new partnerships, ribbon cuttings, and open houses

The college made new partnerships official on Aug. 8 with ceremonial ribbon cuttings and open houses at three of its outreach centers.

First stop: Winfield
The first stop was at the Winfield Center in Baden Square as Cowley joined forces with Pratt Community College on a Registered Nurse -Licensed Practical Nurse program. In expanding its nursing program, Pratt also opened the door for students to take general education classes from Cowley. Pratt has 40 nursing students on its main campus. There will be 20 students in Winfield.
The main floor of the Winfield Center, also known as Stephenson Hall on the former St. John’s College campus, was renovated during the last several months. The renovation included new classroom space, office space, and a room for students to do some training.

Dr. William Wojciechowski, president of PCC, said he was pleased with the new partnership. “This is a great concept, and we appreciate the efforts of the Cowley folks to make this place go,” he said.

Slade Griffiths, chair of Cowley’s Allied Health Education Department and a long-time instructor in the Mobile Intensive Care Technician program, said he was excited about the new venture. “There was a definite need in this area for this program,” Griffiths said. “The demand for nurses also remains very high.” The Kansas Job Outlook for 2005 listed nursing as the No. 1 occupation in demand in the state of Kansas.

Second stop: Mulvane Bloomenshine
Nearly 100 people were on hand for Cowley’s dedication and open house at its new location in Mulvane. Bloomenshine, a former elementary school last used for that purpose in 1988, was renovated with funds secured when voters passed a bond issue by Unified School District 263 Mulvane. Renovation began in July 2004.

“We are delighted to be able to do this for Cowley College,” said Dr. Donna Augustine Shaw, USD 263 superintendent. “The college has played a major role in education in Mulvane for many years. This new center will hopefully solidify that existence.”

Bloomenshine is located at 430 E. Main St., just blocks east of downtown, where Cowley occupied several storefronts since opening a center in Mulvane in 1987. The new center includes several classrooms, a science lab, a computer lab, and an Interactive Distance Learning classroom. There also are offices, a faculty workroom and a student lounge.

Third stop: Mulvane Business Park
The final stop was in the Marinus Heersche Business Park, the new home of Cowley’s Industrial Technology Center. Larry and Mary Wolfe, who operate Wolfe Machine, Inc., just south of the new building, had the new center built for the college. Automotive technology and machine tool technology will be taught in the new facility. Welding technology will continue to be taught in the existing building on the northwest side of the business park.

“This will be good for students in and around Mulvane,” Larry Wolfe said. “We had the ground and just got together with the college on this project. There’s a definite need for more technical programs in this area.”