BVU, Central Bank Align Through Strategic Partnership
Through a partnership with Buena Vista University, Central Bank offers additional opportunities and educational benefits to employees and their eligible family members.
Buena Vista University (BVU) and Central Bank have formed a Strategic Partnership, providing new opportunities to strengthen their communities and the people they serve.
This partnership allows for employees of Central Bank, as well as eligible family members of full-time employees, to receive grant funding to lower the overall cost of education while enrolled in classes at BVU’s Storm Lake campus. Partner grant funding also lowers the cost per credit hour for students enrolled in BVU’s convenient online/hybrid undergraduate programs or the organizational leadership graduate program.
“We have so many employees who attended Buena Vista University, so we see this opportunity as being very beneficial, and we hope it’s very well received,” says Central Bank Senior Vice President, Human Resources Officer Jessie Kies.
“My time at Buena Vista University has impacted my personal and professional growth in more ways than what I knew at the time of graduation.”
Central Bank Senior Vice President, Human Resources Officer Jessie Kies, '08
Central Bank specializes in community banking and provides personal, business, and private banking services as well as insurance products and risk management services. Three-hundred employees in 25 locations throughout Iowa and South Dakota contribute to Central Bank’s long-standing tradition of community responsibility and relationship-based service.
“With our main branch located in Storm Lake we have many ties to BVU, which is great,” says Central Bank Assistant Vice President, Human Resources Generalist Katelyn Mateer. “This Strategic Partnership is a great benefit to offer to our employees and being able to include family members is a great opportunity, especially since there are different ways to attend BVU, not just in-person, but online as well.”
Central Bank was established in 1877 in Storm Lake by James F. Toy, then purchased by the Tymeson family in 1937. In 1990, brothers Tim and John Brown purchased the bank with $30 million in assets. Today, Central Bank is one of the oldest and largest community banks in the Midwest with assets exceeding $1.9 billion.
“My time at Buena Vista University has impacted my personal and professional growth in more ways than what I knew at the time of graduation,” says Kies, who received her bachelor’s degree in business management and human resources in 2008. “As I navigate through life and my professional career, I find myself connecting the pieces from my time on campus. Whether it was words of encouragement from advisors, coaches, and professors or campus experiences, I am thankful to have chosen BVU. Through this Strategic Partnership, I am excited to be able to speak firsthand to team members about the opportunities available at BVU.”
“We look forward to our Strategic Partnership with Central Bank and the opportunities it will open up for many individuals,” says BVU Director of Strategic Partnerships Laura Todd. “BVU is dedicated to strengthening Iowa’s workforce through increased access to education.”
For more information about BVU’s Strategic Partnerships and partner opportunities, please visit the BVU website at bvu.edu/strategic-partnerships or contact Strategic Partnerships at StrategicPartnerships@bvu.edu.