1. "It's about Partnerships, Man, the Partnerships"
Mon-Dak Partners
and Williston State College
Have “Teamed Up” to “Tackle”
RCCI Initiatives

2. Introductions
Jennie Granrud
Joe McCann

3. Partnerships
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”

4. Who and Where We Are
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

6. Who and Where We Are 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

7. “Building Our Region, One Dream at a Time”
NeighBORs
Neighbors
Building
Our
Region
“Building Our Region, One Dream at a Time”

8. NeighBORS Areas of Work
Oilfield Training
Value-Added Agriculture
Entrepreneurship (including tourism)
Quality of Life
Out-migration of Youth
Rural Development Center

9. NeighBORs Partners Education Petroleum Production Agriculture
Government
Business
Private Industry
Non-Profit Organizations
WSC

10. Partnerships Petroleum Production 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

11. Partnerships Petroleum Production
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

12. Partnerships Agriculture
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

13. Partnerships Education
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

14. Partnerships Entrepreneurship Online entrepreneurship
Expanding K-14 career pathway
SBDC – most productive office in North Dakota
Plan to collaborate with Dickinson State University

15. 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

16. Partnerships Out Migration of Youth/ Quality of Life
Healthy Williston Healthy Youth
WSC bookstore coffee shop
Increased role as a cultural focus for the Mon-Dak region
Youth Forum

17. Lessons from the Canada Goose

18. Lessons Learned Appreciative Inquiry Champion Emergence
Rural Youth Forum Input
Power of Partnerships
Partnership Building and Nurturing
Drucker “the social dimension is the survival dimension”

19. Questions
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?

20. Questions
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?

21. Summary
Q & A

22. Thank You www.wsc.nodak.edu/RCCI jennie.granrud@wsc.nodak.edu