“The Broken Arrow City Council fully supports the passage of Oklahoma Senate Bill 701,” which would allow Northeastern State University-Broken Arrow to become a traditional four-year university, according to Resolution No. 1633, which the Council unanimously approved on Feb. 25.
SB701 advanced from the Senate Education Committee on Feb. 25 by an 11-0 vote. Authored by Sen. John Haste and coauthored by Sen. Christi Gillespie and Sen. Julie McIntosh, the bill authorizes the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education to make lower-division and upper-division undergraduate and graduate course offerings available at the Northeastern State University Broken Arrow campus, 3100 E. New Orleans St.
Securing a four-year university has been a 35-year endeavor for the City of Broken Arrow. The City requests that the Oklahoma Legislature pass SB701, and that Gov. Kevin Stitt sign the bill into law.
NSU President Dr. Rodney Hanley and Vice President of University Relations Danny Mabery attended the City Council meeting to offer their full support for making NSU-BA a four-year public option for students.
“My top priority as President is to get the Broken Arrow campus to open up where we are authorized to teach first- and second-year courses,” Hanley said. “Students may want to have the full college experience, and we want to be able to have that at our Broken Arrow campus. We believe that having a four-year university in Broken Arrow will further contribute to the economic development of the Broken Arrow community and the entire region. It is very important for Northeastern State University, and we fully support Senate Bill 701.”
City Councilor David Pickel agreed with the university president and said, “Just to think about the opportunity that this is going to present for our city 5, 10, 15, years down the road and the talent we can retain in the area,” he said. “It’s exciting, and I really appreciate all of your work on it.”
Hanley said the City is blessed to have dedicated officials who are passionate about this issue. He says the weekly discussions between himself, city leaders, and state officials are advancing the ball forward.
“I feel like we all have a role to play, and I ask for your support of the resolution today,” Hanley said.
Furthermore, he said they aren’t looking for a parallel university and are not duplicating the university campus in Tahlequah in Broken Arrow. However, they expect the new model will be beneficial to both campuses.
“Frankly, I look for enrollment to increase in both of those campuses as a result of this,” Hanley said.
Greg Graham, Chairman/CEO of First National Bank and Trust of Broken Arrow, spoke on behalf of the Economic Development Corporation and highlighted the City’s long-term dedication to establishing a four-year university in Broken Arrow.
“Last week, Feb. 20, the EDC unanimously passed a resolution supporting the City’s resolution and Senate Bill 701,” Graham said. “As a much younger man, I remember my father explaining to me the importance of NSU-Broken Arrow. He said the Tulsa-Broken Arrow metro was the largest in the country, not just the state or the region, but in the country without a public university. Well, here we are 30 years later, and we’re in the same spot. The time is now.”
The City of Broken Arrow’s commitment to bringing a four-year university to the city began in the early 1990s.
“I often say to this Council that you are setting the tone for future Councils,” said Vice Mayor Johnnie Parks. “So, I can remember years ago when we worked with Northeastern for the property where Northeastern State University- Broken Arrow is located. The dream of all that Council was for that campus to be what we’re looking at today.”
Broken Arrow voters have invested approximately $43 million toward NSU becoming a four-year university. The City acquired and donated the 170 acres for the campus, and twice BA voters have approved temporary sales tax initiatives to fund its campus. The City has also partnered with the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA) to construct an exchange at New Orleans and Liberty Parkway Trail to improve access to the campus and the surrounding area for improvements to the Creek Turnpike. And the City has continued to lobby state officials to make this vision a reality.
Without a public four-year university option, Broken Arrow area students do not have full access to school choice.
NSU Vice President Mabery said Broken Arrow, like many other cities within the state, lags behind the national average of people with bachelor’s degrees.
“As a matter of fact, in Broken Arrow, we’re about 23,000 bachelor’s degrees behind the national average,” Mabery said. “By having a four-year university right here in our community, we can make an impact for our students, for your children, and influence the workforce in a way that we can create new jobs and attract new industry right here in a growing, thriving environment. That is what education systems like what Northeastern State University is all about.”
Other challenges that arise from not having a four-year public university in the area include:
- The Tulsa Community College (TCC) Tulsa Achieves Program, which offers free lower-level college classes to Tulsa County residents, does not extend to Broken Arrow Public School (BAPS) students who live in Wagoner County. (Approximately 33 percent of BAPS students live in Wagoner County.)
- The State of Oklahoma is not maximizing the retention of college graduates in Broken Arrow, the region, or the state. Statistics show that a high percentage of students stay in the area where they graduate college.
- Without a four-year university, Broken Arrow and the Tulsa region cannot take full advantage of all the economic development and cultural and social opportunities that can advance the region and the state.
Plus, once NSU-Broken Arrow becomes a four-year public university, it will have a significant economic impact for the City, the region, and the state.
- A four-year public university will increase the number of skilled workers in the area.
- It will bring research and innovation to the community and region.
- It will provide additional cultural and social opportunities.
- It will increase community engagement.
- It will become a higher education hub for the area and help create additional, higher-paying jobs.
And a four-year university will benefit an already excellent quality of life. Broken Arrow’s current population is estimated to be 120,000 people: it’s the fourth-largest city in the state and the 247th-largest in the U.S. The Broken Arrow/Tulsa Metro has grown by more than one percent in the last four years, and it’s expected to continue. According to current estimates, the City of Broken Arrow will grow to 240,000 by 2060.
The Broken Arrow economy is also growing, and the community's assessed value is over $1.3 billion, nearly a 100 percent increase in the last 10 years. In 2024, the City had almost $475 million in private investments, with close to $1 billion in private investments planned over the next three years.
Once SB701 becomes law, the Regional University System of Oklahoma Board and the State Board of Regents will be able to work together to implement a plan for transforming NSU-BA into a four-year institution.
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