Video highlights partnership with OC Poulsbo

Kitsap Economic Development Alliance recently released Collaboration, a video featuring Western Washington University and Olympic College, as the newest addition to Kitsap Connected. Kitsap Connected is KEDA’s award-winning multi-media marketing campaign that promotes economic development opportunities throughout Kitsap County and across the Greater Puget Sound Region.

The video celebrates the collaborative spirit that led to an expanded partnership between Olympic College and Western Washington University and the creation of the Western Washington University Center at Olympic College in Poulsbo. The partnership enables Olympic College and Western to provide undergraduate and graduate degree programs as part of a joint vision to serve the community and businesses on the Peninsulas.

Beginning this fall, Western's College of Business and Economics will offer a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration program at the newly created WWU Center at Olympic College in Poulsbo. The program is designed to prepare students for leadership roles in business and the community.

Western's long-standing Huxley College of the Environment degree programs are also expanding in Poulsbo, including the addition of a tenured faculty member added to the program earlier this month. The program currently serves students in Port Angeles, Bremerton, Poulsbo and Everett. Western is also discussing the possibility of adding a master's degree in environmental management.

"Western Washington University is a strong institution with great vision and it is truly an honor to be partnering with them," said Olympic College's President, David Mitchell. "Moreover, partnerships such as this are crucial to developing new and innovative educational opportunities that better serve the diverse population of our community. These new programs along with the flexibility of the Poulsbo location will greatly broaden the horizons for individuals and businesses that call Kitsap and Olympic Peninsulas their home."

Western Washington University President Bruce Shepard agreed, saying, "Though Western has been active in Poulsbo for some time, we are very excited about the new opportunities that this partnership with Olympic College creates for the citizens of Kitsap County and the Olympic Peninsula as a whole."

For more information on Western Washington University Center at Olympic College in Poulsbo, please visit www.wwu.edu/poulsbo.