,” Fields explained. “However, I did not want to earn the degree to just earn the degree – I wanted to find a doctoral program that was the right fit for my career path. When Dr. DeWald, dean of the Angell Snyder School of Business, shared the news of the DBA program with its emphasis on strategy and organizational development, it really felt as though it was the program I’d been looking for, at the institution where I work, and the timing seemed right for my family. It is a great opportunity to expand my education while developing relationships across campuses at OU.”

Fields is grateful for the support of her husband, children (now ages four and six), parents, extended family, and friends in her degree pursuit.

“My son started kindergarten last August, and I started the DBA in October, so it was a year of big changes for us,” she said. “I definitely involved my family in the decision to pursue the degree, and the kids have been very supportive with reminders to ‘get your homework done so you don’t make your teacher mad.’”

Having attended three onsite residency weekends so far, Fields shared, “While they are challenging and exhausting, they are also fulfilling. The cohort-based model has been a big factor in creating a strong bond with classmates, which helps provide additional support along the way. It sounds cheesy, but after that first weekend and throughout the first course, I felt like I had unlocked an area of my brain I didn’t know existed. It opened my eyes to the untapped potential to challenge my ways of thinking.”

Fields believes the DBA program will help her in a variety of ways. “The program will allow me to gain a better understanding of retention theories while finding ways to use other research studies to evaluate our current advising practices to improve retention and graduation rates at OU,” she said. “Implementing efficient business practices can be a way to enhance the student experience through communication and adequate process improvement. My experience in the DBA feels limitless as to how it can make positive influences to my current role, and hopefully future opportunities, at OU.”

In expressing her appreciation for the DBA program, Fields expounded: “I am really grateful that being a DBA student has become part of my OU story. I am thankful for the support of my colleagues and for the opportunity to learn from, and collaborate with, others at the OUKS campus. Dr. Jacobsen and his colleagues are building a strong DBA program, and I am proud to be a part of the first cohort.”

 

Mixing Business with Pleasure in Australia

Students Culminate Course with International Travel Experience

For two weeks in May, students from both OUAZ and OUKS who were enrolled in the Cross Cultural Issues in International Business course were given the opportunity to travel to Australia, where they visited Adelaide, Cairns, Uluru, and Sydney. Not only did students learn about Aboriginal culture, they also experienced land ranging from the red dusty Outback to the rainforest; saw koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, echidnas, kookaburras, and giant clams; and enjoyed snorkeling and scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef.

Accompanying the 16 students on the trip were Dr. Marylou DeWald, Dean of International Programs and Dean of the Angell Snyder School of Business; Lyn Wagner, Associate Professor of Accounting; Dr. Joann Bangs, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs; and Wynndee Lee, Director of Major Gifts.

As liaison for OUAZ from Advancement, Lee played a role in getting students interested in the trip, as well as in securing funds to offset some of the costs. When she heard that no OUAZ students had responded about the course and trip, she personally hosted a meeting on campus to promote the experience, which resulted in six student registrations. “After telling them the cost, however, we realized that funds were not readily available in Arizona like there are in Kansas, so board member Pam Woodward ’70 OUKS, a big supporter of OU student travel, willingly stepped in to close the financial gap for the OUAZ students, bringing their cost to just $2,500.”

Many OUKS students were able to make the trip due to the Campbell Scholarship Fund and the work of OUKS President Dr. Reggies Wenyika, who raised additional funds to discount Ottawa students’ costs by about $1,000. “The students were so grateful for all of the donations to make this trip possible,” said Lee.  

The trip to Australia provided a number of firsts for OUKS weightlifter Tyler Barrett, who had never been out of the U.S., nor had he ever flown in an airplane. “This trip was exciting for me because it had been my dream to travel the world since I was a kid. This was the first step to that dream,” he shared. When asked what his favorite part of the trip was, he responded, “Probably camping in the Outback and meeting all different kinds of people. I also got to meet a bunch of the Arizona students and spend time with them, which I would’ve never been able to do otherwise,” he said.

