Disney Institute Sponsored at UCO

The University of Central Oklahoma is sponsoring the Disney Institute’s professional development course on Disney’s approach to employee engagement on March 28.

“The Disney Institutes are wonderful training opportunities where you can learn a lot on a specific topic in a short amount of time,” said Jay Corwin, associate vice president for Advancement at UCO.

The one day event is open to the community and full of information and helpful tips for professionals. It will focus on training strategies that help boost employees’ confidence and drive employee engagement. After attending a Disney Institute event a few years ago, Dallas Caldwell, senior director of Enrollment and Financial Services at UCO, said he has been looking forward to the Disney Institute coming to UCO.

“I’ve been to Disney Institute trainings twice now at Rose State [College],” Caldwell said. “I’ve always wanted to bring it here. I really believe in the Disney Institute and what they do; they really know how to run a business.”

Corwin said he agrees that Disney as a business is doing it right and their professional development events are popular.

“I love that they are always done the magical Disney Way: high energy, lots of positivity, customer-focused and entertaining,” Corwin said. “Disney training is legendary worldwide, especially in corporate relations, leadership enhancement and customer engagement.”

There used to be a professional development program called Road to Greatness for UCO employees, but the program ended a few years ago, according to Caldwell. He said he felt this was a great opportunity to bring a professional development program back to UCO.

“Professional development is important, especially for employees who do not get to go to conferences,” Caldwell said. “It’s good to get out of your box, it helps develop the employers attending to be exposed to new ideas.”

Going to conferences and communicating differences led Caldwell to the idea of UCO’s OneStop, where students can receive help with financial aid, admissions, bursar and enrollment in one place.

The past Disney Institute events Caldwell attended were customer orientated, but he said this event is focused on employee engagement.

“Its focused on leadership and hiring, and maintaining office morale, and hiring the right people for the right job,” Caldwell said. “This event is mainly targeted toward supervisors.”

Seats are limited, but have already been selling to the public, according to Caldwell. Information on this event was sent out about a week ago and Calwell said he believes they’ve sold a little over 10 percent of the spots available.

“It takes a little bit for companies to make plans to come, with travel and expenses. I’m not too worried though, I think we will fill our seats pretty easily,” Caldwell said. “It’s interesting to see the variety of people already signing up, from major corporations to churches.”

Registration is $445 and includes all course materials, as well as breakfast, lunch and parking. Group discounts will be provided for groups of three and six. For more information, call (405) 974-3670 or to register, visit blogs.uco.edu/disneyprofdev.