Southern Indiana Business Report
ODON – Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, in collaboration with Indiana University announced its first-ever Education Services Agreement (ESA) Wednesday at WestGate Academy in Odon. According to acquisition.gov, an ESA is “an ordering agreement under which the Government may order educational services.”
A press release from NSWC Crane Corporate Communications included remarks from Dr. Angela Lewis, SES, technical director at NSWC Crane, and Dr. Siân Mooney, dean of Indiana University’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, the top-ranked public affairs school in the country. Both spoke about the significance of this ongoing partnership.
“Partnerships like the Education Services Agreement with Indiana University allow our workforce to further develop leadership skills, participate in curriculum tailored to the Department of Defense and Navy environment, and grow their professional network,” said Lewis. “By providing services such as this, we are able to ensure a mission-ready workforce that continues to support the warfighter. Indiana University has a long history with NSWC Crane and I look forward to another decade of developing our future leaders.”
NSWC Crane and IU have a long history of educational partnerships dating back to 1988 with the Public Management Certificate and in 1991 when the Masters of Public Affairs program was introduced. To date, the PMC program has 525 graduates and the MPA program has almost 300 graduates.
“For more than 35 years, the partnership between NSWC Crane and IU has offered high quality and relevant programs for Crane employees,” said Mooney. “This collaboration is a testament to the mutual commitment and vision of both partners to advance the public good through education, research, and service. NSWC Crane also plays an important role in boosting the economy of Bloomington, Monroe County, and the surrounding area by offering thousands of jobs that feature higher-than-average wages. This partnership will equip Crane personnel with the skills and knowledge to manage complex projects effectively and efficiently, and we couldn’t be prouder of their achievements and contributions to Crane’s mission.”
NSWC Crane and IU’s partnership has continued to grow over the years. Currently, active partnerships include permanent shared spaces, shared faculty, and ongoing educational partnership agreements, among others. In addition, IU recently announced a $110 million dollar commitment to education, research and innovation that accelerate economic competitiveness in the area of microelectronics, an NSWC Crane key strategic area.
Heather Strange, Workshop Development branch manager at NSWC Crane, said she looks forward to what the future holds for this partnership.
“This Education Services Agreement represents our continued dedication to developing our workforce through our partnership with Executive Education at IU,” said Strange. “Their PMC and MPA programs have stood the test of time and continue to provide the curriculum and experiences needed for our next generation of leaders. We continue to experience high demand from our workforce for these programs and others administered by this amazing cadre of faculty, so we are excited to have this formalized 10-year agreement that will carry our partnership through another decade of learning.”
About NSWC Crane
NSWC Crane is a naval laboratory and a field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) with mission areas in Expeditionary Warfare, Strategic Missions and Electromagnetic Warfare. The warfare center is responsible for multi-domain, multi- spectral, full life cycle support of technologies and systems enhancing capability to today’s Warfighter.