International student Estela Ladron De Cegama is from Spain and plays volleyball at OUKS. She had always dreamed of visiting Australia and was thrilled that the opportunity came so early. Recounting what stood out for her on the trip, she shared, “What shocked me the most [from a business perspective] was the fact that we didn’t have to tip at any restaurant we went to,” she said. “Getting the chance to get to know a different culture was very enriching. My favorite experience of this trip was going to Kangaroo Island. It’s an island in Adelaide where the animals rule the island. The people that live there respect them so much, and it was amazing seeing how much care they took of them. Also, The Great Barrier Reef completely achieved my expectations; it’s something everyone should do.”

Because international travel was not new to her, Ladron De Cegama was able to help some of the other students navigate the ins and outs of the trip. “Some of the students that had never travelled asked me airport questions and shared their long-flight doubts because they knew I do that at least twice a year,” she explained.

OUAZ student Koryn Marquez took the Australia trip with two of her best friends in culmination of their bachelor’s degrees. She especially appreciated seeing the city of Sydney. “Being able to see the history behind the city and being able to see the Opera House up close was a lot of fun,” said Marquez. She also appreciated the friendships that she formed. “I created a lot of relationships with the other students that attended the trip, both from Kansas and Arizona,” she shared. “We all had a mutual bond of being from the same university but from different states. We loved to talk about it, and we had lots of fun during our free days exploring the cities.” Marquez is transitioning to OUKS in the fall to earn her master’s degree and join the women’s bowling team.

The goal of the Cross-Cultural Issues in International Business course was to explore Australia in terms of its culture and the impact it has on business, especially in comparison or contrast to the U.S. Students were required to complete four papers or presentations to demonstrate what they learned. The first was a comparison/contrast paper outlining what they thought they knew about Australia in areas such as history, art, geography, sports, entertainment, science, politics, etc., and how they perceived them to be the same as or different from the United States.

The second paper required students to research a cultural area of their choice from their first paper and provide actual facts about Australia, which they shared with the class. They were to dispel any misconceptions they had and note actual similarities or differences to the U.S. The third paper expanded the class’s ongoing conversation to demonstrate the relationship of the cultural area they had chosen to the Australian business culture, historically and currently, and how that is similar or dissimilar to the U.S. Finally, students reflected on what they learned, either by keeping a daily journey of their trip experience or by writing a personal narrative that described what they discovered, both about the Australian culture and about themselves over the course of the class and the trip.

Of course, the students weren’t the only ones who learned and benefited from the trip. Lee was extremely grateful to accompany the students to Australia. “For me personally, this was a dream come true,” said Lee. “I was able to see amazing sights, from wild animals to reef life, from Sydney to the Outback, as well as eat fabulous food. Plus, this group was fabulous to travel with! I am proud of these students and their willingness to push their own boundaries, set aside fears like of the ocean or swimming even, and participate in everything.” 

Bangs also appreciated the opportunity. “The best part was seeing the students embracing the experience,” said Bangs. “I think our future marine biologist, Lindi, had the best day of her life when we snorkeled at the Great Barrier Reef. A few brave students tried tasting a green ant while in the Daintree Rainforest. They told me it had a citrus taste, and I happily took their word for it!”

The Australia trip continues a proud tradition of international travel at ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ. Anyone interested in helping future students with the cost of educational travel is encouraged to give to the Campbell Scholarship and the International Travel Fund, or make designated gifts for OUAZ travel. Contact Wynndee Lee at wynndee.lee@ottawa.edu for more information.

MAC Adds Hybrid Program in OU-Kansas City

The Master of Arts in Counseling (MAC) program has been a part of ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ for approximately 30 years on the Arizona campus, where Dr. Jeff Thomas is the chair of the counseling program.

The University recently expanded the MAC program by offering it in person at the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ-Kansas City (Overland Park) campus, where Dr. Bambi Burgard teaches evening courses. Burgard has been in higher education for 22 years as an instructor and administrator.

