We have had our run at the flu this past week or so, as have so many other people.  You are not doing yourself, your co-workers, or fellow student any good by coming here when you do not feel well.  During a flu uprising, please err on the side of caution and stay home the first day you feel ill.  If it is the flu, you will control the spread during the contagious period.  If it is not, you will have a day to rest and feel better.  Here's hoping it misses you.  And if it doesn't...gazunteight!

Trina Adams, our Instructional Technology Specialist was on 1350 AM KMAN radio earlier in the week.  Trina was talking about MATC's advances in on-line curriculum, our exportable courses, such as those that are in the Advanced Lab Tech Program, and other sophisticated advancements the College has make recently.  She has been a terrific addition to the MATC family and obviously loves what she does.  Thanks for taking the microphone Trina.

Editorial Comments Follow:  Speaking of advanced laboratory programs, MATC is still fully on track with our focus on preparing the workforce for jobs in a variety of laboratory settings.  The NBAF is still coming to Manhattan and we must be prepared.  What surprises me is when "shock and awe" news reports go out during election years and people actually take them for face value.  The NBAF is not a new initiative.  It is instead a long-standing function of the USDA and others to focus on animal health.  The facilities on Plum Island are deteriorating and it is time to replace the structures.  How it looks, when all is said and done, and when it gets finished have always been somewhat fuzzy.  Just because it doesn't look exactly like you envisioned, doesn't mean it won't be sitting on that hill in a few years.  My advice...relax and be thankful that we can make a positive difference in the health and welfare of the World through the work accomplished by these scientists, no matter where they are.  (NOTE: Two hours after the Blemo went out, The Manhattan Mercury came and on page 2 had posted a correction retracting that President Obama planned to keep Plum Island open and that NBAF is still coming to Manhattan.)

Attention MATC Students receiving financial aid:  We have three work-study positions that have opened up for the Spring and Summer terms.  If you are interested in applying for one of the positions listed below, please stop in the Main Office to pick up an application. Completed applications can be turned in to the Financial Aid office.
Learning Resource Center Peer Mentor/Library Assistant:  This position would report directly to the LRC Coordinator and Coordinator of Library Services. The individual hired would assist students with tutoring needs in general education courses related to math, science, and writing. Additionally the individual would provide backup assistance to the MATC Library staff.
BioSciences Lab Assistant:  Duties to be performed in the labs would include: Temperature checks, glassware cleaning, removal of biohazardous materials and setting up pickups by Stericycle, trouble shooting and light repair of instruments and equipment, restocking commonly used supplies in the labs, preparing lab boxes for A&P, MLT Intro, MLT micro classes.
Intermittent Work-Study:  This position would report to the Instructional Project Coordinator and would provide basic clerical or administrative assistance or accounting assistance dependent upon skills and qualifications to multiple MATC departments.  Work-study students are limited to 15-20 hours per week and pay at $8.75 per hour. The positions are open until filled or until June 30, 2012, whichever comes first.

Our Program Advisory Committees and General Advisory Committee are meeting on campus today to perform their SWOTs as we continue to craft our 2012 - 2017 Strategic Plan.   This soup to nuts approach we are using to garner input makes us feel very confident about focusing on local needs while adhering to national, state, and regional demands.  With 73 individuals joining in on the PAC SWOT we are approaching the 200 person-mark for participants.

Major General Tafanelli, Kansas Adjutant General, spoke at yesterday's Board of Regents meeting about helping soldiers, sailors and Airmen transition from the military into civilian careers.  With some of the fines training programs in the Country it is a shame for our veterans to have to start back from Go when the are released from the military.  If our EMTs, truck drivers, technicians, and other specialists could come out and and have that training recognized in the form of a license or credential issued from their State or their industry, they would be able to begin the process of transitioning into civilian life and not be slowed our daunted by unnecessary obstacles. The Technical Education Authority at KBOR and several of the two-year colleges are focusing heavily on this issue especially in light of force reductions as our present wars come to a close.

Bowl for Kids Sake coming up on Saturday February 25.  If you haven't formed a team, contact Tracy here at the College and we will get you signed up.  If you don't want to bowl, come out and watch, or you could sponsor one of the teams with a few dollars to help us reach our goals for Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Rob

Maybe MATC should open its own pancake house.  Last Saturday's Skills USA pancakes and sausages were terrific.  We had a steady crowd all morning and the team netted about $1,100.00.  That's enough to get almost four of our students to their competition.  If you feel compelled to help these young professionals show off their skills in our State-wide and National competitions perhaps you might think about sponsoring one of more of the program teams.  It could even become a great annual charity that would, of course, be tax deductible for you.  If you are interested, give me a call at 785-587-2800 ext 4100.

Remember, if you want to see a picture clearer, click on it.

Monday's Superintendents meeting brought leaders from around Northeast and North central Kansas to campus to begin the conversation about joining forces in our efforts to get more young people technical skills.  The Governor's plan that I highlighted a couple of Blemos ago has raised a lot of interest; some very positive and some very cautious.  While we work together to answer questions and craft strategies, we are all excited about the chances for helping high schoolers gain college credit for technical courses while still in secondary schools.  Since all program-level technical education delivered through our technical and community colleges is bone fide college credit we can have concurrently enrolled technical and transfer students sitting side-by-side in our high schools.  How incredibly exciting!

It has been a couple of very busy weeks at the State Capitol.  Greg Goode, President of Salina area Tech College, and I testified a few times recently to the House and Senate Education Committees.  We are supporting the Governor's Plan for Career and Tech Ed as it relates to our portion of the Bill.  we are also supporting the Board of Regents budget requests by showing how important the Technical and Community Colleges are to the state of Kansas.  Greg will be stepping into the position as President of the Kansas Association of Technical Colleges in July.  I have held the position twice for a total of four out of almost eight years here, and welcome the respite.

