MNTC History

The Moore Norman Technology Center of the 21st century has its roots in an earlier era, when the most in-demand offerings included hands-on jobs like welding, carpentry, auto mechanics, practical nursing and fashion merchandising. But the school’s visionary early-day movers and shakers had an eye to the future and laid a foundation for change that continues to the present day. 

At least one of the reasons for Moore Norman Technology Center’s ongoing popularity (among students, community and business leaders, and others) and its growth (physically and in terms of programming) can be laid at the feet of people, among them Clovis Weatherford, the inaugural superintendent, who understood the importance – indeed, necessity – of building a school that would meet not only the current needs of the area but long-term needs as well.  

Since there was no magic ball available in which to see the future, this was accomplished in a myriad of ways from inception to conception. 

In July 1972, the school’s Charter Board of Education was seated. Seward “Scotty” Robb was named as the inaugural president, James McGuire as clerk, and Danny Broughton and Ken Govaerts the remaining members. 

In June 1973, even before the physical school was built and the fledgling school had only one offering – its practical nursing program which was launched in 1972 in a building on the Norman Municipal Hospital campus – the school contracted University of Oklahoma Civil Engineering Professor George W. Reid to conduct a demographic study to determine growth that could be anticipated within the vo-tech school district and surrounding area. Reid and Associates was later authorized by the board to study the vocational needs of the area.  

Moore-Norman thus became one of the first, if not the first, schools in the state to use deep research to plan a curriculum uniquely designed to serve the needs of the area in which it was situated. 

School and board of education officials continued to emphasize two-way communication in every aspect of development, from the planning of the physical school building to its initial and later offerings. Doris Wedge, who served for over 10 years as the school’s first public information officer before being named assistant to the superintendent, believes MNTC was the first vo-tech school in the state, and maybe beyond, to establish a public information office. 

In the 1970s, personal computers were rare, and email was just emerging. Today's common business technologies like smartphones, social media, and Zoom didn't exist yet. 

Communication was still done the “hard” way: snail mail; face-to-face meetings; and newspaper, radio and TV advertisements and articles, including news produced and disseminated by the school’s public information office.  

“It was a lot of just ‘keeping your name out there’ in a positive way in any way we could,” Wedge recalled, adding that most news releases covered short-term class offerings and progress reports. Later, a newsletter was added, which continued in different formats and under different names over the succeeding years. 

“We were a vo-tech school, which was a kind of a strike against us … parents thought their kids were all going to go to college. As I recall, there were 13 higher ed institutions within driving distance. So, we had a big image to overcome – that vo-tech was only for people in the trades, for people without an education. 

“Plus, it was all print media; there was no television interest. Initially, The Norman Transcript was our main source of media coverage.” (Incidentally, Wedge initially covered the school as part of her beat at the Transcript before being hired there.) 

The so-called PIO office at the time boasted a staff of one (Wedge). She shared the venue on Mercedes Avenue just north of Main Street with the superintendent, two assistant superintendents, one secretary and the individual responsible for setting up the short-term programs.  

The superintendent – starting with Clovis Weatherford, who served in this office from 1973-79 – and assistant superintendents, Wedge said, kept busy disseminating information and ongoing developments on the fledging school by speaking before civic groups and other organizations in the area as well as meeting with various leaders of business and industry. 

She especially enjoyed working with Frank Coulter (assistant superintendent from 1974-1979, superintendent from 1979-2003), whom she described as an individual known for his great storytelling abilities and sense of humor. For instance, she recalls him once making a grand entrance to a meeting by rowing a boat across the pond. 

Despite these communication challenges (as seen with 20-20 hindsight), the school’s founders and other backers clearly saw the necessity of gathering both objective and subjective data and feedback – a view that continues to the present day, though that communication process today is much more complex and instantaneous.   

In the meanwhile, steady progress was being made. Following are just some of the milestones realized between 1973 and 2023. 

In the fall of 1973, the community approved the issuance of over $3 million in bonds for the school. That summer, Moore-Norman Vo-Tech School assumed responsibility for the School of Practical Nursing, formerly operated jointly by the Norman Public Schools and Norman Municipal Hospital. Operation of the school was made possible through the collection of the first operational fund levies. 