“There is an increasing demand for mental health services, and the number of employment opportunities for professional counselors is expected to grow by more than 20 percent over the next eight years,” explained Dr. Burgard. “The MAC program will prepare helping professionals to serve their communities at a time of great need.”

The program lays the groundwork for graduates to apply for licensure as a professional counselor in Kansas. For those living in Kansas or those who plan to practice in Kansas, the state requirements for becoming a licensed professional counselor (LPC) or licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC) are similar to other states. A minimum of a master’s degree in counseling and a minimum of 60 graduate semester hours from an accredited school are required for securing a counseling license in Kansas.

Earning an MAC in Kansas is unique, however, and provides a distinct advantage because it allows half of the MAC degree courses to be completed online. This can be a huge benefit to working adults who dream of becoming a licensed professional counselor.

OU-Kansas City’s MAC is a hybrid degree program which includes 39 credit hours of core classes, 15 credit hours of concentration/elective courses and nine credit hours of field placement experience that prepare students to apply for licensure. The field-placement component is completed in eight terms, which gives students a total of 900 client contact hours. During the field experience portion of the program, they work in a community behavioral health agency or other mental health organization for approximately 15-20 hours per week to gain hands-on experience.

Graduate students pursuing the Master of Arts in Counseling degree also have the opportunity to gain deeper knowledge in a specialty area by completing 15 hours in one of three concentration areas. The MAC degree can be tailored with one of the following counseling specialties: Expressive Arts Therapy, Gerocounseling, or Treatment of Trauma, Abuse and Deprivation.

For more information about OU’s expanded MAC program, contact Dr. Bambi Burgard at Bambi.burgrad@ottawa.edu  or Dr. Jeff Thomas at jeffrey.thomas@ottawa.edu, or contact the enrollment team at /connect.

OUKS Hosts Educational Jazz Fest

Upwards of 150 high school students from Kansas and Missouri converged on the OUKS campus on February 15, 2023, for an educational festival that celebrated America’s indigenous art form - JAZZ. Hosted by the University’s Jazz Studies Program, the festival was held in an effort to provide learning and performance opportunities to area students of diverse cultures, socio-economic statuses, ages, and abilities.

“The Jazz Festival was an incredible success,” says Director of OU Jazz Studies Dan Thomas. “The high school directors have all expressed their gratitude for a wonderful and inspiring experience. And I want to thank our students. They were chiefly responsible for making certain all was set-up and cleaned up; they chaperoned ensembles throughout their time at OU; and they ran sound and worked as stage crew. They were amazing ambassadors!”   

The festival was divided into three segments: ensemble performances, educational clinics, and a guest artist concert. Following each school’s ensemble performance in the Fredrikson Chapel, students broke off into sessions in the Schendel Conference Center and Chapel classrooms to receive feedback that highlighted what the ensembles and directors did well, along with areas for improvement in jazz-specific concepts, including improvisation.

The festival’s mid-day bonus was the guest concert by legendary , an American saxophonist, composer and educator whose heart for mentoring high school musicians can likely be traced to his long-time involvement with the Herbie Hancock Institute’s Jazz in America high school outreach program. Originally from Lawrence, Kansas, Watson was heavily influenced by his Kansas City jazz roots, as well as his time with bands like the Jazz Messengers, Bobby Watson & Horizon, High Court of Swing, Tailor-Made Big Band, the 29^th Street Saxophone Quartet, and numerous jazz greats with whom he has recorded across five decades. His latest album, “Back Home in Kansas City,” was released in October 2022.

During the guest concert, Watson performed with OU’s Director Thomas, who previously served and produced with Watson at the University of Missouri-Kansas City as co-chair of the Jazz Studies Program. “We performed original literature written by me and Bobby,” says Thomas, who is a in his own right. “Showcasing our faculty is a real benefit, as students get to experience the music of professors with whom they could study at OU.”

