UMSL Interim Provost Steven Berberich (seated, middle) joins Mineral Area College President Joe Gilgour (seated, at left) and MAC Provost Roger McMilliam (seated, at right) at a signing ceremony Monday afternoon at Mineral Area College to finalize a new articulation agreement between the two institutions. The agreement will allow UMSL to continue offering upper-level Bachelor of Social Work courses on the MAC campus in Park Hills, Missouri. Also pictured at the signing ceremony were (back row, from left): Olivia Mendez-Alm, UMSL Associate Director of Admissions – Adult & Online Services; Lori Curtis, UMSL BSW Director and Outreach Coordinator; Sue Bateman, UMSL Coordinator of Transfer and Articulations; Sharon Johnson, UMSL Dean, School of Social Work; Terri Montgomery, UMSL Interim Director of Admissions; Reggie Hill, UMSL Associate Vice Chancellor for Strategic Enrollment; Julie Sheets, MAC Dean of Students; Dr. Shawn Young, MAC Division Chair, Human Services; Tami Davenport, UMSL Academic Advisor; and Andrea Kemper, MAC Assistant Director of Admissions. (Photo courtesy of Danielle Basler/Mineral Area College)
The University of Missouri–St. Louis and Mineral Area College have been partnering to serve students in Southeast Missouri for more than two decades with a particular emphasis on offering them education and training in the field of social work.
The two institutions have reached an agreement to extend that relationship, allowing UMSL faculty members to teach upper-level courses required for the Bachelor of Social Work on the MAC campus in Park Hills, Missouri.
“Our relationship with UMSL in these program areas has been going on for quite some time, and it provides a pathway for MAC students to continue on to get their bachelor’s degree in social work and to be able to practice in the area,” said Roger McMillian, the provost at Mineral Area College. “Social workers deal a lot with the trouble of the world that we’re living with today, and the partnership is invaluable for addressing the need to get trained professionals into the agencies and organizations where they can help.”
McMillian, MAC President Joe Gilgour and Dean of Students Julie Sheets joined UMSL Interim Provost Steven Berberich, Associate Vice Chancellor for Strategic Enrollment Reggie Hill, Academic Advisor Tami Davenport and other officials from both institutions in a signing ceremony to formalize the new articulation agreement on Monday afternoon at Mineral Area College.
“We are excited to continue working with Mineral Area College and to deliver UMSL’s quality academic instruction to students in Park Hills, Farmington and other nearby communities,” Hill said. “Agreements such as this one with our community college partners are just one more way that UMSL helps expand access to higher education and prepares students to strengthen the areas in which they live.”
The agreement is especially beneficial for social work students because they can continue to attend classes closer to where they live on the MAC campus and in a setting with which they are already familiar. Under the agreement, UMSL also has an opportunity to develop other degree programs on the MAC campus, should it identify a need.
Davenport is available onsite two days a week to answer questions and help with admissions, financial aid, advising and registration for social work students. She can also assist students interested in transferring to UMSL’s main campus or enrolling online to pursue degrees in other areas, whether it be business, criminology, cybersecurity, education, nursing and more.
“I think Tami is one of the people who has helped me make this successful, because community college students like to see their advisors,” McMillian said. “Having a physical presence in an office on our campus has made a difference. Those students know they can reach out to her if there’s something that they need to get. Tami is an intermediary that works between here and the main campus.”
