OSU Spears School of Business launches Center for the Future of Work

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Media Contact: Bailey Stacy | Communications Coordinator | 405-744-2700 | bailey.stacy@okstate.edu

Oklahoma State University Spears School of Business has officially launched the Center for the Future of Work.

The world of work is changing rapidly and the Center for the Future of Work is committed to collaborating with individuals, businesses and communities to help develop human potential and structure organizations to compliment and capitalize on technological innovations.

“We are very excited to announce the formation of the Center for the Future of Work,” said Dr. Ken Eastman, dean of Spears Business. “The center is a natural evolution of our long history of partnering with businesses to solve problems and foster innovation. As we all know, the pandemic has caused disruptions in the nature of work and the center will help organizations find ways to meet these challenges. We believe that the center will help foster economic growth and opportunities in the state and region.”

The center’s goal is to enable business and industry to more readily access and interface with the broad range of expertise within Spears Business to address key problems. The center will have three areas of strategic focus: professional development and executive education, business consulting services, and applied research for innovation and social impact.

These areas of focus will allow the center to make new knowledge accessible through conferences, consulting and custom solutions; advance knowledge on emerging technologies to transform the way business is executed; and create external awareness with employers and internal awareness across all colleges on the value of rethinking personal and organizational development. Fulfilling OSU’s land-grant mission, the center will continue to establish Oklahoma and influence state policy to help attract individuals and families to relocate to the state.

Leading the center will be Dr. Rebecca Eastham, director for the Center for the Future of Work, who has a background in workforce and economic development. While the center’s mission is positioned on economic development and individual prosperity, ultimately it is about understanding work of the future, tapping into its full potential and leveraging it to benefit the most people in society.

“I believe the center will be the preeminent entity in Oklahoma and the region to provide research, data analysis, training and consulting for businesses, nonprofits and government entities,” Eastham said. “The center will be known as a key contributor in advancing local and regional economies and making measurable positive societal change.”

For more information and to begin utilizing the services of the Center for the Future of Work, visit the website: https://business.okstate.edu/cfw.