MATC Matters

Dear Faculty and Staff,

I am looking forward to seeing all of you at the opening session of our Fall Convocation tomorrow. This marks the beginning of another exciting school year and prepares us for the arrival of students on August 27.

“Bringing the Future into Focus” is the theme for Convocation this year. When I consider the impact we have on our students as they prepare for the lives ahead of them, I’m mindful of the phrase, “the future is now.” As we begin a new school year, it’s helpful to focus on our mission of providing “real world” tools to help our students prepare now for future success.

Join your colleagues for refreshments in the cafeteria beginning at 7:30 a.m., which will be followed by the opening Convocation session at 8:30 a.m. in the Mitby Theater and two days filled with stimulating sessions designed to inform and energize us for the coming year.

MATC Marvels
Each week I have the opportunity to talk to students, staff and community members about MATC. I hear many positive things-here are a few recent “marvels.”

Mark Kern, physics/science instructor, as quoted by a student, “…he has given me a huge gift; he has given me the ability to believe in myself in a subject I never thought I could.”

Donell Rogness, ADN instructor. In a letter we received from the son of a 90-year-old patient at Meriter Hospital, “…I cannot think of a better way to give real hands-on training to students and at the same time upgrading the quality of service at Meriter.”

Holly W. Kerby, science instructor, Ed Clarke, grant/special project coordinator, Denise McKay, grants developer, Dana Maya, grants officer, Anne Scott, administrative specialist, and Jan VanKeuren, grants clerical technician, were instrumental in helping MATC apply for and win a grant of $74,982 from the National Science Foundation for a project, entitled “Fusion Science Theater: An Innovative Model to Sow and Grow the Seeds of Stem Through Community-based Science Theater.”

Susan Jacobs, social science instructor, was selected to participate in the, “Tried & True: Investigative Psychophysiology Activities for the Introductory Psychology Course” supported by the National Science Foundation Project Kaleidoscope.

Highlights of my last two weeks
I’m always excited to be out in the community each week representing MATC and spreading the word about all the great things we are achieving. At the same time, I learn a lot about what’s going on in our community, and the college can support those efforts. Recently, I took part in these events:

• Met with Scott Gray, President/CEO, Urban League of Greater Madison.
• Addressed our deans at their Learner Success Retreat.
• Met our new Chief Security Officer Jim Bottoni (who will be joining us on August 27).
• Met with State Senator Dale Schultz.
• Participated in the MATC District Board Retreat.
• Attended the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce’s Public Policy Committee meeting.
• Dropped in at the Pre-Collegiate Summer Youth Program.
• Hosted WTCS presidents on a boat ride the evening before our monthly meeting.
• Welcomed staff at the college’s New Faculty Institute.
• Visited “New Student Daze” events at the Fort Atkinson and Watertown campuses.
• Visited the Portage School Board with MATC District Board member Jon Bales 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.
• Gave a presentation to WISCO Hotel Group on leadership based on Jim Collins book, Good to Great.
• Attended a meeting of the United Way’s Disconnected and Violent Youth Delegation.
• Joined Jan Bultema, our district board chair at an MATC Foundation Board meeting to discuss the Foundation’s new capital campaign with Dr. L. Pendleton Armistead, president of The Clements Group.
• Attended TEMPO’s Betty von Rutenberg scholarship event.
• Presented issues concerning the Assembly’s version of the state budget at the monthly meeting of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce Board
• Attended the Urban League’s Project REACH celebration picnic.
• Spoke with Chancellor David Wilson of UW Colleges & Extension.
• Congratulated students at the closing of this year’s Learning to Learn Camp.
• Met with Dan Carey, Edgewood College president.

In closing, I would like to share a quote by Ernest L. Boyer, author of College: The Undergraduate Experience in America from The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. I have had this quote on the wall or in my desk during years of teaching and administration.

“When all is said and done, the central qualities that make for successful teaching are the ones that can be simply stated: command of the material to be taught, a contagious enthusiasm for the play of ideas, optimism about the potential of one’s students, and – not least – sensitivity, integrity, and warmth as a human being. At a good college this combination is present in the classroom.”

Have a great semester!

Bettsey