The Saint Mary’s Partnership Collaborative is a new initiative populated with key partners from the Schools of Business and Technology, Health and Human Services, and Education that provide students, faculty, and alumni with opportunities for professional development, research, internships, externships, employee pipelines, targeted accelerator certificates and degree completion. This partnership spotlight is meant to highlight the exciting partnerships Saint Mary’s has entered.
Partnerships that have recently been formed this fall include:
- Law Enforcement Labor Services (LELS): LELS is Minnesota’s largest public safety labor union representing over 7,000 licensed peace officers, non-licensed corrections officers, 911 dispatchers, firefighters, and public safety administrative support personnel. Through this partnership, students enrolled in Saint Mary’s B.S. in Criminal Leadership program can receive credit hours from Peace Officers Standards and Training professional development.
- Avera Health: Avera serves South Dakota and surrounding areas of Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, and North Dakota through six regional centers in Aberdeen, Mitchell, Pierre, Sioux Falls, and Yankton, South Dakota, as well as Marshall, Minnesota, serving 37 hospitals, 215 primary and specialty care clinics, and 40 senior living facilities.
- Nexus Family Healing: Nexus Family Healing is a nonprofit organization, headquartered in Plymouth, serving thousands of youth and families in Illinois, Minnesota, Maryland, and North Dakota with community-based mental health services, foster care, adoption services, and residential treatment programs.
- Duluth Public Schools (District 709): The Duluth School District operates more than 25 facilities and serves approximately 11,200 students in grades pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. The district’s staff includes approximately 2,200 full and part-time employees.
Along with the new partnerships, Kevin Ebben, director for strategic partnerships, and Bruce Locklear, Ed.D., director for strategic partnerships in the School of Education, as well as other Saint Mary’s staff and faculty members, have attended a number of events supporting the university’s partnerships that include:
- Law Enforcement Labor Services Annual Training Conference
- Benedictine Health Services Annual Conference
- People Incorporated Diversity Fair
- Federal Academic Alliance and US Army’s 1st Annual Education and Professional Development Symposium
Future Saint Mary’s partnerships will be announced monthly in Cardinal Updates.
