An Enid business recently was honored for its decades of contributions to higher education and economic development with Northern Oklahoma College.

The partnership between NOC and Dillingham Insurance was among 27 business and higher education partnerships throughout the state recognized by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.

Dillingham Insurance and NOC jointly received the Regents Business Partnership Excellence Award, which included an economic development grant, at an event honoring the dozens of partnership last month at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond.

Institutions involved in these partnerships provide $500 for tuition waivers to employees of the partnering businesses; internships that enable current students to work at the partnering businesses; faculty externships with the partnering businesses; and/or enhancement of the partnerships with additional equipment, materials or supplies. The regents then provide a $500 match to the waivers. “Our colleges and universities continue to collaborate successfully with public, private and nonprofit partners to strengthen economic and workforce development across our state,” Chancellor Allison D. Garrett said in a statement Monday. “The State Regents and I are proud to celebrate the positive impact of these partnerships as we all work together to build the skilled workforce required to make Oklahoma competitive on a global stage.”

The Dillingham Foundation has provided significant endowed student scholarship funding and other support to NOC and the NOC Foundation.

The family-owned business has been headquartered in Enid since opening in 1927; Dan Dillingham joined the business in 1958, and sons Chad and Jed also work for the business. The company serves clients in 38 states and has offices in Oklahoma City, Woodward and Kansas City.

Dan, along with other community leaders, aided in the 1999 purchase of NOC’s current Enid campus, formerly Phillips University. He also served on the board of Phillips University and on Enid Higher Education Council, a conglomerate group that allowed NOC, Northwestern Oklahoma State University and Oklahoma State University to jointly offer classes at locations throughout the city.

Dillingham was 87 when he died nearly a year ago in March 2021, following a lifetime of championing higher education in Enid and Northwest Oklahoma.

Chad Dillingham, his son, served a near-full term on the Northern Oklahoma College Board of Regents before resigning to take a post with the state Wildlife Commission in 2020.

The Dillingham Foundation has provided significant endowed student scholarship funding and other support to NOC and the NOC Foundation.

Article by: Alexander Ewald, Enid News & Eagle 3.16.22