Oklahoma Senate
Sen. Pugh praises OU’s approval of aerospace and defense graduate programs
Sen. Adam Pugh, Chair of the Legislative Aerospace Caucus, is applauding the University of Oklahoma’s announcement of the addition of two new graduate programs in aerospace and defense through the Michael F. Price College of Business.
Pugh, R-Edmond, was part of the roundtable that developed the programs which will be offered through the Gene Rainbolt Graduate School of Business in Oklahoma City starting this fall. The programs include an Executive MBA in Aerospace and Defense, a one-year, 32-credit-hour degree as well as a graduate certificate in Aerospace and Defense which will be a six-month, 12-credit-hour program.
“This is a huge boon to Oklahoma and our efforts to grow the aerospace industry, which is already the second-largest in the state,” Pugh said. “These advanced degree programs offer a great career advancement opportunity for active duty military personnel stationed in Oklahoma, and it’s a fantastic professional development opportunity for our private sector partners. This will also be an invaluable recruiting tool for out-of-state companies and the relocation of jobs to Oklahoma.”
Pugh said the new programs will be extremely important to Oklahoma on the heels of the of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the state’s economy.
“At some point, we’re going to have to create policies that drive our economic recovery,” Pugh said. “Traditionally our recovery would rely heavily on the return of stronger oil and gas prices, but this is another opportunity for us to leverage the fastest growing sector of our economy—the aerospace industry.
