Thought occurred to me this morning... we're really starting to build up what might be considered a critical mass of higher education options in the metro area. We obviously have a long way to go, but consider what we have now and how each campus plans to grow:
- TU - building new housing options, wants to have upwards of 75-80% of students living on campus, including undergrad, grad and law.
- OSU-Tulsa - undergrad and some grad programs. Have plans to grow enrollment and greatly expand the campus over the next 15 years, including on-campus or near-campus student housing.
- OU-Tulsa - medical school, grad programs, and some undergrad options. Currently building a new doctor's building on campus, will break ground on a new classroom building in the next 12 months. Also has a library building on the drawing board. Recently opened a clinic building at Hillcrest.
- OSU Osteopathic - still talk of turning Tulsa Regional Medical Center into a public, state-run hospital operated by OSU.
- Langston - getting ready to break ground on a new building on Greenwood just north of OSU-Tulsa to create a separate campus for their programs.
- NSU-Broken Arrow - moved programs from the UCAT to their brand-new campus with plans to grow over the next decade.
- ORU - don't know what's going on down there... maybe others on here know?
- TCC - the starting point for many undergrad students, and we all know how much they've grown over the years and the new facilities they've built.
Looking at that list, it's amazing to think that just a generation ago, the only options were TU, ORU and TCC. Go back to the 1960s and TU was only the only higher education option in the entire city!
So what do you guys think the impact of these higher education institutions will have on Tulsa over the next 20 years? Seems as though we've laid the foundation to attract thousands of bright young people to Tulsa for their studies. That's a good base of young people for the city. If we're smart, we'll find ways to retain them, either through job opportunities or research opportunities.
Thoughts?