OSUIT's Workforce and Economic Development Department partnered with tribes and other businesses in the state, offering tailored opportunities including credit courses, non-credit workshops, certificates and short-term intensive training. Some of those partnerships included the Cherokee Nation, Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes and Caddo Nation. But now the department is shutting down due to a lack of funding, according to a university spokesperson.
"The Workforce and Economic Development department primarily provided non-credit training for local and regional business partners," a university spokesperson said. "It operated as a self-supporting unit funded entirely through grants and revenue generated by its programs. As revenue and grant activity gradually declined, that funding model became unsustainable."
The department shut its doors on June 30, just before the start of a new fiscal year.
Brandon Dinsmore, a Cherokee Nation citizen, says he was let go in the move. He worked at the department as the tribal outreach and workforce specialist, developing customized programs for tribes to fit their own needs.
"I've heard people talk about degrees maybe in that way, first-generation college degree, but sometimes that's not possible," Dinsmore said. "And when it comes to like the financial side of it, I guess you could convince a tribe to force several people to go get student loans so they can afford a degree. But the reality is it's much more financially feasible to send people to some sort of a very high-demand, good-wage type of job through short-term or non-credit training."
Dinsmore said it takes time to build relationships with tribal nations, and he is sad to see the university's workforce investment in tribal communities go.
"If you think about it, we have these big campuses… we have statewide reach absolutely everywhere," Dinsmore said. "There is no reason that we can't serve every single group of people, every single community, every county and every tribe."
Governor of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes Reggie Wassana said the program was critical because it provided accessible education and industry-recognized skill-development opportunities for tribal communities. For his tribal nation specifically, 50 people received specialized training for the broadband industry at their headquarters.
In a statement, he said the loss of the program "could significantly affect our ability to continue providing these accessible, specialized training opportunities to our citizens."
Caddo Nation Economic Development Authority signed a memorandum of understanding more than a year ago with OSUIT to develop customized training programs that aligned with the tribal nation's goals. Caddo Nation Chairman Bobby Gonzalez said the partnership related to MOU is now gone.
Gonzalez said while he understood that leadership change is inevitable as well as universities' objectives, he was disappointed in communication around the department's closure.
"It would have been nice to receive something at a higher level from the university about ending that program, just out of respect for our relationship," Gonzales said. "...You would think that at that level from a sovereign nation to the faculty or the dean or the university that have been elevated to that. But that never happened."
Kiowa Tribe Chairman David Sullivan also expressed disappointment in the university's lack of communication, but noted he hadn't officially entered into an agreement with OSUIT.
"It would have been nice for all of us to know a little more," Sullivan said. "You know, maybe we could have had some other discussion, not just the Kiowa Tribe, but all of our tribes. Maybe we could have helped support that in some way."
All of the tribal leaders said they appreciated the work OSUIT was doing and remain hopeful for future potential collaborations.
A university spokesperson said OSUIT is still committed to workforce and economic development despite the department's closure.
"Future training opportunities and industry-responsive programs will be developed and overseen by leadership and faculty within the School of Technology, Arts, Sciences and Health, the School of Transportation and Heavy Equipment, and the School of Engineering and Construction Technology," the statement said.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
