OSU College of Professional Studies announces Gina Noble as interim director
Wednesday, June 14, 2023
Media Contact: Aaron Campbell | Communications Coordinator | 918-594-8046 | aaron.ross.campbell@okstate.edu
The former mayor of the City of Stillwater and longtime Oklahoma State University faculty member Gina Noble has been named interim director of the Oklahoma State University College of Professional Studies, headquartered at OSU-Tulsa.
Noble will be meeting and collaborating with businesses to craft degree and non-credit programs tailored to their workforce needs.
“We need a well-trained workforce in Oklahoma,” Noble said. “We know education improves quality of life, job security, job benefits and lifetime earnings. The College of Professional Studies’ priorities include working with employers to help train, retain and promote their employees, while helping working adults finish what they started and invest in themselves by completing their bachelor’s degree.”
Noble has built a sizable professional reputation after five years of experience as an elected city official for the City of Stillwater, serving as both city councilor and mayor. She also has a decade of experience in nonprofit work, including five years of work as the vice president of the Children’s Medical Center Foundation, which supports pediatric medical care.
With over two decades of teaching and leadership experience in the School of Media and Strategic Communications, Noble’s influence and expertise is well known at OSU.
“Noble’s knowledge and experience will be a great asset for the College,” said Craig Freeman, interim vice provost for OSU-Tulsa and dean of the College of Professional Studies. “Her insight and leadership is already improving our existing degree programs and creating opportunities to better serve working Oklahomans and local industries.
“OSU-Tulsa has been educating Tulsa’s professional workforce for nearly 25 years – but with the College of Professional Studies, and Gina Noble’s leadership, we will be able to focus on working face to face with Oklahoma employers to directly meet their needs.”
The College of Professional Studies, OSU’s newest academic college, offer’s flexible bachelor’s degree programs to help working adults complete a degree that adds value to their current career. Programs have flexible course schedules and real-world application to students’ current employment. Short courses, certificates and workshops are also in development.
“Our vision, flexibility and partnerships with Oklahoma employers are strengths,” Noble said. “This college was created to help the more than 160,000 people in northeast Oklahoma who have some college hours but never finished their degree. Our credit for prior learning, course flexibility and business partnerships are supporting Oklahoma’s workforce needs.”
To learn more about the College of Professional Studies, visit professionalstudies.okstate.edu