Northern Oklahoma College officials applauded NOC Tonkawa staff and city officials for their efforts during the current water outage at Thursday’s board of regents meeting in Enid.
Vice President for Student Affairs Jason Johnson described for the regents the school’s efforts to provide for Tonkawa students.
“We (executive council) were in constant communication during the situation and doing the best we could to provide for our students,” he said. “It was truly a team effort from the executive council and our staff at Tonkawa.”
During the water crisis, NOC provided portable bathrooms, water and to-go food service for students starting Sunday. Then, on Tuesday the residence halls were closed so college staff worked to find students a place to stay for those who could not go home. Those students were offered dorm rooms/food service at the NOC Enid campus.
“I want to give a shout out to Ryan Paul (dean of students), Renna Bowers (resident life coordinator), and Stacey Burns (director of maintenance),” Johnson said. “They were very proactive in making decisions quickly and effectively. We have 250 students we had to accommodate and the water situation was changing by the hour. I appreciate them for their hard work.”
“I also want to thank Sheri Snyder’s team (emergency communications) for their efforts in getting the messaging out to our NOC community providing the information needed,” he said.
Johnson also applauded city manager Nick Payne.
“Nick was giving us all the information he had when he had it,” Johnson said. “We were always in the loop getting information which allowed us more time to make the decisions we had to make. I appreciate the relationship we have with Nick and the city.”
NOC President Diana Morris Watkins added, “The handling of this crisis is a huge testament to this team (executive council) and our staff. There was a lot of pivoting happening and I appreciate this group of leaders so much.”
“Also, I cannot overstate the value of Stacey Burns (director of maintenance),” she added. “He has so much knowledge from when he worked for the city of Tonkawa and his role as mayor in guiding the city and NOC through this crisis.”
Northern Oklahoma College, the state’s first public two-year community college, is a multi-campus, land-grant institution that provides high quality, accessible, and affordable educational opportunities and services.
NOC serves nearly 4,000 students through the home campus in Tonkawa, branch in Enid, and NOC/OSU Gateway Program in Stillwater. Of these students about 80% receive financial aid and/or scholarships. 75% of NOC students complete their degree with zero debt.
The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and offers associate degrees in three general areas: Arts, Science and Applied Science; the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs; and the Accreditation Commission for Education and Nursing.
For more information about Northern Oklahoma College please call (580) 628-6208 or visit the NOC website at www.noc.edu.
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