Like their director, students in OU’s Jazz Studies Program produce original works and arrangements which they perform at concerts and local venues. One such venue is Johnnie’s Jazz Bar in the Kansas City Power and Light District, where the OU Jazz Workshop plays once each semester. Thomas secured the opportunity for the group through his decades-long association with the Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors, an organization that supports jazz youth, as well as jazz elders, and works to promote the Kansas City jazz scene. Their next performance at the club is March 8.

“The performances at Johnnie's Jazz Bar are wonderful!” states Thomas. “Students need to perform in ‘real-world’ environments, and this opportunity provides just that. We have had an incredible turnout from folks excited about OU, as well as jazz fans from the KC metro.”

Students also perform on campus throughout the semester at a variety of concerts and events. The finalized spring performances include:

March 2 –     OU Jazz Studies, Ottawa Chamber of Commerce Reception/Dinner

March 3 –     Concert Choir and Wind Ensemble Concert (7:00 p.m., Fredrikson Chapel)

March 8 –     OU Jazz Studies at Johnnie’s Jazz Bar: Power & Light District (7:00 p.m., 1400 Main St, Kansas City, MO)

March 12 –   OU Jazz Studies and Free State Brass Band (5:00 p.m., Fredrikson Chapel)

April 14 –      DeFries Concert, featuring the OU Choir, Jazz Studies, and Wind Ensemble (7:00 p.m., Fredrikson Chapel)

The guest ensemble that will be featured during the March 12 event, Free State Brass Band, boasts Eric Bradshaw, OU’s director of music outreach and athletic bands, as a member. The Free State Brass Band is a “British Style” brass band that joins the sounds of various regional brass bands to create its own “Mini-Manchester.”

It’s clear that OU’s music faculty serve as excellent examples and give their students careers to aspire to. “Our music program is small and mighty,” boasts Thomas. “Through experiences like our jazz festival, coupled with the bountiful performance opportunities in the Kansas City metro, our students are gaining the skills and exposure necessary to build their own fulfilling music careers.”

Jazz Studies student Logan Smoot agrees. “Our experience at Johnnie's Jazz Bar has given us professional experience,” he says, “and assisting with the jazz festival made us realize how much dedication and organization is required to run a festival of that size. The music faculty here at Ottawa has pushed me to become a much better musician.”

 

 

Nurses Use OU's Varied Degree Programs

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ has a comprehensive nursing program to fit the unique needs of students pursuing nursing degrees on the bachelor’s and master’s level, beginning with the Nursing Concurrent Enrollment Program (CEP). The CEP allows students to complete coursework for an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) at the same time. ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ has formed partnerships with numerous community colleges in Kansas, Arizona, Indiana, and Missouri for students who wish to utilize this efficient degree option.

Registered nurses who have already graduated from an Associate Degree in Nursing or diploma program often choose to pursue their Bachelor of Science in Nursing because they realize that obtaining their BSN has several advantages, including higher salary, more job opportunities and enhanced career advancement opportunities. William Salvador is one such student. After completing his ADN at Seward County Community College, he moved to Overland Park, Kansas, for a nursing job in 2021 and enrolled in OU’s BSN program, which he recently completed.

Another popular choice is OU’s Online Bachelor of Science in Nursing Bridge program (RN-BSN). Many colleges offer a 16-week course semester, while ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ offers a unique, accelerated environment with eight-week course terms. In the Bridge program, RN students enroll in three graduate-level courses in substitution for the undergraduate-level courses, thus giving them a leg up when moving into the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program. Melissa Parker has been with OU since the fall of 2021, also after earning her associate degree from Seward County Community College. She is utilizing the Bridge program and is on track to receive her BSN in fall of 2023 before moving on to the MSN program.

