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State Regents Recognize Eastern, Choctaw Nation Partnership
(Press Release 04-28-06)
Hank Mooney, Office of Public Information

Eastern Oklahoma State College was among 17 institutions throughout the state recently recognized for their outstanding partnerships with community businesses.

The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education’s Economic Development Grant for the Partnership Recognition Program is designed to highlight successful partnerships between higher education institutions and businesses and to further cultivate the higher learning environment through State Regents’ Economic Development Grants.

Realizing the need for increased health care, Eastern and the Choctaw Nation partner on a grant that provides funding to assist with the expansion of Eastern’s nursing program. By expanding the program, the number of registered nurses for southeastern Oklahoma would increase.

The Choctaw Nation has been very supportive of its employees in helping them further their educations by paying for health care employees to attend Eastern’s Associate Degree in Nursing Program.

Furthermore, the Choctaw Nation provides scholarships for American Indian students and donates to the college for campus facility projects.

“Our colleges and universities are now implementing very innovative collaborations with their business partners,” said Chancellor Paul G. Risser. “Oklahomans receive the benefits of these model partnerships, by having access to more services and because our businesses become stronger and can offer more and better-paying jobs.

Institutions involved in these partnerships provide $500 for tuition waivers to employees of the partnering businesses, internships for current students of the institutions to work at the partnering businesses or faculty externships with the partnering businesses. The State Regents provide a $500 match to the waivers.

Caption info:
From left to right: Chancellor Paul Risser; Mike Bailey, Choctaw Nation and President Richard Bernard, Eastern Oklahoma State College.