Center for Executive and Professional Development celebrates 60 years of serving Oklahoma
Thursday, May 9, 2013
The Center for Executive and Professional Development (CEPD) in the Spears School
of Business is marking 60 years of service and outreach to students and Oklahoma’s
business community this year.
CEPD fulfills a vital role by providing quality executive, management and professional development programs and services for business, industry and government. The center also provides credit and media credit courses to traditional and nontraditional students. Overall, 560 programs were offered to more than 28,700 individuals this year.
“We have been truly honored over the years with Spears School faculty who embrace the land-grant mission of Oklahoma State University,” CEPD Director Julie Weathers said. “They take their knowledge and research and deliver executive and management development programs in the various departments of accounting, finance, management, entrepreneurship, legal studies, management information systems, economics, and marketing. The information the instructors give is practical and the participants enjoy being able to apply the information in their work and make a difference in their careers.”
Among CEPD’s most notable programs are the Tulsa Business Forums and Executive Management Briefings which attract nationally known business and global leaders to share their interests and ideas with the Tulsa and Oklahoma City business communities. The Executive Management Briefings is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2013. More than 5,000 of Oklahoma’s businessmen and women come out for this exciting series which is made possible by corporate sponsors. Speakers for the 2012-2013 series were Robert Gates, former United States Secretary of Defense; Bob Bowlsby, commissioner of the Big 12 Conference, and Tom Brokaw, television journalist and author.
The Tulsa Business Forums have received awards in Outstanding Program Development from the National University Continuing Education Association, an honorable mention in the Lifelong Learning Resources Network’s International Awards Competition, the Bullseye Marketing Award from Tulsa’s Society for Human Resource Development, and the People’s Choice Award of Excellence in Region V of the University Continuing Education Association.
The Women’s Business Leadership Conference, Energy Conference, Accounting and Financial Reporting Conference, the International Conference on Health and Innovation, and the Municipal Court Clerk Conference are only a few of the Spears School conferences and programs facilitated by CEPD. They also work with the University of Oklahoma on some joint executive development programs which include the Executive Education Partnership Program and the Governor’s Executive Development Program offered annually.
The Women’s Business Leadership Conference has received the Award for Creative Programs for Short-term Women’s Program Division by the National University Continuing Education Association. The Energy Conference was awarded Outstanding Conference by the Association for Continuing Higher Education (ACHE), the Exceptional Program Award from the ACHE’s Great Plains Region and the 2008 Great Plains University Continuing Education Association Non-Credit Program Award. The International Conference for Health and Innovation has also been awarded Outstanding Conference from the ACHE.
Another shining effort facilitated by CEPD is the Distance Learning option of several degree programs in the Spears School. Eleven graduate degrees and certificate programs and two undergraduate degree completion programs are available to professionals and students. The OSU MBA program offered through distance learning has more than 560 students in 47 states and 17 countries. This flexible format of a Spears School education has earned multiple awards, including U.S. News & World Report’s Best Online Graduate Business Programs and GetEducated.com “Best Buy” in its MBA, M.S. in Management Information Systems and M.S. in Telecommunications Management degree programs.
The Ph.D. in Business for Executives is another degree that CEPD helps to facilitate. This innovative research program held at OSU-Tulsa prepares leaders to be more effective consumers of business research while also making their own contributions to such research base. Currently, the 2014 Cohort group is being recruited; there are students in the first two cohort groups who represent both a national and international audience.
In addition, CEPD assists faculty and students in their study abroad efforts. There were more than 325 enrollments in short-term study abroad programs in FY 2013. These included such places as China, Costa Rica, Greece, Italy, London, South Africa, as well as travel nationally which involves corporate visits to businesses in Chicago, New York City, and Washington, D.C.
Ken Eastman, head of the Department of Management, is a regular presenter for CEPD events, such as the Management and Professional Development seminars and the Human Resources webinars. He said it is the delightful staff that keeps him returning year after year.
“For me, the CEPD staff is the biggest reason I have enjoyed doing programs,” Eastman said. “They have always been positive and helpful, which makes it much easier for me to do my programs. Their efforts have allowed me to work with some great companies and to meet a lot of great people through the programs I have done for them over the years.”
Lee Manzer, professor in the Department of Marketing, also frequently presents CEPD programs. He agreed that working with the CEPD staff is always a satisfying experience, and said the staff’s work ethic is incomparable to others.
“I can’t think of another group that is more service-oriented than them,” Manzer said. “Their whole goal is to satisfy both the people who attend the events, as well as the faculty who are presenting. They learned a long time ago that satisfying customers makes a great place to work, and they are truly excelling at life-long learning and outreach.”
For more information about CEPD and its programs, visit cepd.okstate.edu.