"It's about Partnerships,
Man, the Partnerships"
Mon-Dak Partners
and Williston State College
Have “Teamed Up” to “Tackle”
RCCI Initiatives
Introductions
Jennie Granrud
Joe McCann
Partnerships
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A relationship between individuals or
groups that is characterized by mutual
cooperation and responsibility, as for
the achievement of a specific goal:
Example in a Newspaper Story:
“Community
Groups Partner in
Healthy Williston, Healthy Youth
Project”
Who and Where We Are
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Williston State College is a public community
college in northwest North Dakota
990 credit students - fall of 2005
Work force training served 170 employers in
’04 - ’05, training 1700 employees
34% Academic Transfer and 47%
Career/Technical
Mon-Dak region of 13 counties with 55,000
people
Who and Where We Are
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Work Force training area of 10 counties
Economic sectors - Agriculture, Oil, Tourism
Less that four people per square mile
11 Institution North Dakota University
System Governed by the State Board of
Higher Education
North Dakota has a population of a medium
sized city (with long streets)
’99-’00 Legislative Roundtable on Higher Ed
and WSC became a Autonomous
Community College
NeighBORs
Neighbors
Building
Our
Region
“Building Our Region, One Dream at a
Time”
NeighBORS Areas of Work
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Oilfield Training
Value-Added Agriculture
Entrepreneurship (including tourism)
Quality of Life
Out-migration of Youth
Rural Development Center
NeighBORs Partners
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Education
Petroleum Production
Agriculture
Government
Business
Private Industry
Non-Profit Organizations
WSC
Partnerships
Petroleum Production
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Originally safety training
NeighBORS subgroup of extended team in
fall of 2003
A few more “oil patch” partners joined in
summer and fall 2004 joined
2005 mini-boom in oil well drilling
intensifies
Partnerships
Petroleum Production
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Over $2,000,000 being invested in WSC
Petroleum Safety and Technology Center by nine
companies, Star Fund, WSC Foundation, and the
ND Legislature’s Centers of Excellence for
Economic Development
Oil well training site under construction, truck
driver training, oil field fire fighting
Now have 23 company partners
500 “oil patch” employees were trained in 2005
Partnerships
Agriculture
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Mon-Dak region produces pulse crops, irrigation,
export, food production (over 25 crops produced)
Value-Added AG partnership forming –NDSU,
and NDSU/ MSU, joint ag research center,
Economic Developers, Federal ARS
Revitalizing credit Ag program
Hiring a farm and ranch management faculty
member
Currently planning a Center of Excellence
application
Partnerships
Education
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Great Western Ed Consortium 15 school districts
in 5 counties
Minot Tech Center
Joint Dakota Nursing program with three other
CCs cover ND “Border to Border”
Four other joint programs
Seeking resources for regional career counseling
Distance ed high school electronics program
Partnerships
Entrepreneurship
 Online entrepreneurship
 Expanding K-14 career pathway
 SBDC – most productive office in
North Dakota
 Plan to collaborate with Dickinson
State University
Partnership
Out Migration of Youth/ Quality of Life
 Little Teton Daycare
 Increased role as a cultural focus for
the Mon-Dak region
 Youth Forum
 Williston Area Chamber of Commerce
now has a student member from WSC
and Williston High School
Partnerships
Out Migration of Youth/ Quality of Life
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Healthy Williston Healthy Youth
WSC bookstore coffee shop
Increased role as a cultural focus for the
Mon-Dak region
Youth Forum
Lessons from the Canada Goose
Lessons Learned
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Appreciative Inquiry
Champion Emergence
Rural Youth Forum Input
Power of Partnerships
Partnership Building and Nurturing
Drucker “the social dimension is the
survival dimension”
Questions
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What U.S. state did the Lewis & Clark
Corps of Discovery spend the most
time in?
What U.S. state is the top durum
producing state?
In what state did Meriwether Lewis
get shot in the posterior?
Questions
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What is the only state that has a state
government-owned bank?
In what state did the Lewis & Clark
Corps of Discovery encounter the most
grizzly bears?
Summary
Q&A
Thank You
www.wsc.nodak.edu/RCCI
jennie.granrud@wsc.nodak.edu
joe.mccann@wsc.nodak.edu