For those who already hold a BSN, the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) provides a significant career boost, especially for those wishing to enter leadership roles. In fact, OU’s MSN offers several specializations, including Nurse Leadership, which prepares nurses to pursue management and administrative roles. In 2009, Erin Malone made the decision to step away from a career in police enforcement to pursue nursing. She received her BSN from OU and completed her MSN in the fall of 2022. When asked why she chose nurse leadership, Malone replied, “I thought this would be the best place for me to focus my efforts because I tend to view healthcare from a systems perspective and because I firmly believe that working in a position of servant leadership is the best way to serve a community and the nurses and doctors who practice within a facility.”

Malone went on to praise Ottawa’s innovative educational models, exceptional value, and unique capacity to prepare a wide range of student populations for a lifetime of personal significance. “The university’s bachelor’s and master’s programs are designed to educate nurses who are sensitive to cultural differences, treat all patients fairly, and work to enhance cultural competency.”

Another specialization in the MSN program is Nurse Educator. The Nurse Educator concentration is for nurses who wish to share their clinical expertise in an educator role. This is the route chosen by Meredith Willis. Willis received her BSN from OU and is set to complete her MSN in the spring of 2023. She chose OU because of the online courses that are only eight weeks long. “This made getting my degree feel like an achievable commitment,” she said. Willis went back to school while working a full-time job and managing a family. The classes, which run back-to-back except for time off for winter break, took real dedication for her to remain on track.

When asked why she wanted to become a nurse educator, Willis replied, “I have wanted to be a nurse educator since I first went to nursing school and was inspired by my teachers. I see it as a way to give back to the profession and mentor a new generation of nurses. Being a nurse educator will also allow me professional growth opportunities and to be a part of positive changes in nursing.”

Praise for the many nursing degree programs can be summed up in these words from Meredith Willis: “The focus on liberal arts, leadership, and spirituality is a beautiful combination that helps students explore their own experiences and apply those experiences to their practice. The faculty are incredible and willing to share their vast knowledge and offer support and encouragement.”

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ is proud to be the best, fastest, and most affordable option locally in the Kansas City, Milwaukee, and Phoenix areas, as well as serving students nationally through online degrees. Prospective students may contact Dr. Ruth Burkhart, DNP, MA, RN-BC, LPCC, Associate Professor and Director of Nursing, or Mitch Kidd, academic advisor, mitchell.kidd@ottawa.edu,  for more information. You can also check out the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Nursing Newsletter.

Full STEAM Ahead!

Tech Clubs Join Forces for Sci-Tech Festival

To help fulfill the mission of the Information Sciences and Technology Institute (ISTI), the OUKS Tech Club was started over two years ago to create an environment where students can learn more about information sciences through new technology, student engagement and community outreach. One goal of the Institute’s mission was missing, however – to achieve that environment across all OU campuses.

That problem has since been solved. Six months ago, a Tech Club was also started on the OUAZ campus, and on December 10, 2022, the two clubs came together to participate in a Sci-Tech Festival in the City of Surprise, AZ – the first collaboration of its kind across OU’s two residential campuses. The partnership was made possible by a $10,000 Future Together grant from American Eagle Outfitters, which OUKS Tech Club President Isidora Hrnjak applied for. Approximately $4,000 of the grant money was used to purchase robotics equipment for the Festival; the equipment was then donated to the new Arizona club to help get it off the ground. The remaining money was used to fly seven of the OUKS Tech Club members to Arizona for the event and to house and feed both tech clubs while there.

The annual Sci-Tech Festival is designed to celebrate science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics (STEAM) in the community by offering interactive exhibits and demonstrations to showcase the exponential growth of technology in our society and the careers and opportunities it offers young people. At the Festival, students of all ages took advantage of robotics and makerspace teams that provided hands-on STEAM learning activities. City of Surprise police drones and SWAT robots were also on display, as were the City’s water conservation meters, hydrants and utility trucks, along with a City fire truck and fire/medical team.

Jaime Fuentes is an associate professor of Computer Science and MIS at ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ and academic advisor for the OUKS Tech Club, which currently boasts 42 members. He was thrilled about the impact of the event on OU’s students. “We could just have used the grant here in Kansas,” he said, “but the OUAZ Tech Club is new, with only 12 members, and they needed resources and ideas and activities. That’s why we decided to do this project in their back yard and demonstrate that we are One University. People at the festival saw us as one club – they didn’t know which students were from which campus. They just knew they all belonged to the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ.”  

The concept of One University comes from OU’s strategic plan adopted in June. “The three components of the academic mission of ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ are to elevate the student experience and outcomes, ensure belonging, and achieve One University,” explained Director of Major Gifts Wynndee Lee, who collaborated with Hrnjak on the Future Together grant application. “The collegiality that came out of the two tech clubs and their collaboration on the festival were great steps in achieving that. One group got to travel, the other got to get equipment and bolster their new club, and both wanted to encourage youth to pick these fields. It was a win all around.” 

The students fully agreed. “Meeting the OUKS Tech Club members in person was awesome,” said OUAZ Tech Club President Emery Outin. “I think we really bonded and appreciated each other during that time. They did most of the organization, we helped provide things they needed, but all of us participated in the presentation of our project.”

As the only university represented at the Festival, OU was in a unique position to stand out. “We were able to reach out to the different schools in the Surprise community and build partnerships with teachers and school officials to help bring STEAM into the community,” said Nicholas Wolfe, OUKS Tech Club vice president. “The other goal was to make STEAM look fun and engage kids to pursue a career in STEAM, and I think we did that.”

Bob Doran, program manager for e-sports at OUAZ, attended the Festival and was impressed by what he saw. “Having the Kansas and Arizona Tech Clubs team up for the Sci-Tech event was a great way to promote ‘One University’ while doing community outreach,” he said. “The City of Surprise was grateful for our presence at the event, and I lost count of how many people in the community thanked OUAZ for being a valuable asset to the City.”

At the Festival, OU’s Tech Clubs guided students in the programming and coding of RVR+ mobile robots that are relevant for kids of all ages because they are adaptable for novice and experienced coders alike. “I really think that we did a great job,” said Hrnjak. “Our robots were stars among the kids and among the adults as well. I think this collaboration really made a great impact on both clubs and motivated us for even bigger events.” 

Throughout the year, the OUKS Tech Club currently conducts a variety of activities. It is these types of events and ideas that the KS club shared with the AZ club and that they hope to collaborate on in the future. For example, the Kansas club hosts one-day STEAM camps for area elementary, middle school and high school students using the RVR+ robots; visits area schools to do demonstrations with robots and drones; and hosts sci-tech activities for OU students, such as playing Minecraft or Battle Bots.

“We have already been invited to participate in next year’s Festival,” said Fuentes. “And we plan to have members from the OUAZ Tech Club come to the Kansas campus in the spring to help us put on our STEAM camps for area students, or other activities we develop. This is just the start of a great partnership that we hope will unite our students as part of One University and promote a strong academic tradition in science and technology.”

To further promote the connection between students of the two tech clubs and campuses, Fuentes designed a new OU logo that features the gold of OUKS Braves and the orange of the OUAZ Spirit. Look for it in an OU bookstore near you in the coming months!

OUKS Adds Master of Science in Applied Psychology

A Master of Science in Applied Psychology (MSAP) is now being offered at ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ’s Ottawa, KS (OUKS) campus.

Dr. Pilar Galiana Abal is the lead faculty and the graduate program director for all the applied psychology programs. Trained as a cultural anthropologist and clinical psychologist in France, her work emphasizes neuropsychology and forensic psychology. She joined the faculty at OUKS in 2017, where she first developed a BS in Applied Psychology. She began teaching the new major in 2018 and later added several concentrations. Eventually, a minor and BA in Applied Psychology were also created. Finally, in 2021, she developed the Master of Science in Applied Psychology (MSAP), which was approved by the University Academic Council in November of the same year.

