‘This is for you and your children out there’

Colleges agree to join forces to help students

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Higher education opportunities in Page could be bright in the near future.
After years of working behind the scenes, representatives from Coconino Community College, Dine’ College, Navajo Technical University and Northern Arizona University met Thursday to sign a memorandum of understanding to share resources and offer classes at the Page CCC campus.
County Supervisor Lena Fowler, who represents Page, spearheaded the effort to get the four higher education centers to work together. She said the memorandum will create the Page Higher Education Center and will lead to increased educational opportunities that will benefit Page residents as well as students throughout the Navajo Nation.
“Today is such a wonderful day to have a signing ceremony,” Fowler said. “This has been a vision and a dream for a couple of years. Today is the day we begin establishing the Page Higher Education Center.”
Fowler said with the facilities cooperating, students will be able to study at home and stay at home after earning degrees.
“This will make it possible to keep our students here, our families whole and our communities whole,” Fowler said. “Our students can get a degree here and get a job here.”
While the details of future classes are still being considered, some options shared last week included hospitality courses using Quality Inn and possibly marine mechanic classes assisted by local businesses.
“This is part of diversifying our economy and bringing our students home,” Fowler said.
Page Mayor Bill Diak recalled being part of early discussions about the joint effort.
“This is a historic event,” Diak said. “I was here many years ago with Lena when we had the first conversation about what is happening today. It wasn’t well received.”
That began to change when Colleen Smith was hired as president of CCC. She said she is a big believer is partnerships and welcomes the opportunity to work with others.

“I think through partnerships we can provide more opportunities for people,” Smith said.
While Page could be one of the winners in the partnership, Jonathan Nez, vice president of the Navajo Nation, said students in the region could be the big winners.
“It is very important we have a dialogue about higher education in our region,” Nez said. “This is for you and your children out there.”
Nez said while driving to Page, he went through many small communities in the Navajo Nation, and he could envision students from those communities getting and education and jobs because of the partnership.
Nez, who grew up in Shonto, said his hometown could even benefit.
“We share this economy with one another,” Nez said. “What we really want to do is convince our children to be a part of this tourism economy. We’re looking forward to collaborating with the universities. We’re looking forward to empowering our Navajo people.
“It’s a partnership, and we want to help this partnership. If we empower our students, they’re better able to take care of their families, and when they do that they contribute to the community.”
Smith said the partnership will ultimately benefit the students in the region.
“This is really all about the students,” Smith said. “I’m so thrilled to be a part of this. It will be a tough road working out the details. We want it to be a win-win for the students.”
It also needs to be a win-win for the four partners. While CCC has the ability to offer associate’s degrees, the three other partners all have bachelor and higher programs. In the plan, some students could stay in Page and earn degrees from the other institutions while some students might start in Page and take classes at the other campuses.
Charles Roessel, the president of Dine’ College, said he is excited about the possibilities.
“This is a wonderful opportunity,” he said. “We have responsibilities outside of Page. They, too, deserve the opportunity we’re looking at here. It’s not just what we can do here, but what we can do out in the Navajo Nation.”
Roessel said the partnership will help the colleges and universities decide how to work for whole economy.
“I hope we’re challenged not to keep Page and this area where it’s at, but where you want to be,” Roessel said. “It’s not just about jobs. Yes, we want to create jobs, but what kind of economy do we want?”
Arlena Benallie, the director of the Chinle Instructional Site for Navajo Technical University, said offering classes locally could be a big benefit for the Navajo students.
“Within the Navajo Nation, the unemployment rate is very high,” Benallie said. “We have catered to students that can’t move away. When classes are held locally, it gives students the opportunity to be home with their families.”
Rita Cheng, president of NAU, said her university is always looking for partnerships.
“NAU has a rich tradition of reaching out across Arizona to rural communities,” Cheng said. “We’re on every community college campus so students can start and complete their education at home.”
Cheng said the partnership could be beneficial to many students.
“Healthcare and hotel and restaurant management are really key in an area that relies on tourism,” Cheng said. “We’re going to look for ways we can collaborate more deeply and we’re very excited about the opportunity.”