Remodeled Education Center Unveiled to Community

Donors, volunteers, and employees celebrated the $1.8 million remodel of the Norman Regional Education Center.

The Norman Chamber of Commerce marked the occasion with a ribbon cutting and open house. The Education Center is located on the historic Porter Health Village campus at 901 N. Porter Avenue and contains an auditorium, conference rooms, catering kitchen and meeting space.

The Norman Regional Health Foundation and the Norman Regional Volunteer Auxiliary, contributed equally to this renovation project with each providing more than $919,191 to the $1.8 million renovation, said Elaine Purvis, chief strategy officer at Norman Regional.

“The Foundation receives its funding through the support of corporations, and our community members, including generous Norman Regional employees. Their commitment allows us to invest in transformative projects like this,” Purvis said.

"On the other hand, the Auxiliary generates its funding through retail services that serve our community, including the Gift Shop, Daily Grind, and Scrub Shop. Their efforts provide vital support for our initiatives. Your patronage of these businesses and services help provide for projects such as this beautiful new space.”

The Education Center has been a staple in Norman since the 1990s. The remodeled look took inspiration from the Porter Art Deco street project but with a modern twist. The technology including the projection screens and audio equipment inside the center also underwent a major upgrade.

The Education Center hosts meetings for both hospital and community groups. Students from the OU College of Nursing at Norman Regional also have classes in the Education Center. In 2023 alone, the Ed Center received more than 2,100 meeting requests.

At the ribbon cutting, University of Oklahoma Women’s Basketball coaching legend Sherri Coale honored donors. Coale served as the Foundation’s Equipped for Tomorrow campaign chair.

“It’s this spirit of collaboration and dedication that brings us together to create this enhanced space for education, community engagement, and training,” Coale said.

Coale and the Foundation thanked the following donors whose lead contributions activated the fundraising campaign to remodel the space:

• Craig and Susie Jones
• Judy Hatfield
• The Farzaneh Family Foundation
• The Gerry Mayes Family
• Norman Anesthesia Providers
• OG&E
• Oklahoma Natural Gas

Norman Regional executives also thanked JHBR architecture, Sun Construction, its subcontractors, and the Education Center and Media Services staff for their careful planning to bring this project from a blueprint to reality.