UT Tyler Expands Nonprofit Certification Classes to Longview Area Professionals

East Texas Center for Nonprofits provides workshops to enhance workers’ skill sets 

TYLER (June 8, 2023) – The University of Texas at Tyler offers nonprofit management  certification classes to East Texas professionals through a partnership with United Way of Smith  County. Previously available only at the United Way Building in downtown Tyler, workshops will  now also be available in Longview at the UT Tyler Longview University Center. 

“Since moving to Longview, I have noticed the community’s strong commitment to giving back, and it’s an infectious culture that permeates the entire area,” said Dr. Rodney Ellis, LUC director. “As a  consequence, there is a need to enhance the knowledge, skills and abilities of those currently in the  nonprofit industry here in the area or those who desire to be in the industry.” 

The UT Tyler Department of Social Sciences is collaborating with United Way of Smith County to  manage the East Texas Center for Nonprofits, which provides the workshops to enhance the skill  sets of nonprofit professionals. This expansion comes on the heels of UT Tyler’s new Master of  Public Administration nonprofit management track.  

“We will be merging these efforts so ETCN workshops will lead students to MPA degrees,” said Dr.  Thomas Guderjan, UT Tyler professor and department chair. “Community members who serve on  nonprofit boards or staff members of nonprofits will now be able to further their education and  earn a quality UT Tyler degree.” 

Registration fees vary between workshop/certification and includes Continuing Education Units and  workshop materials. Partial scholarships are available. Attendees must attend all classes to receive  certification. For a full schedule of workshops or to register, visit uwsmithcounty.org/our-trainings.  For questions, contact nonprofit mentor Pam Anderson at pam@uwtyler.org.  

The next ETCN workshop in Tyler, “Board Bootcamp,” will be 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. June 14 at the United  Way building, located at 911 South Broadway Ave. The Nonprofit Management Certificate Program  will begin Friday, June 30, at the UT Tyler Longview University Center, located at 3201 North  Eastman Road in Longview. 

“The collaboration between UT Tyler and ETCN has already proven invaluable to many nonprofits,”  said John Gaston, United Way of Smith County president. “We are seeing more traffic through the  center and various trainings are being offered to build nonprofits’ capacity. We appreciate UT Tyler  working with us to revitalize the ETCN post-COVID 19.” 

The UT Tyler Longview University Center offers upper-division courses for residents of Longview,  Gregg County and surrounding areas. Students experience cost-saving convenience, greater 

flexibility in scheduling their classes and reduced travel expenses, all while receiving a quality UT  Tyler degree. Currently offering nursing and industrial technology degree completion courses, the  LUC will offer additional education and business management courses beginning this fall. For more  information, visit uttyler.edu/luc/ or contact Ellis at rellis@uttyler.edu.  

United Way of Smith County is creating a better community by inspiring collaboration, fundraising  and volunteerism for dozens of essential programs and areas throughout Smith County, including  education, health and wellness, financial stability and crisis intervention. For additional information,  visit uwsmithcounty.org/. 

With a mission to improve educational and health care outcomes for East Texas and beyond, UT  Tyler offers more than 80 undergraduate and graduate programs to 10,000 students. UT Tyler  recently merged with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler (now known as UT  Tyler Health Science Center). Through its alignment with UT Tyler Health Science Center (HSC) and  UT Health East Texas, UT Tyler has unified these entities to serve Texas with quality education,  cutting-edge research and excellent patient care. Classified by Carnegie as a doctoral research  institution and by U.S. News & World Report as a national university, UT Tyler has campuses in  Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston.