MATC Matters

Dear Faculty and Staff,

We’re just past the midway point in our summer semester and we have some encouraging enrollment numbers to share with you. Summer degree credit enrollment is up about 22 percent compared to last year at this time. An early look at our upcoming fall semester shows degree credit enrollment is up about 15 percent.

Name Change
In a previous message I shared with you that we are beginning a dialogue on a potential new college name. I want to share a bit of history about our college’s name and then bring your attention to a few things that we should consider when thinking about a potential name change. This is the second in a series of informational reports we’ll have for you in the upcoming weeks on the potential name change.

MATC Foundation
Scholarship applications to the MATC Foundation from new students grew from 80 last year to more than 200 this year. In response, the Foundation is allocating $25,000 of new funding from the Smart Future Campaign as scholarships for new students. Sherri Kliczak, a MATC alumna and employee of National Guardian Life Insurance Company, presented a check that will help expand the number of students assisted by the scholarships from 3 to 6 in the coming year. National Guardian Life Insurance Company is a long-time sponsor of MATC Foundation scholarships.

Obviously, we still need help for our students, especially from staff. Send your contributions to the MATC Foundation office at 3550 Anderson St., Madison, WI 53704, or contact Michelle Downer at 608-246-6441. Know that you are directly assisting our students who need it most.

MATC Marvels
Here is a note I received from a current student: “The Enrollment Center, Student Life Development Center (Rm. 159), MATC Operator, and the Agrisciences and Technology Offices do a great job and deserve a star or something for the excellent customer service and quickness in providing services to high volume of students they attend to during registration times.”

Congratulations to Interior Design instructor Tiffany Esser who has achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) accredited professional status. LEED encourages and accelerates global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices.

MATC Enrollment Facilitator Cathie Marty has been named the American Family Insurance Badger State Games 2009 Volunteer of the Year! Cathie has been involved in the Badger Games for the past 25 years.

Highlights of my past two weeks:
• attended the Leadership Brown Bag where Deryl Davis Fulmer, Jennifer Bakke, Denise Reimer, Kathleen Radionoff, Scott Beard, Lorin Toepper, Maria Banuelos and Valentina Ahedo provided learner success updates;
• along with Sandy Hall, met with the Department of Education, U.S. Senator Herb Kohl, legislative aides, as well as one of President Obama’s Domestic Policy staff in Washington, D.C., to explore special demonstration program funding for students on the autism spectrum and other intellectual disabilities;
• met with Mick Conners, PSRP president;
• talked with Governor Doyle and First Lady Jessica Doyle at the Rhythm and Booms celebration;
• attended the signing of the State Budget Bill by Governor Jim Doyle along with other WTCS presidents;
• met with the PSRP Union Management Team;
• visited with a MATC Foundation donor;
• posed for a Library poster;
• attended the Rotary Club of Madison where Bob Dinndorf was honored for serving as its president this past year;
• met with Mary Buchel of Buchel and Associates who will be facilitating the College Council Retreat; and
• participated in the Veterans Grants Ceremony honoring veterans during the Independence Day holiday, and celebrated MATC’s $100,000 veterans grant from ACE/Wal-Mart.

In closing, here is a quote by Ed Clarke reacting to a statement from James Jacobs, Macomb Community College director of the Center for Workforce Development and Policy, on “what the new normal is like,” from the Re-visioning Two Year Institutions in the Midwest colloquium that we attended last month:

“What community colleges are telling students sounds like this: We do not know who will be hiring when you are done. But we do know that successful companies which survive this downturn will have certain characteristics. They will use high technology; they will be global in vision; they will use quality and lean principles; they will have a diverse workforce; they will rely on worker innovation and leadership. Community colleges can lead the recovery by building a flexible and skilled workforce.”

I hope we at MATC continue to possess the characteristics of successful organizations as we persist to building a “flexible and skilled” workforce.

Bettsey