Former players set to attend Kaplan University as part of educational partnership

DAVENPORT, Iowa & CHICAGO, Illinois - (August 11, 2015) -The National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA), the only Association comprised of NBA, ABA, Harlem Globetrotters and WNBA alumni, today announced the first five recipients of its scholarship program with Kaplan University, an NBRPA preferred higher education partner. The announcement was made at the NBRPA's annual Legends Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The starting five receiving scholarships to attend Kaplan University are retired NBA players Adonal Foyle, Joe Smith, James Donaldson, Kevin A. Loder and Eldridge Recasner.

"Our partnership with Kaplan University is a great fit for former players looking to create career opportunities in life after basketball through education," said NBRPA Chairman of the Board Thurl Bailey, who played 12 years in the NBA. "When one door closes, others need to be opened and education is very often the key."

"Like most Kaplan University students, retired athletes are juggling a lot of competing responsibilities. They're older, raising families and also want to make a lasting difference not just in their own lives, but in the larger community," said Craig Collins, Senior Vice President of Kaplan University Corporate Development.  "So a university like Kaplan, which today is helping some 41,000 adult learners pursue their education and career goals, fits into their playbook because of its convenience."

"Our relationship with the NBRPA helps underscore the importance of life-long learning and education. Regardless of one's situation, education plays an important role in helping individuals find fulfillment in careers and life," said Dr. Wade Dyke, President of Kaplan University.

(DES MOINES) - Iowa Gov. Terry E. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds today held the first of a series of roundtable meetings across the state to focus on ways to better align education and workforce initiatives to close the skills gap and meet future employer needs. The roundtable series marks the beginning of the "Future Ready Iowa" initiative, which will focus on ways to continue building Iowa's talent pipeline to ensure our state has a workforce ready to fill the high-quality, well-paying jobs and careers of today and tomorrow.

"I was pleased to be able to hear from students from across Iowa on how state leaders can work to better prepare our citizens for the careers of today and tomorrow," said Branstad. "Over the weeks and months ahead, I look forward to hearing from other stakeholders as we explore ways to better align education and workforce training to meet the needs of the employers' and the highly-skilled careers they have available in our state now and in the future."

According to a National Skills Coalition study published in August of 2014, middle-skill jobs account for 57 percent of Iowa's labor market, but only 50 percent of the state's workers are trained to meet those workforce needs.

"As I travel across the state, I hear time and again how Iowa employers have career openings available now, but they lack qualified candidates to fill the positions. Strengthening Iowa's talent pipeline through the 'Future Ready Iowa' initiative will help assure students and workers have the career opportunities they deserve, and that business and industry have the skilled employees they need to compete in a knowledge-based economy," said Reynolds.

For the first meeting, Branstad and Reynolds heard from a panel of Iowa students from across the state. Moderated by the Governor's STEM Advisory Council Executive Director Dr. Jeff Weld, the group shared how they believe education can prepare individuals for dynamic careers and lifelong learning while meeting employer needs, growing family incomes, and strengthening communities.

The participants of the first roundtable were:

The "Future Ready Iowa" initiative comes after Iowa received a National Governors Association policy academy grant in 2014 for up to $170,000 to develop strategies to improve the educational attainment of its citizens and the nimble alignment of those degrees and credentials with employer demand.

Additional roundtable meetings across Iowa will be announced at a later time.

Week-Long Celebration and Contests Kick Off Monday, August 24th

DAVENPORT - In celebration of the completion of the new state-of-the-art Ascentra Credit Union branch at 1800 Brady Street in Davenport, the community is invited to a ribbon cutting ceremony on Monday, August 24 at 4:00 p.m.

Work began on the 3,400 square ft. structure in October 2014 and features a unique, modern design that has beautified the landscape and enhanced pedestrian access to the corner in the Hilltop Campus Village.

This brand new location will replace the nearby branch Ascentra merged with in 2013 and is located within walking distance from St. Ambrose University and Palmer College of Chiropractic.  The branch will provide much needed access to financial services for students and area residents such as Co-op Shared Branching - which allows credit union members to establish membership and use a nationwide network of over 5,000 credit union branches to conduct business as if they were at Ascentra.

"We're very excited to relocate our office to this new full service branch at a much more visible location," Ascentra Credit Union President & CEO Dale Owen says. "We look forward to further economic development in the Hilltop and playing a major role in further revitalization of the area.  We've been very pleased to work with the city staff, Mayor, City Council, the Design Review Board and the Hilltop Campus Village to help bring this project to completion."

The ribbon cutting will kick off a week-long celebration that allows people to stop by and register for a chance to win a 40" HDTV, a Go-Pro camera, Beats by Dr. Dre headphones, and a Fitbit workout band. A special social media Pay it Forward: Cash Stash will allow people to win cash by following clues on Ascentra's Facebook and Twitter pages.

About us:

Founded in 1950, Ascentra Credit Union, is Iowa's premier credit union with more than $340 million in assets and 10 branches serving the communities of Bettendorf, Clinton, Davenport, LeClaire, Muscatine, Iowa and Moline, Ill. Learn more about Ascentra Credit Union at ascentra.org. Follow Ascentra on Facebook and on Twitter @ascentra.