MATC Matters

Dear Faculty and Staff,

Whew! It’s already been a busy and challenging week at MATC, and a thought-provoking one. We examined ourselves in our college-wide AQIP conversation, and we saw how we compare to other colleges in a legislative audit report.

On Tuesday, the state legislature’s audit bureau released a report about salaries at WTCS colleges. MATC’s average full-time faculty salary ranks fourth in the state, at $74,719 - slightly above the system average of $74,598 (including compensation beyond a normal workload). The audit also noted that our average administrative salary ranks higher than other WTCS colleges, but we expect it to level off with the retirements of several senior administrators in June.

The audit may result in criticism, but I believe that competitive compensation is essential to attracting and retaining highly qualified faculty. Our faculty must meet rigorous standards and demonstrate significant work experience in their fields of study. We employ many professionals who would command high salaries in the private sector.

Also on Tuesday, and with thanks to you, our Vital Focus Conversation produced just what we wanted - a free-wheeling discussion about what’s important at MATC and what we can accomplish together. I felt that the mixture of heartfelt concerns and genuine enthusiasm was reflective of our college as a whole, and it was great to hear new ideas emerge.

Thanks to the hundreds of faculty and staff who participated in the day’s events. Also, thanks to our team of employees, headed by our own AQIP facilitators, Becky Baumbach and Keith Cornille, who worked tirelessly to make the event a success: Paul Algiers and his staff for the breakfast; Laurel Anderson; Patrick Barlow; Paul Barribeau; Scott Beard; Matt Breaux; Keith Cornille; Mike Davenport; Debbie Derr; Tom Fleming; Paul Flogel, Rosanne Glick, Jeff Minter and Patty Prihoda and other Wisconsin Association for Career and Technical Education (WACTE) Local 27 members for the lunch and dinner; Bill Graf; Steve Hauser; Carol Higgans; Cory Helser; Dennis James; Diane Jetzer; Judy Jones; Janet Kelly; Brant Kraemer; Shana Kuehn; Tammy Manthe; Rocio Martinez; Brooks McGrath; Denise McKay; Nancy McMahon; Paul Meske; Janice Mettauer; Kris Mills; Patricia Olson; Charlie Rakow; Michelle Reed; Nancy Reinhardt; Tom Riffle; June Sarbacker; Kelly Schulte; Reiny Seemann; Todd Stebbins; Terrie Thorstad; Gwen Torkelson; Bonnie Vandre-Blewett; Mary Vlisides; Diane Walleser; Barb Wise; Learning Center staff and Facilities staff; CETL student interns; and Administrative Assistant Program students. And, speaking of teams, our WolfPack Baseball Team did a terrific job setting up and tearing down the table and chairs in the gym for the event. Also, thank you to anyone else that contributed but whose name may have been inadvertently left off the list.

MATC Marvels

Here are this week’s “favorite teachers”, as mentioned to me by students:

Michael Dubin, history
George Alexander, math
Tony Przybylski, math
Bradley McDowell, psychology
Colette Sisco, psychology
Karena Curtis, math
Patricia Huber, speech
Karl Bethke, science
Andrea Thalasinos, sociology

And, Janice Redford was my favorite teacher because she did a good job in the Critical Spanish class that I participate in.

Other MATC Marvels

Marla Gamoran, who was one of 10 nominees for the prestigious Athena Award, created by Madison’s Business Forum to honor individuals who exemplify professional excellence, give back to the community and actively help women realize their professional and personal potential. Though we were disappointed that Marla was not selected to receive the award, we were glad to see MATC alum Fabiola Hamdan, of the Dane County Department of Human Services, selected for the honor.

Kenneth Walz, chemistry instructor, for his wonderful presentation at the WTCS Renewable Energy Conference. Ken also participated in a recent National Science Foundation review panel of proposals submitted to the Advanced Technological Education program.

MATC Foundation Update

As many of you know, former Dean of General Education Sara Sherkow passed away in November. Sara’s estate plan included a generous $25,000 bequest to the Foundation’s Forward Fund.

The Grainger Foundation Inc. donated $3,000 to Jeganathan Sriskandarajah’s Math Special Projects fund. The fund supports competitions such as “Who Wants to be a Super Mathematicianâ€? and the annual middle school math competitions.

Delta Dental Plan of Wisconsin has doubled its annual donation and will support four full-time dental hygiene scholarships for the 2007-2008 school year.

Highlights of my week

• Interviewed by Andrew Fountaine, business management student at Truax, about the issue of higher tuition at other colleges for the same educational standards as MATC’s.
• Met with the President’s Advisory Team. This is a team with representation of all areas of the college who meet once a month to inform me of situations or issues in their areas.
• Visited the Stoughton School Board with MATC District Board member Jan Bultema to talk about enhancing our services and partnerships with the district. This is one of a series of board-to-board outreach visits that we are making to every one of our 40 school districts.
• Hosted lunch in our gourmet dining room for a group of leaders from the Madison community: Jan Gietzel (Madison Community Foundation’s Fund for Women); Mike Hoesly (Hoesly and Company); State Representative Sondy Pope-Roberts (District 79); and Lea Culver (Culver’s).
• Attended the ATHENA Awards Banquet to honor our nominee, Marla Gamoran. We are very proud of Marla for the achievements that made her a strong contender for this prestigious award.
• Heard about the housing market in Dane County at Rotary.
• Attended the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce Public Policy Committee meeting.
• Participated on a president’s panel at the WTCS Renewable Energy Summit in Milwaukee.
• Met with the WTCS Presidents Association at our monthly meeting.
• Visited with a delegation from Obihiro, Japan.
• Honored by the Madison Civics Club on Saturday afternoon.

In closing, I would like to share a quote by Gordon Forward:

“You’ve got to have an atmosphere where people can make mistakes. If we’re not making mistakes, we’re not going anywhere. The scientific method is designed for mistakes.”

Bettsey