On July 1, 1974, the school board accepted financial responsibilities for Moore and Norman students enrolled in vocational programs at the Foster Estes Vocational-Technical School in Oklahoma City. Also at that July meeting – after many months of study and consultation with members of the administration and board – architectural plans for a 115,000-square-foot building were finalized and a contract was awarded for the paving and landscaping of a 40-acre site at Franklin Road and 12th Avenue Northeast.  

The long-awaited and highly anticipated groundbreaking ceremony for the school was at last scheduled for Nov. 3, 1974; unfortunately, it had to be canceled due to heavy rains preceding the event.  

Meanwhile, lack of a permanent facility didn’t deter school movers and shakers from growing the vo-tech’s programs. 

In 1975, the school began offering classes in a leased warehouse, offering just three programs. That December, a contract was awarded to J.J. Cook Construction Co. of Oklahoma City for the construction of the building. 

That May, the vo-tech board of education approved and adopted a logotype featuring a joined m and n inside a stylized semicircle and the Moore-Norman Area Vocational Technical School Foundation was formed. 

In June, the vo-tech was awarded a $250,000 appropriation from the State Department of Vocational and Technical Education for the construction of a classroom building, greenhouse and lath house in which to operate its horticulture program – the 22nd program to be planned for the new school. By that August, construction on the vo-tech building was about 65% completed. 

In September, the first full-time evening program got underway with the beginning of clerical-secretarial classes at Norman High School. 

By October, estimates placed building construction at 80% complete, jumping to 90% the following month. Also in November, construction was started on the second structure (for the horticulture facility) on the 40-acre site.   

Throughout fiscal year 1975 and continuing the board’s stated commitment to “establish the finest vocational education school in the state,” administration and staff drew on the school’s advisory committee and expertise in many fields to determine the equipment that would be necessary for each of the programs as well as what the emphasis of each program area would be.  

Importantly, FY1975 also marked the beginning of the school’s move into the area of adult education. Staff member Jimmie Thrash established evening programs in the areas of education, carpentry, welding, upholstery, nurse assistant, retail display, and sales and management training. 

By the end of the fiscal year, the school boasted an enrollment of nearly 1,000 in classes spread across various sites, including Norman and Moore high schools and a leased building in Norman’s Industrial Park. Programs included carpentry, bricklaying and welding. 

In 1976, as the country celebrated its bicentennial, the vo-tech school celebrated its consolidation from disparate parts of Norman and Moore to its new home at Franklin Road and 12th Avenue. The process of consolidating the operation of the vo-tech school from three locations into the new facility was at last completed during the first two weeks of March. 

On May 2, 1976, nearly 2,000 people attended an informal open house for prospective students. 

For Moore-Norman Vo-Tech, the 1990s is marked with a flurry of awards and honors, as well as continued expansion of facilities and programs. 

On Nov. 2, 1993, the Moore-Norman Vo-Tech Business and Industry Services division receives an Oklahoma Quality Award for Achievement from then-Gov. Frank Keating at a luncheon held at the pavilion of the governor’s mansion. MNTC is the first educational institution to receive the award at the achievement level. They go on to receive this award multiple times in the coming years. 

In the summer of 1995, Moore-Norman is selected and approved as a National EPiC (Education Professionals in Consortium) ISO 9000 Master Training and Information Center, one of only two designated master training sites in the nation. 

In October 1995, the school’s Business and Industry Services division makes history when it launches its first week-long course to train others to become master trainers in the ISO 9000 system of international quality standards.  

In October 1996, Moore-Norman Vo-Tech is named as the first vocational-technical school in the world – and probably the first educational facility of any type in the United States – to receive ISO 9002 certification, an internationally recognized quality management system standard. 

On Sept. 24, 1998, dedication ceremonies are held for the new 60,000-square-foot, $7 million Health Education Center for students interested in a career in the health field or continuing training and education. The next fall, the center is selected as one of three technology centers to be elected for the national American School and University annual design award-Vocational/Technical category. 

As in the past, the needs of future as well as current employers are considered in planning vo-tech programming and in setting priorities. 

In an example of forward thinking, for example, on Jan. 12, 1999, the school joins with educators from Oklahoma City Community College, other technical centers, public schools, government and business to attend the 21st Century Skills for 21st Century Jobs live summit, held at 999 sites.  