Galiana Abal worked closely with Dr. Karen Ohnesorge, dean of arts and sciences, to create all of the applied psychology degrees. After a hiatus during the pandemic, discussions about adding the MSAP were brought back to the table in 2021. In August of this year, Higher Learning Commission accreditation was obtained, and a start date of fall 2, 2022, was set for the MSAP.

The MSAP is a rigorous degree that requires dedication and commitment. Students pursuing the MSAP will be trained to use cutting-edge research to conceptualize problems, develop hypotheses and produce research protocols that will allow them to cultivate original solutions to real-world problems. Opportunities will be given to join a supervised internship or lead original research. Research practicums, residencies, workshops, and conferences will be a part of the experiences offered in this program. The program currently offers a concentration in Forensic Psychology and will offer one in Culture, Inclusion and Diversity beginning in the Fall of 2023.

“I am particularly excited about the content of the courses,” said Galiana Abal. “This master’s has multiple exciting features, but the most fantastic aspect is the students it attracts. I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to train such amazing people.”

One of these students is Sharon Ohlgisser, a teaching assistant and first year MSAP student. Ohlgisser, who holds a BS in Applied Psychology, has nothing but good to say about the program.

“It is not every day that you find someone who believes in your potential to become something great; similarly, it is not every day that you find something you are passionate about,” said Ohlgisser. “³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ gave me both: a one-in-a-million professor who would challenge me to become the best version of my academic and professional self and a field of study so captivating and inspiring that it would change the way I perceived my ‘purpose.’ I now understand what it truly means to be passionate about something. I will continue to hold the field of applied psychology close to my heart for as long as I can while pursuing my mission to inspire others the way I have been inspired, and that is all thanks to ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ and the applied psychology program that changed my life.”

Upon completion of the MSAP, graduates will be able to confidently apply for numerous positions in law enforcement and governmental and private agencies and to serve in roles such as crisis intervention advocates, victim advocates, correctional agents, rehabilitation program designers, diversity and inclusion consultants, and human resources managers.

Anyone interested in the new Master of Science in Applied Psychology can contact David Tyner, director of admissions at the OUKS Office of Admissions (785-248-2376) or Dr. Galiana Abal (785-248-2560).

The Greenhouse Effect

There’s an oasis in the middle of the historic ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ campus in Kansas. At least, that’s how Olivia Kloster, a senior Communications student attending OUKS, describes the Creed Family Greenhouse. “Not only is it beautiful, but it is the biggest hands-on learning resource on campus,” she says. “There's no question that it is a tool for the science department, but it is also a tool for all to use.”

Professor of Biology Dr. Steven Boese, who has seen many courses use the greenhouse, agrees. “I could see someone coming in here and finding a corner back there and writing poetry,” says Boese. “I would love to hear music out here… the intent is for it to be interdisciplinary.”

The multifaceted use of the greenhouse is reflected in the display of the plants. Verdant green leaves fill the area, each table revealing different projects. A bubbling fountain in the corner leads to a fish tank used for a study in aquaponics. There are plants growing for use as this year’s Homecoming centerpieces. And in the corner are a number of sprouting plants, future produce for the on-campus food bank.

Boese and Kloster are working together to create outreach events to facilitate more student involvement with the greenhouse, like their re-potting event held about a year ago. 

“[It was] a very memorable moment for Dr. Boese, as that was one of the first times he had seen a lot of students inside the greenhouse,” said Kloster.

Donations received were used to purchase a bookshelf to display plants which will be for sale in the Gangwish Library, Braves Fan Shop in the near future.

In April, the greenhouse will be hosting a student research day, where students will learn more about planting produce, such as where it comes from and how to take care of it. This opportunity was initiated by OUKS Campus President Dr. Reggies Wenyika and will be a conduit for interested students to become more involved.

“If students want to spend time in the greenhouse, we could use the help!” says Kloster. “Talk to Dr. Boese about receiving extra credit for spending a couple of hours cleaning up plants or organizing the greenhouse more.”

