Newman on mission to educate the state

(Left to right) President Michelle Schoon of Cowley College, President Kim Krull of Butler Community College, President Elizabeth Frombgen of Southwestern College, President Amy Bragg Carey of Friends University and President Kathleen S. Jagger of Newman University came together to announce “Educate the State” in late April.
Fall 2024 | Section: University News
By Amy Brooks
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There’s strength in numbers

Founded in 1933 with the mission to educate teachers, Newman is joining forces with other Kansas colleges to address the severe teacher shortage in Kansas.

Newman, Friends University, Butler Community College, Cowley College and Southwestern College announced an innovative solution in April known as the Educate the State program.

Jagger and superintendent of Catholic schools Janet Eaton
Jagger and superintendent of Catholic schools Janet Eaton

The Educate the State program aims to make teacher education more affordable and accessible — particularly in education deserts. The program allows students to complete an associate’s degree at Butler or Cowley, then transfer to Newman, Friends or Southwestern to pursue a bachelor’s degree in secondary education.

The collaboration could be particularly impactful for increasing the pipeline of teachers into schools across Kansas.

As Janet Eaton, superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Wichita Diocese, put it: “We are desperate for teachers. … This opportunity expands the availability for our graduates to become teachers who believe in their faith, live their faith, love their faith.”

The five presidents hope this example of cooperation can be replicated in other regions facing teacher shortages.

“This is really a model for the state,” Newman President Kathleen Jagger, Ph.D., MPH, said. “The more we in higher education focus on raising all boats instead of competing, the more successful we’ll be.”