In an example of meeting current needs, in August of that year construction is completed on the 27,000-square-foot Industry Training Center, providing space for the Air Conditioning and Refrigerator program and electrical trades programs. 

In the fall of 1999, the school’s Health Education Center is one of three technology centers elected for the national American School and University annual design award in the Vocational Technical category. 

On Nov. 2, 1999, the vo-tech becomes the first educational institution to receive the top Oklahoma Quality Award recognizing an organization’s leadership and commitment to quality products, services and customer satisfaction. 

Meanwhile, Moore Norman Technology School continues to meet the ever-changing needs of the community and beyond.  

For example, in spring 2001, the school offers its first GIS class for the state Wildlife Department, becoming the first tech center in Oklahoma to offer courses in geographic information systems.  

The school continues to receive numerous honors and awards, including: 

October 2000 – MNTC is dubbed the “pilot of pilots” in a new combined accreditation process – the first school to be evaluated by this combined effort. The school attained accreditation by the North Central Association Commission on Schools and the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education. 

Summer 2002 – Conference facilities and services at MNTC attain certification in the prestigious ISO 9000-2000 standards, becoming the first conference center in the United States to achieve this certification. 

On July 1, 2003, John Hunter is named MNTC’s third superintendent. As superintendent, he oversees the construction and opening of the South Penn Campus and the Business Development Center in South Oklahoma City in 2005, a new Construction Trades building in 2008, and construction of the Information Technology building in 2011. Under his leadership the Elevating Our Economy campaign was kicked off in 2006, which leads to a statewide Elevating Our Economy campaign. 

In June 2009, Moore Norman becomes only the third school district in the country to gain bragging rights to ISO Registration when it earns a certificate of registration, ISO 9001:2000.  

On July 1, 2011 Jane Bowen takes her seat as MNTC’s fourth superintendent/CEO. Bowen, a co-founder of the CareerTech Women in Leadership program in DATE, was the first woman to hold the superintendent/CEO position at Moore Norman. During her tenure Bowen initiates a $60 million bond issue that passes in 2016, bringing expanded and modernized classroom facilities, increased safety features and more efficient workspace to the district. She also begins a multi-phase strategic plan designed to bring community members together with MNTC staff to establish goals for the district.  

Glen Cosper, an MNTC board member since 2005, credits Bowen for maintaining the school's tradition of open communication with the community. He cites her "breakfast/lunch learns" as a prime example, where key leaders—such as a congressman, legislators, county commissioners, city council members, mayors, the Tinker Air Force Base general, the head of the Oklahoma City Airport Authority, and out-of-state visitors—were invited to learn about the school's diverse programs and their economic impact. These meetings also featured a student and a business person discussing how the school had benefited them. 

In October 2012, the school’s IT Building opens, housing Business and Information Technology classes.  

In July 2014, MNTC is accepted as a partner and ambassador through the Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador initiative, a program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s effort to formally recognize NOAA partners across the country as organizations that seek to improve readiness, responsiveness and overall resilience against extreme weather, water and climate events in their communities 

That fall, MNTC becomes one of only five technical schools in the United States to earn the Technology Centers That Work’s Gold Readiness Award, presented to select technology centers that, during the regular school day, provide a high level of instruction and a compelling environment for high school students, which prepare them for career-based employment in varied technical industries. The school is also awarded its 10th Gold Star School Award, a statewide award that recognizes districts in Oklahoma’s Career Tech system with outstanding programs designed to meet multiple and varied community needs. 

On July 1, 2019, Brian Ruttman begins his tenure as MNTC superintendent/CEO. Ruttman previously served as chief officer, executive officer and associate superintendent at Metro Technology Centers in Oklahoma City. 

Beginning his tenure at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of his early top priorities was to help discover creative ways to provide a safe learning and working environment, which ranged from having bus drivers deliver laptops, books and wi-fi hotspots to students’ homes to implementing flexible leave and attendance policies.  

Under his guidance, the school continued to initiate major new projects identified as major needs in the community, including an Aerospace Technician Program launched in August 2023, a Basic Peace Officer Certification Academy and a transportation training program, which includes a state-of-the-art driving simulator, to help address elevated supply chain issues following the pandemic.