Northern Oklahoma College celebrated 20 years at the Enid campus recently with a celebration at Montgomery Hall in the Gantz Student Center.
A large group of NOC administrators, faculty, and staff along with former NOC regents, Northwestern Oklahoma State University officials, Enid area educators and community leaders attended the afternoon event.
Thursday’s celebration focused on a panel discussion with four men who were instrumental in making NOC Enid a reality. The panel included Dan Dillingham (Chairman of the Board, Dilling-ham Insurance), Harold Hamm (CEO of Continental Resources), Dr. Joe Kinzer (NOC President Emeritus), and Bert Mackie (Former Oklahoma State Regent and retired Security National Bank executive).
“We are honored to have a representation of the distinguished leaders whose vision and hard work helped establish NOC Enid and have continued through the years providing support through advocacy, service, and helping raise much needed resources for scholarships and program support,” said NOC President Dr. Cheryl Evans. “Each was a key leader in the acquisition of the joint purchase of the former Phillips University.”
All four answered questions from NOC President Dr. Cheryl Evans in the panel discussion.
What was each of these men’s roles in the acquiring of the Phillips campus?
Dan Dillingham – I was approached by the president of Phillips University to try and save the school and understanding the issues they were facing, that was going to be a challenge. NOC and Northwestern already had a presence here in Enid and it wound up being a natural progression for NOC to bring a larger presence. We wanted to make sure that Northwestern Oklahoma students continued to have an affordable two year education opportunity.
Harold Hamm – I had connections to Phillips having gone to school here but with the issues of the day, we could all see the handwriting on the wall. Fortunately, we were able to work with the folks here in Enid and NOC to make sure this beautiful campus was going to be used. It was an adventure but everyone worked together to make it happen.
Dr. Joe Kinzer – It was quite an experience. We were already serving the Enid community just not many people knew about it. The closing of Phillips gave us more to consider with the possibility of NOC increasing its reach. When we toured the campus, I was amazed at its beauty and it became even more important for us to do what we could to make this happen.
