The Sarkeys Foundation has approved a gift to establish the Sarkeys Endowed Chair in Business Information Technology at Rogers State University.
The gift will total $250,000 and be given to the RSU Foundation over a five-year period. The endowed chair will reside in RSU’s Department of Business, located in its School of Business and Technology.
“The Sarkeys Foundation recognizes there is a shortage of qualified graduates, as well as faculty, in this rapidly growing field,” said Cheri Cartwright, executive director for the Sarkeys Foundation. “We hope that this endowment will help RSU to attract and retain a highly qualified occupant of the chair.”
“This generous endowment from the Sarkeys Foundation will allow the university to attract a nationally known scholar in the area of business information technology,” said RSU President Dr. Joe Wiley.
Wiley stressed the importance of providing more graduates in business information technology to work in the burgeoning technology economy in Tulsa and northeast Oklahoma.
“There is a nationwide shortage of technology workers who have a solid background in business and communication,” Wiley said. “This chair will further expand our new, cutting-edge program in business information technology.”
RSU’s new four-year bachelor’s degree in business information technology was established in the fall of 2000. The program’s first graduates will receive their degrees in spring 2002.
“RSU’s new program in business information technology is unique in the state of Oklahoma,” Wiley said. “While other universities have programs in management information systems, computer science, and business administration, RSU is the first university in the state to combine the areas of information technology, business, and communications in a single bachelor’s degree.”
RSU will secure matching funds from the Endowment Trust Fund of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education to complete the $500,000 endowment for the chair.
The Norman, Okla., based Sarkeys Foundation provides grants to a diverse group of non-profit organizations and institutions with the mission of improving the quality of life in Oklahoma.
Sarkeys has also been the benefactor of the very successful RSU Sarkeys Endowed Scholarship Program. This program provides scholarships to students who have earned their GED and want to continue their education at Rogers State University.
“The Sarkeys Foundation is very pleased to provide new and innovative opportunities for students and academic programs at Rogers State University,” Cartwright said. “Through the scholarship endowment and the endowed chair, we hope that many students will have the opportunity to obtain a college education and that the technology education gap will be filled.”
For more information on RSU’s new bachelor’s degree in business information technology, or other business or technology programs, call (918) 343-7663.