MATC Matters

Dear Faculty and Staff,

What a wonderful tradition we’ve established the past three years in welcoming new students on the first days of school! Thanks to the many faculty and staff who volunteered to serve as hallway greeters last week so that new and returning students could be met by friendly faces ready to answer their questions and guide them to college services and classrooms. I did notice our new deans and other new staff were pitching in as well. By the way, does anyone else notice some confusion in our room numbering system? (Our numbering system is not always easy to understand.)

Each week I have the opportunity to talk to students about their experiences at MATC. I hear many positive things about our faculty and staff, such as a comment I heard last week at the Downtown Madison Inc. meeting. A former MATC student came up to me in tears to express her appreciation for Deb Reichert’s help in turning her life around. Isn’t that what we’re about? Transforming lives one at a time. Deb is the educational support coordinator in DTEC’s Student Development Center.

This next story is typical of the compassion so many of our staff have for students. A student was very upset because she became stranded at the wrong campus on the first night of classes. The student came to the Truax location looking for the EMT basic class. Already late, the student had no way to get to Commercial Avenue on time for the class. Dawn Way, administrative specialist at the Fire Service Education Center, drove to Truax, picked up the distraught student, and made sure she got to her classroom at Commercial Avenue. I’m sure there are many similar stories from around our campuses.

Here are more MATC Marvels that were brought to my attention recently:

Randy Sellnow, medical assistant instructor and retired fire chief, was called by WIBA Radio to talk live on the air about lightning following the recent lightning-caused fatalities in Madison.

Tim Jacobson, financial aid administrator, and Jeffrey Wenzel, respiratory therapy instructor, appeared to testify at Tuesday’s legislative hearing on AB 439 (PDF: 32KB) relating to technical college adult basic education programs, eligibility for Wisconsin higher education grants, and granting rule-making authority.

Dan Sharp, senior research analyst, has been providing very helpful supplemental commentaries on the Point in Time (PIT) reports. In fact, the entire staff of Institutional Research and Effectiveness (IRE) work hard to put this document together every week. The report provides useful information about enrollment figures at a given point in time compared with the previous year. It is available on the IRE website. The reports also are available as PDFs online.

Highlights of my week
In addition to events on our campuses, I’m always excited to be out in the community 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 how the college can support those efforts. Recently, I took part in these events:

• Hosted “Welcome Back To School” receptions at my home for community leaders and new faculty along with our MATC District and Foundation Board members. These receptions provided opportunities for board members and staff to connect and network on behalf of the college.
• Traveled to Cardinal Glass in Portage where First Lady Jessica Doyle announced a Workforce Advancement Training (WAT) grant that will help MATC upgrade advanced manufacturing job skills for workers at companies in five Wisconsin counties. WAT grants were established in the last state budget and have demonstrated impressive success in helping Wisconsin workers achieve their individual career goals.
• Toured Suttle-Straus printing company in Waunakee to talk about our printing program and the digital needs of today’s printing industry.
• Met with a director of economic development at MG&E.
• Attended Downtown Madison Rotary.
• Met with MATC District Board Chair Jan Bultema and Vice Chair Jon Bales.
• Participated in a conference call with state system staff and presidents.
• Spoke and presented certificates to graduates at our 103rd Law Enforcement Academy graduation ceremony.

Here is a phrase from the Florida Virtual School regarding learning that ties in with our vision, “Transforming Lives One at a Time:”

“Any time, any place, any path, any pace.”

Thanks for all you do for our students!

- Bettsey