BVU, Iowa Lakes Electric Cooperative Form Strategic Partnership
In an effort to provide resources to their employees, Iowa Lakes Electric Cooperative has signed a Strategic Partnership with Buena Visita University. This partnership will provide educational benefits to Iowa Lakes Electric Cooperative employees and their family members.
Buena Vista University (BVU) and Iowa Lakes Electric Cooperative (ILEC) have formed a Strategic Partnership, providing education benefits to their workforce while strengthening communities both entities serve.
This partnership allows for employees of ILEC, 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.
BVU professors and staff are also available for training programs, workshops, and more should officials with ILEC seek those services and expertise.
“I am very excited to expand opportunities for employees of Iowa Lakes Electric Cooperative through a BVU Strategic Partnership.”
Rick Olesen, ILEC CEO, 1996 BVU graduate
“A partnership with BVU provides an exceptional benefit for our company to offer to our employees and their family members,” says ILEC Manager of Human Resources and Payroll Kristin Hanson. “We will be able to financially support them as they pursue opportunities to better themselves and strengthen northwest Iowa’s workforce.”
Headquartered in Estherville, ILEC is an electric distribution cooperative serving territories throughout Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Kossuth, Palo Alto, and Pocahontas counties. ILEC maintains 4,900 miles of distribution line and operates two wind generation facilities. More than 60 employees service approximately 12,900 member-owners, including farms, homes, businesses, and industries throughout northwest Iowa.
“I am very excited to expand opportunities for employees of Iowa Lakes Electric Cooperative through a BVU Strategic Partnership,” says ILEC CEO Rick Olesen, 1996 BVU graduate.
“All of us have our own unique path in education and lifelong learning. Although I attended BVU through classrooms in Estherville and Spirit Lake, I’m very proud to say that my journey ultimately took me through the Victory Arch and beyond,” Olesen continues. “My experience and education at BVU have supported growth and success in my career path, and, in fact, was a bridge to that path.”
BVU has long enjoyed strong educational ties in and around Estherville, home to Iowa Lakes Community College, a campus that has collaborated with BVU for decades. Students enrolled in a program through ILCC can seamlessly transfer their credits toward their bachelor’s degree at BVU. Students receive personalized support, including admissions and enrollment counseling and academic advising, in Estherville, through BVU’s office on the ILCC campus.
“Iowa Lakes Electric Cooperative has always maintained a strong emphasis on developing future leaders. Our Strategic Partnership with BVU will provide a greater incentive for employees looking to further their education and enhance their career,” says ILEC Operations Services Coordinator Steve Loken, a student in BVU’s Online & Hybrid Programs. “My experience with BVU has been superlative, and the online classes have given me the flexibility to earn a degree while working full-time and raising a family.”
“We are excited to partner with Iowa Lakes Electric Cooperative, an organization that provides vital services to communities throughout northwest Iowa,” says BVU Director of Strategic Partnerships Laura Todd. “As we work together, we will be able to continue supporting our communities through educational opportunities.”
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.