The Meinders School of Business is starting three new certificate programs this spring.
Steve Agee, dean and professor of economics of Meinders, said there are three new certificate programs concerning leadership and public administration.
The first program is about municipal government and will be taught by members of the Oklahoma Municipal League, as well as mayors and city officials. The course will cover the topics of management and governance of municipalities, public information and communication, employment, land use, municipal finance and economic development, and negotiations and conflict resolution.
“The Municipalities Certificate is for anyone interested in serving on a city council or learning about what a city council does,” Agee said.
The second program being offered for the first time this spring is about school boards and will be taught by members of the Oklahoma State School Board Association. The course will cover the topics of management and governance of school districts, open records and open meeting acts, human resources, visionary leadership and student success, school finance and facility planning, and negotiations and conflict resolution.
Agee said the School Board Certificate is for anyone interested in learning about or running for a school board position.
The third program being offered deals with state legislature and will be taught by members of the Oklahoma House and Senate, as well as representatives from state agencies. The course will cover the topics of Oklahoma legislature, the process for bills to become laws, working with state agencies, financing state government and creating a budget, campaign finances and ethics, and negotiation and conflict resolution.
Agee said while OCU students are encouraged to enroll, all three programs are open to any Oklahoman interested in learning about leadership and public administration. The courses will be offered on campus or remotely via live-streaming with video capture.
All three programs are six weeks long and begin on Jan 18. These classes meet weekly on Saturday mornings from 8:30 a.m. -12:00 p.m., and each costs $250.
Agee said the idea for these programs began at annual meetings of the Oklahoma Academy.
“The Oklahoma Academy wanted a bipartisan group to look at issues in the state of Oklahoma, Agee said. “A couple of years ago, they were talking about education, and they thought it’d be nice to create classes to learn about municipal government, schoolboards and state legislature.”
Agee said the programs are not only valuable to people interested in running for political positions, but also for any citizen to stay informed.
“We want to educate people on what they should know and how they should look at potential candidates,” he said.
Jared Sutton, finance sophomore, said these new programs are beneficial to students as voting citizens.
“I think it is the duty of citizens to vote, and in order to vote correctly, you have to know what’s going on and be present in the current happenings,” Sutton said.
To sign up for these courses, visit okcu.edu/enroll. For more information about the programs, contact Agee at SAgee@okcu.edu or Susan Winchester, director of public administration certificate programs, at scwinchester@okcu.edu.
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