Summer Classes Consolidated at Downtown Milwaukee Campus
Almost all MATC summer semester classes will be held at the Downtown Milwaukee Campus starting June 13. A few exceptions will include contracted classes at the Center for Energy Conservation and Advanced Manufacturing (ECAM), accelerated business programs cohorts at the Oak Creek Campus and selected Pre-College ESL classes at the West Allis Campus, among others. In past years, about half of summer classes have been offered at the Downtown Milwaukee Campus with the other half split between the Mequon, Oak Creek and West Allis campuses. Regional campus Student Service offices will have limited summer hours. The libraries and Academic Support Centers at the regional campuses will be closed. Student services, including Academic Support Centers and the library, will be open this summer at the Downtown Milwaukee Campus. The consolidation of classes will help the college address its budget challenges and provide one central location for summer semester classes and services.

Photo: The Downtown Milwaukee Campus will be especially busy this summer.

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Student Earns Distinguished 'New Century Scholar' Award
Music Occupations student Stefania Beaufrand was named a New Century Scholar, earning the prestigious honor through a competition among students from Wisconsin's two-year colleges. Only one student scholar from each state is chosen. The honor includes a $2,000 scholarship, recognition at the April 11 American Association of Community Colleges Convention in New Orleans, a listing in an April 11 full-page USA Today newspaper ad and plaque. The award is sponsored by the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation and the Coca-Cola Foundation. It is administered by Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.

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Early Registration Starts in April
Encourage your students to register early for the summer and fall semesters. Priority Registration (returning degree and diploma program students) starts April 11. Open Registration begins April 25. Note: Spring Break is April 18 - 22. Classes begin June 13 for the summer semester and August 25 for the fall semester. When students register early, they are much more likely to get the classes, times and campuses they need to stay on track to graduate. Early registrants can also use MATC's payment plan to split tuition costs into four equal payments.

Photo: Priority and Open Registration for the summer and fall semesters begins in April.

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Governor's Budget Cuts WTCS Funding 30%
MATC will potentially lose about $7.5 million in state funding in both 2011-12 and 2012-13 through Governor Scott Walker's biennial state budget released March 1. The two-year budget calls for a 30% reduction ($71.6 million) in overall state aid to the Wisconsin Technical College System. The budget also calls for freezing property tax levies at 2010-11 levels. This measure will have minimal impact on MATC since we are at the 1.5 mill limit ($1.50 per $1,000 of assessed property valuation). Two areas of the governor's budget would benefit MATC students:

• Funding for the Wisconsin Higher Education Grant, the state's major need-based program, would be kept at current levels. However, WHEG funds are quickly exhausted, leaving many technical college students with financial need.
• The requirement that public school nurses must hold a bachelor's degree would be eliminated. MATC and other technical colleges have worked to repeal this provision to ensure our RN graduates will not be "fenced out" of nursing positions in public schools.

We will continue to monitor developments, especially as the budget bills (Assembly Bill 40 and Senate Bill 27) move into the state's Joint Finance Committee and through the Assembly and Senate. The proposed funding reductions create challenges, especially as we accommodate increased student enrollments. We will continue our work on strategies to close the budget gap.

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Reaccredited Tutoring Services Experiences 150% Jump in Student Visits
Congratulations to the staff of Tutoring Services for its recent five-year reaccreditation from the College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA). The international organization certifies college-level and adult tutoring training programs. More than 16,000 student visits to the four campus Tutoring Centers were recorded in 2009-10, a 150% increase from 2008-09. Roger Plath, manager of Tutoring Services, attributes the increase to a Supplemental Instruction grant that helps the centers reach out to more students, the college's recent enrollment gains and the success of small-group tutoring.

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Student Work Highlights NARI Home Show
Student work from MATC's Interior Design and Carpentry programs were highly visible and successful at the recent NARI Home Improvement Show.
Interior Design students from MATC, Mount Mary College, Gateway Technical College and Waukesha County Technical College competed to design a 12 x 12-foot space, with each college team creating living space for people in different stages of life. The MATC team's challenge was to create space for a college-age student (age 18 - 24). Those attending the multiple-day event at State Fair Park voted for their preferred room design. MATC Interior Design students captured second place. Interior Design faculty member Mary Walgren said MATC students used advanced software called SketchUp to complete their projects.
Carpentry program students, under the direction of faculty member George Slattery, built a 12 x 14-foot cabana for the show's Outdoor Living Area. MATC student work included a custom paver patio and seat walls, a fire pit and wood furniture.
Both the Interior Design and Carpentry programs received $1,000 from Milwaukee/NARI for the students' work.