Our Chamber After Hours was a HUGE success.  We estimate that 250 participants came out to tour the campus, eat, drink, and be merry.  We ended the evening with a mass ribbon cutting, in front of several picture collages created by Connie Poston, celebrating the many facility additions and improvements that have occurred at MATC during the past few years.  That was followed by drawings for about 20 door prizes that Nicole and Tracy were able to get donated.  Faculty, staff, and students all made the evening successful doing their part.  While many did not attend the actual ceremony because they were standing-by in their programs or giving tours, we could not have had such a great evening without their sacrifices.  Thanks to the Chamber staff for their hard work and guidance and THANK YOU to all who attended. 

Here is a compilation of about 100 pictures put together as a video by Connie Poston.  Enjoy.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Rob

Don't find yourself wearing the pancake of shame.  Come out tomorrow, February 4th from 7:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. in the MATC Commons and support our Skills USA Students by eating your fill.

 

We have just added another dimension to our on-line offerings.  The two links below will take you to non-credit courses that can be used for professional development, self-improvement, hobby exploration, or to just expand your mind.  It is my understanding that several of these courses, whether taken stand-alone or in clusters, can lead to certificates of completion that will add strength to one's resume.

http://www.yougotclass.org/catalog.cfm/ManhattanTech

http://www.ed2go.com/matech/

Here is our latest enrollment chart showing another spike as of the first day of classes this spring.  As you probably know this is not the official count, which comes on the twentieth day, but these numbers are being compared to the same day as the year before.  Our annual unduplicated headcount, when compared to last January 17th, has increased from 1,020 to 1,095 or 7%.  Our first day of spring semester comparing 2011 to 2012 has increased from 675 to 734 students or 9%.  All that adds up to about 150% growth since we became a stand-alone college in 2004. 

Congratulations Linn Schroll on your selection as a member of the Segment Advisory Council.  Here's is an excerpt from the notification: You have been identified by I-CAR as a collision professional to help assist with the I-CAR Industry Segment Advisory Council (ISAC) for the Education segment. The group was selected based on your previous history with I-CAR and your involvement with the collision industry. The new Education advisory team will be instrumental in guiding and helping develop the new program titled “I-CAR Professional Development Program – Education Edition”.

We are interviewing candidates for our vacant Vice President of Student Services position this week.  Each candidate gets a campus tour followed by meetings with the student government, faculty, staff, and finally a core interview committee made of leadership from administration and the various internal government leaders.  This often ends up being a tough decision because of the quality of applicants and we hope this time is no exception.

Speaking of next week it looks like a busy one coming...starting with pancakes tomorrow!

Have a great weekend everyone.

Rob

MARK YOUR CALENDARS: Pancakes, as far as the eye can see... Saturday, February 4th from 7:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. the Skills USA students will be holding a pancake breakfast here on MATC's campus in order to help finance their trip to this year's (inaugural) competition. 

BLACK WOMEN: ACHIEVEMENTS AGAINST THE ODDS

The traveling exhibit, Black Women: Achievements Against the Odds is on display at the Manhattan Area Technical College Library. African American women revolutionized American life with their contributions to civil rights, the arts, education, medicine, and a host of other fields. Underground Railroad organizer Harriet Tubman, athlete Wilma Rudolph, poet Gwendolyn Brooks, and journalist Ida B. Wells Barnett are among the prominent women featured in this exhibit of 20 mounted panels.  Black Women: Achievements Against the Odds was produced by the Smithsonian Institution and purchased by the Kansas Humanities Council, and is being toured by the Kansas Interpretive Traveling Exhibit Service.  Black Women: Achievements Against the Odds will be open for viewing from January 17th, 2012 until February 16th, 2012.

We sat through three very impressive presentations today by groups who are vying to help us create our College Master Plan.  This plan, when interwoven with our new Strategic Plan, will give us some excellent direction for the next few years. 

The Stars are Aligning

Lots of exciting things happening all at once:  from NBAF to the Governor's CTE initiative, to our Master and Strategic plans, to continued growth, there is an electricity in the air and an incredible synergy happening here and across Kansas.

Well, I finally made it to 55 years old and can now enjoy Denny's restaurant senior menu.  Take a look at the soccer ball-sized cupcake and the miniature cupcakes Tracy made for my birthday.  What you can't see are the breakfast burritos to the left.  So much for new year's diets.  Thanks everyone for your birthday goodies, gifts, and wishes. I really appreciate your efforts.

Have a great weekend. 

Rob

Happy Big Black Balloon Birthday Jane.  There were several little gnomes running around here on Friday while Jane was out of town filling her office almost to the ceiling with balloons.  When she arrived first thing Tuesday she was quite pleasantly surprised.  I think she had a little too much fun popping all those balloons in order to make it to the wheel chair for this picture.

Congratulations to Scott and Jessa Voos on the birth of their 7 lb. 11 oz. son "Crew Woody Voos" on Monday, January 9th.  Mom and Son are doing great.

Congratulation are also in order for Stephanie Wall.  Stephanie has been selected to speak at this summer's Registered Dental Hygienist convention in Las Vegas.  This group is very selective which makes the honor even more prestigious.  She will be speaking on Dental Offices and the Electronic Health Record.

You are looking at a snapshot of our new webpage that will be out soon.  It will be found by going to http://www.manhattantech.edu/.  Please note that there are still a few errors and missing pictures.  If you see mistakes once it is launched or have suggestions please forward them to Nicole or Karen in Student Services.  Thanks

Have a great weekend everyone.

Rob