Dr. Teri K. Reed, inaugural director of the OU Polytechnic Institute in Tulsa, shared her vision for the future of the new institute at the most recent OU-Tulsa Presidential Research Series presentation.
“I don’t ever use the word ‘pipeline,’” Reed said. “One thing about pipelines is there is only one correct way in and one correct way out. My philosophy on workforce development is that’s not true. I like to think of it as on-ramps. You must have multiple on-ramps and off-ramps to meet people where they are. I see this as where the Polytechnic can provide those multiple pathways, and that increases the research impact across the region and the state.”
The audience, which included OU-Tulsa faculty, staff and students, as well as Tulsa community members interested in this new initiative, learned about Reed’s passion for the future of tech education in northeast Oklahoma. She shared details on what exactly a polytechnic institute is, how the OUPI will meet desperate workforce needs in Oklahoma, upcoming degree offerings of the OUPI – both short- and longer-term, community partnership potential, and expected ways OUPI will transform the future of Oklahoma.
The OU-Tulsa Presidential Research Series is a quarterly lecture series focusing on research and innovation. The 2023 series has included topics related to the OU Polytechnic Institute, a new school at OU-Tulsa providing bachelor’s completion and graduate degree programs that will initially focus on cybersecurity, data science, software development, medical informatics and advanced mobility/manufacturing. Pending OSRHE approval, the first degree offered through the OUPI will be a bachelor’s degree completion program in cybersecurity launching in August 2024.
Partners for the OUPI include Tulsa Innovation Labs, OU’s Office of Innovation and Corporate Partnerships, the OU Ronnie K. Irani Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth and others, along with philanthropic partners such as the George Kaiser Family Foundation and Google.
Learn more about the OU Polytechnic Institute at ou.edu/tulsa/polytechnic.