Photo: Interior Design students Alisa Hovhannisyan (left) and Char Skelley were part of the MATC student team that created living space for a college-age student at the NARI Home Improvement Show.

Annual Report Explores the MATC Mosaic
MATC's 2010 annual report is now available. Access it at http://matc.edu/documents/2010_AnnualReport.pdf. Titled Stories of Who We Are and Those We Serve, the report features nine stories of students, alumni and a faculty member who form the MATC mosaic. The report also contains a year in review summary, financial and student/graduate data, and the MATC Foundation annual report. The report was created by the college's Marketing/Communications area. A limited number of printed copies are available.

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Horticulture Students Earn Industry Scholarship
Congratulations to Landscape Horticulture students Kathy Kingcaid and Kristy Goggio - each received a $500 Don Groth Scholarship from the Wisconsin Green Industry Federation. Horticulture instructor Gary Stanwood coordinated the scholarships.

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Renowned Indian Filmmaker to Screen Movie Here
Adoor Gopalakrishnan, one of India's foremost filmmakers, will be the special guest at the March 22 Grassroots Series, 6 - 9 p.m. at the Downtown Milwaukee Campus. Adoor's new film, Four Women, will be shown in Room S120. He will hold a post-film question-and-answer session and be part of a brief reception. MATC students, faculty and staff are invited to this free event. Two days before his MATC visit, Adoor will screen Four Women at the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. For background on his extraordinary career, go to: http://www.cinemaofmalayalam.net/adoor.html. The Grassroots Series brings personalities and programs to the college's campuses, covering a broad range of timely and compelling topics. It is sponsored by the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

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Mequon Campus to Host Health Care Forum
The Mequon Campus will host and co-sponsor a Health Care Forum on Tuesday, April 5, 7:30 - 9:30 a.m. Gregory Storm, attorney; Joseph Schirger, CPA; and Scott Fuller, benefits consultant will discuss the legal, tax and insurance issues of the new health care law. Geared to business owners, the forum is also sponsored by Ozaukee Economic Development and the chambers of commerce of Cedarburg, Grafton, Mequon-Thiensville, Port Washington and Saukville. The pre-registration fee is $10; the day-of-event cost is $15.

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Giving Campaign Success Gives College Team a Shot at Free Throws
MATC's successful 2010 Giving Campaign resulted in an invitation for a four-person employee team to participate in a free-throw shooting contest. Teams of two men and two women were given a chance to compete and win a spot for further competition at halftime of a Milwaukee Bucks game. The first round of the Milwaukee Bucks Free Throw Challenge for United Way was held at the Hillside Boys' and Girls' Club. MATC was represented by Dr. Michael L. Burke, president; Steve Holloway, counselor and co-chair of the Giving Campaign; Nina Powell, Human Resources and Giving Campaign committee member; and Valencia Weinman, Pre-College Education and Giving Campaign committee member. The gutsy team experienced a few bad bounces and did not move on in competition.

Photo: A successful 2010 Giving Campaign gave MATC an opportunity to participate in a United Way free throw challenge. The college's team was (from left) Valencia Weinman, Nina Powell, Steve Holloway and Dr. Michael L. Burke.

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Faculty and Staff News and Notes
Dr. Joseph Jacobsen, associate dean, Environmental Studies, authored the newly published book, Sustainable Business and Industry: Designing and Operating for Social and Environmental Responsibility. Published by American Society for Quality (ASQ) Press, the book is a comprehensive overview of how any enterprise - private or public, large or small - can improve social, environmental and financial performance.

Latrice Buck Hogan, a part-time Human Service Associate instructor, received a Black Excellence Award from The Milwaukee Times newspaper for her commitment, leadership, effectiveness and contributions to the community. Hogan is also director of the Milwaukee Women's Center, a division of Community Advocates. She said teaching at MATC helps her to "give back to the human service profession by helping prepare new, fresh minds to enter the field."

Congratulations to the staff of The MATC Times student newspaper. It received a third place "Best of Show" award at the recent National College Journalism Convention.

Photo: Dr. Joseph Jacobsen

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