Oklahoma Technical College announced Thursday it’s receiving $11 million in unrestricted funding from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. Community Care College will get $5 million.
The money will be used for skills-based program development, technology updates and expanded student services.
OTC board member Ron Owens told The Oklahoma Eagle he believes Scott, who gave $7.1 billion to nonprofits this year, was likely attracted to the schools because of their work to support racial equality, childhood development and higher education. In 2015, Community Care and Oklahoma Technical became nonprofit educational institutions under Tulsa-based Community HigherEd.
“I think when you look at workforce development, there’s probably not a bigger issue economically in our country right now,” Owens said. “(Workforce programs) are making sure that everything runs the way it’s supposed to, so that we can protect the American way of life. These schools have done that consistently.”
Kimberly Sebastian serves as president of Community HigherEd, which operates both schools. She called the donation a game-changing investment, adding the colleges are committed to growth training programs for professions ranging from surgical technologists and medical assistants to welders and HVAC technicians.
“Both campuses are designed to meet the needs of our local industries,” Sebastian said. “The results are powerful across both institutions. As more of our workforce is retiring, we must keep up with the demand for these skills-based positions.”
OTC’s enrollment has risen by 30% over the past year, Sebastian said. The two colleges have trained nearly 17,000 people in technical careers over the last three decades.
Shawna Purcell is a Community Care student training as a medical assistant to build a career in pediatric medicine. She said the gift will help students accomplish their goals because they “want to give back to [their] communities.”
Now a Community HigherEd board member, former Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett Jr. advocated for more technical education during his term from 2009 to 2016.
“This is a true pathway to prosperity for people that might have a concern about their future employment, with AI being a popular worry at this point in time,” he told The Eagle. “Kids who graduate from high school might not have any direction at this point, might not want to go to college or can’t go … but this gives them an opportunity to pursue something they might like … to get a real job that can go with them wherever they go.”
