• Richard Holman, our newest Network Administrator and his wife Lynley added a little girl to their family last week. Her name is Phoenix. She was 18 inches, 6lbs and 9oz. Mother and daughter are doing well.

• Congratulations to Avery Pierson from our Building Trades program. Avery is this year’s recipient of the Greg Davis Building Trade Scholarship. Avery is the winner of $500, his name will be put on the plaque out in the lobby, and he will be recognized at the spring semester scholarship presentation.

• Pass it on…MATC has been recognized as one of the Top Military-Friendly Colleges in the Country. The recognition is based upon a number of opportunities that are in place that recognize former training, life experiences, accessibility, and a number of other procedures making it easy for our active duty military and veterans to come to MATC without the traditional barriers found at other higher education institutions.

• Please join us for the traveling exhibit Reflections on the War: Women and their Civil War Quilts. Turbulent times in Kansas are captured in this intriguing exhibition Civil War era quilts and textiles. This exhibit explores Kansas women’s roles in protesting the injustices of slavery, aiding those running from slavery on the Underground Railroad, nursing the sick and wounded during the war, and later raising funds to purchase monuments to heroes of the conflict. Reflections on the War: Women and their Civil War Quilts was produced by the Kansas Humanities Council and is part of the Kansas Interpretive Traveling Exhibits Service.

• Join me in congratulating the two new recipients of the Ernest and Lewis BrAun MATC Ambassador Scholarship: Desa Dohrman from our Dental Hygiene program and Chris Collins from our Auto Technology program. These two students, along with our current Ambassador Dee Wileman, will represent the college as MATC’s Ambassador’s for the spring semester 2011. They will also go on to serve as the MATC Ambassador’s for the summer and fall 2011 semesters as well.

• We would like to welcome our newest Board of Directors member representing Pottawatomie County, Michael Morton. Mr. Morton is the Assistant Manager of the Bluestem Electric Cooperative, Inc. in Wamego, KS. He has been involved with the rural electric cooperative since 1984. Mike is a 1979 graduate of Kansas State University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He currently serves on the Wamego Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors where he also served from 1986 – 1990. Mike served on the Unified School District Board of Education from 1997 – 2009. He is a member of the Gospel Circuit Riders Chapter of the Christian Motorcyclist Association in Manhattan. Mike and his wife, Cleion, reside in Wamego, have two daughters and are actively involved in the First Baptist Church and various other organizations and activities.

• I would like to inform you that we have a dental hygienist from Illinois doing her practicum at our school that began on February 16th. Cheryl Jones is an RDH studying to obtain her BSDH. A two week practicum is required for her coursework. She will be joining our team and following our instructors around both in the classroom and clinic sessions. Please get to know her and make her feel welcome. Cheryl will be with us until February 25th.

• Good news: Senate Bill 143, (http://kslegislature.org/li/b2011_12/year1/measures/sb143/ ) which puts the technical education tiered-funding formula in place, passed the Senate yesterday 39/0. We will still have to suffer through three more years of flat funding at the 2010 levels but, when the Board of Regents re-centers the distribution of funds in FY 2015, we should see a significant increase and continue to be funded appropriately under the new formula. This will mean that we will have the first equitable funding formula for technical education in Kansas two-year colleges EVER. That’s right; all 26 institutions that deliver technical education will now be treated the same since these institutions were created a half century ago! But first, the bill must pass the House and be signed by the governor, which we are very confident will happen. More to come.

Have a great weekend.

Rob

• Marilyn is out for a few days while her husband Phil recovers from a surgical procedure that he went through this morning. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as he heals. I am told that the doctors were pleased with how the operation went.

• Tomorrow technical college administrators from across the State will descend upon Wichita Area Technical College for a mini-retreat. We are bringing our Student Services, IT, Human Resources, Finance, and Instructional leaders together to continue our efforts to collaborate on ideas to make Kansas technical education better and better.

• Gary LaGrange, who runs “Help us Learn, Give us Hope” and I met earlier in the week to discuss ideas for providing technical training to villagers throughout Afghanistan. The initial focus of discussion was to be on first responder training and so I invited Steve Porter, VP of Workforce Development from Hutchinson Community College to join us since they have premier programs in this area. While this initial brainstorming session was nothing more than verbalizing a dream and creating a vision, I believe that we will continue to examine the possibility of finding ways to help the citizens of this war-torn country further. You may remember Gary’s name from his highly successful, and on-going, efforts to supply children in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Northern Africa with school supplies. (http://www.helpuslearngiveushope.org/)

• I had a great time on KMAN 1350 AM news radio again yesterday. It is such a pleasure working with Cathy (Dawes) Scroggs as we spread the word about all that happens here a MATC throughout the year.