By design, one of the effects of the Creed Family Greenhouse is that it brings people together. As projects continue to grow and flourish, so will students’ relationship with both plant life and each other.

The namesakes for the Creed Family Greenhouse are Don ’69 and Carolyn Creed. After discussing the University’s biology needs with Dr. Boese, the Creed family made a generous donation towards the establishment of the new greenhouse. The Class of 1969 followed suit, also designating their 50-year class gift towards the fruition of the greenhouse, which opened in the fall of 2021. Because of their generous involvement, the Creed family legacy will provide students with opportunities for growth throughout the coming generations.

Kansas Teachers of Promise Honored

Called to make a difference in the classroom, two ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ students were recognized as Kansas Department of Education Teachers of Promise for 2022.

Hannah Copeland is a secondary math education major from Justin, Texas, at the Ottawa, Kansas campus, where she is a key player for the Braves Softball team. “It was a great experience being able to learn and work alongside such great educators,” said Copeland.

The other honoree was Megan Borcher from Olathe, Kansas, who is earning her Master of Arts in Education with an elementary education focus through the online MEd Unified program at the Overland Park campus. “I am incredibly honored to attend this year’s Kansas Teacher of the Year conference. It was a humbling experience to be in a room surrounded by some of the best educators in the game. My only hope is that I can live up to their legacy,” said Borcher.

Once a year, Kansas colleges and universities that offer teacher preparation programs are invited to select two teacher education students identified as Teachers of Promise to participate in a specific professional learning, recognition and networking opportunity.

“We are so blessed with many qualified teacher candidates, so selecting our Teachers of Promise is a difficult task for our faculty,” said Amy Hogan, Dean for the School of Education. “Hannah was selected based on her passion to make mathematics education interesting and delightful while also excelling throughout the program. Whereas Megan shows aptitude in creativity and real-life connection in lesson delivery and strong professional skills in collaboration.”

The Teachers of Promise are invited to attend a half-day workshop presented by the current Kansas Teacher of the Year Team, comprised of the Kansas Teacher of the Year and the seven state finalists or Kansas Regional Teachers of the Year.  The Teachers of Promise are also invited to attend the Kansas Teacher of the Year State Awards Banquet where they are acknowledged and receive a certificate of recognition. 

First Students Set to Begin New DBA Program

The first ever doctoral program in ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ history is set to launch in October. The Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) will combine precise scholarship and real-world practice to guide students as they pursue advancement in their careers in management, leadership, and consulting. With over 1,300 MBA graduates in the past ten years, this next step just makes sense.

The 56-hour fully ground-based program is being offered at the campus in Ottawa, KS, and will feature a learning management system to support and improve learning. The program will be fast paced, yet flexible, with six eight-week terms per year where students will focus on one course at a time. The face-to-face cohort model includes a two-day on-campus residency weekend each term of enrollment. This will allow students to continue working as they pursue their doctorate.

The coursework is tailored to those wanting to learn more about competitive strategies and executive leadership. The core curriculum will focus on current business and economic research, culminating in a dissertation-length applied research project that is based in practical application directly related to an issue at the student’s current job. Because this program will be beneficial across numerous fields, being a business major is not a requirement.

Dr. Marylou Dewald, Dean of the Angell Snyder School of Business, is thrilled with the DBA degree that will continue the 156-year tradition of OU excellence. “There is not another DBA program out there like this. Our doctoral program is unique in that we are focusing on strategy. We will be teaching students how to learn and think strategically and critically at a higher level.”

The first cohort begins October 19 with a mix of OU graduates and new students, as well as several Ottawa tribal members. The first residency weekend is slated for October 28-30. Dr. Peter Jacobsen will be teaching the initial course, “Strategic Human Capital Management.”

Anyone interested in the new Doctor of Business Administration program can contact David Tyner in the Ottawa Office of Admissions (785-248-2376) or Dr. Jacobsen () or visit www.ottawa.edu/DBA.