CPCE: Omaha and Beyond

Creighton Instructors Conduct Courses in Minnesota and California

Many Omaha-area corporations have taken advantage of the wide range of programming offered through the Center for Professional and Corporate Excellence, or CPCE (formerly Creighton Business Institute). CPCE, established early last year, provides continuing education and professional development for professionals and companies in a variety of industries. It counts among its clients Fortune 500s, such as Union Pacific and Valmont Industries, and other large employers, including First National Bank, NMC Corporation and Farm Credit Services of America. 

Increasingly, however, clients from across the country are seeking CPCE services. This summer, the center has taken its services on the road to conduct classes in California and Minnesota. Come fall, instructors will engage with professionals as far away as the Aloha State.

Jennifer Metzler, director of business development at CPCE, and Karla Morgan, CPCE instructor, visited Berkeley, California, in July to conduct a two-day Causal Analysis and Mistake Proofing training course at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, a United States Department of Energy Office of Science lab managed by the University of California. The goal was to discover why some processes are flawed to prevent reoccurring mistakes and improve outcomes.

The training was a success, and Berkeley Labs hopes to have CPCE return for follow-up programming.

“You helped us learn new skills that are essential to our success in the future,” Brent Henderson, facilities division director at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, shared with CPCE in an email. “This definitely exceeded my expectations for our first training session.”

In June, Heider College of Business associate professor of practice Bradley Klontz, PsyD, CFP, conducted a pre-conference workshop on financial psychology at the RBC Wealth Management Summit in Minneapolis. The talk, “How Your Client’s Psychology Impacts Their Behavior (and What You Can Do about It),” included 29 of RBC’s top planning advisors from across the country, 19 of which have a CFP^® designation.

Another recent new client is the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), which operates under the United States Department of Defense. The DPAA agency works cooperatively with the governments of other countries to search for American MIAs and/or their remains. The agency, which identified 203 missing service members last year, has requested a two-part course PMP (Project Management Professional) exam prep course. The first installment took place at Offutt Air Base in Bellevue, Nebraska in July; the second part will be held in Hawaii later this fall.

“More professionals desire a depth of expertise in one topic area as well as a breadth of interpersonal skills necessary to collaborate across industries,” says Metzler, who is seeing an enrollment uptick in professional development classes from clients outside the Omaha area. “Skills development is a must for those in the workplace who are trying to move up the proverbial corporate ladder.

“Creighton’s reputation as a premier university is drawing more and more adult learners looking to acquire new skill sets but requiring flexible programming that fits their busy professional lives,” Metzler adds.

Learn More

The CPCE strives to cultivate corporate partnerships by collaborating with organizations to create customizable solutions through which they can develop their workforce, further their mission and attract new talent. More information about partnering with Creighton is available at excellence.creighton.edu.