• The Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce has brought Jerry Henson, CEO of Regional Development Associates, back to the area to continue his work helping us create an economic development plan and vision. Jerry and I met yesterday for about an hour discussing MATC’s critical role in regional economic development. Jerry has a profound understanding of the importance of grooming the workforce to meet the foundational needs of Econ Devo and how ignoring these resources until late in the game has the predicable outcome of failure and embarrassment. I assured him that we are focused on meeting all regional needs but need help at the multi-million dollar level for facilities. He fully grasps our dilemma. http://www.regionaldevelopmentassociates.com/

Have a great, albeit probably rainy, weekend everyone.

Rob

• While there were no Technical Education Week parades or songs to sing, our sector did have the honor of being recognized by the City with the public reading of the proclamation that you see to the right. We appreciate this recognition, both here and throughout the country, in recent years. It is quickly becoming the era of technical education and you have only just begun to see extraordinary things happen in this area.


• Speaking of being recognized, we were able to provide testimony to two legislative committees last week and will testify at another hearing regarding technical education funding on Monday. Besides asking to have the new tiered funding formula approved we are asking for $11.6 million for the 26 two-year colleges for technical education programs. It’s good to be back in the Capitol bragging about what great things we have to offer and impressing upon our Legislators that investing in us is good business because: “Technical Education Doesn’t Cost…It Pays” and it does pay big benefits to the State. So let’s keep the mantra rolling. Perhaps we could turn that phrase into a song for Technical Education Week next year.
  


• In spite of the snow and ice we had a very good turnout for our Red Cross blood drive last Tuesday, Feb. 8th. We ended up having 31 donors, 2 deferrals, and ended up with 29 units. Dan, our Counselor, met with the head nurse after the drive and she was very pleased with the results considering the weather conditions. This has been a tough year for blood supplies with people being held away from donation sites by the weather. If you get a chance to donate, no matter where it is, please do.
  


• Congratulation to the 2010 Associate Degree in Nursing class for accomplishing a 96%, 1st time testing pass rate on the NCLEX-RN licensing exam! This is why it is easy to brag about MATC faculty being “the Best of the Best”.
  


• I went before the City Zoning Commission on Wednesday evening and was given permission to move forward with our design for the West side parking lot. Mr. and Mrs. Lundin were on hand to present some concerns about the plan but were pleased with assurances that those items within our control would be addressed. One of the biggest concerns is the speed and occasional carelessness of those few students who park on Lundin Drive and rush through the apartment complex, especially at the end of the school day. I would like to remind everyone that we are situated in a residential neighborhood and the danger of hitting a child or pedestrian is very real. PLEASE curb your enthusiasm when it comes to departing campus.
  
  That being said, have a great, and safe, weekend everyone.
  Rob

• Congratulations to Laurie Stegeman, MSN for becoming the recipient of the prestigious Fort Hays State University’s Leora B. Stroup Master’s Award. This award is presented to three graduates including a Undergraduate Nursing Program on-campus student, an Undergraduate Nursing Program RN outreach student, and a graduate nursing student (Laurie). Candidates must have a GPA of 3.25 or higher to be considered. In addition, the candidates submit evidence of their achievement in the following areas: professional, honors/awards, community involvement, and contributions in the clinical setting. Letters of recommendation are also submitted from a faculty person and someone with knowledge about the student’s clinical performance other than faculty. The award is presented at the pre-commencement activity each semester and the recipient’s name is added to a plaque in the foyer of Stroup Hall. We are very proud of you Laurie.
  
  
• Last weekend’s activities went quite well. We had great turnouts for both the Ag Teacher’s visit and the Dental Hygiene training. Our message of the day was fairly straightforward: For those who are out there teaching and working think of us as a resource for your continuing education needs or to simply fill gaps in your knowledge and skills. We are a tool to be used for growth and not just a collection of good looking employees.
  
  
• Tonight is the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce 86th Annual Meeting and Banquet at K-State. Marilyn, Justin, and I will be attending along with our better halves.
  
  
• With three inclement weather days this week, that’s it for the Blemo. Except, that I do believe in Punxsutawney Phil's predictions, and he is calling for an early spring. Here is this year’s 12 minute video of Phil’s prediction: http://www.pacast.com/groundhog2011.asp. (Have patience. It takes a minute or so to load.) If you have never watched this ceremony you might want to click on this link. It’s a hoot.
  
  Have a great weekend everyone.
  
  Rob