An Evening of Creative Discovery
A huge turnout of students, faculty, staff, employers and other visitors experienced a dazzling Student Portfolio Night at Discovery World on May 8. More than 1,800 people attended, a record number. Every guest I spoke with was impressed by the high level of professionalism on display. More than 30 degree and diploma programs participated. Discovery World was the perfect venue for this signature annual MATC event, highlighting the innovative teaching and learning that is our mutual hallmark.

Congratulations to the 130 students who showcased their work, and to their instructors. I am especially gratified that faculty support for this high-profile event continues to grow. My special thanks and congratulations to some key contributors: Jim MacDonald, Gerald Trotter, Deena Thompson and Brenda Vento.

Top photo: Students basked in visitors' compliments.

Bottom photo: Chef Tom Surwillo (far right) and Culinary Arts students displayed their magic touch.

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Our Thanks to Directors Bell and Colón
At the end of June we honor two District Board members who have done a tremendous job in serving MATC and especially our students. Jeannette Bell, vice chairperson, and Pedro Colón will finish their current three-year terms June 30. Both opted not to serve another term and will be replaced by Melanie Cosgrove Holmes and Thomas Michalski. MATC District Board members serve as unpaid citizen volunteers and are appointed by the elected school board presidents from within the MATC District, plus four additional members from Milwaukee.

Now retired as mayor of West Allis, Director Bell was appointed in 1999, served one term as chair and was a pivotal subcommittee member. She was on the board when I arrived here in 2001. Her knowledge and expertise proved especially valuable as I began my presidency. State representative for Milwaukee's 8th District, Director Colón was appointed in 2005, bringing with him vast legislative experience and insight.

We will greatly miss the effective leadership of these two directors. They have been instrumental in MATC's enormous contributions to the district. I wish them future success.

Top photo: Jeannette Bell

Bottom photo: Pedro Colón

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ECAM Turns on the Future
The Center for Energy Conservation and Advanced Manufacturing has a bold mission: Be the catalyst to rejuvenate manufacturing. We took a giant step forward on April 30 when representatives from more than 50 manufacturers experienced ECAM first-hand. They attended a two-day seminar hosted by two of ECAM's most valued supporters - Hardinge Inc. and Chicago-based machine tool distributor Iverson & Company.

Headquartered in Elmira, N.Y., Hardinge is a world leader in providing a wide range of highly reliable turning, milling, grinding and workholding solutions. They donated several of their latest machines to ECAM's Advanced Manufacturing Lab. The seminar centered on advanced machining and a new process called "hard turning," which saves time, reduces scrap and increases precision. As part of this highly successful event at the Oak Creek Campus, I attended a VIP reception hosted by MATC faculty and staff.

Top photo: Visitors tour the Advanced Manufacturing Lab. 

Bottom photo: Dr. Cole speaks at the VIP reception.

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Students Amass Honors and Awards
Our students held the spotlight throughout the month of May with numerous awards and honors. Just a few highlights:

• Almost 50 candidates for spring graduation received the Lamp of Knowledge award, recognizing academic achievement in our degree and diploma programs. The students were honored at a May 4 event.
• Congratulations to Liberal Arts and Sciences student Maija Cruz, recipient of the 2008 President's Award. It recognizes her academic achievements and her contributions to the college and the community. Maija is continuing on as a scholarship student at Stanford University in California. Fox 6 News profiled her for a commencement story.
• Congratulations to Danielle Rogers, Early Childhood Education, selected as MATC's new State Ambassador. Danielle will represent the college at a variety of statewide events during the 2008-09 academic year. One student from each of the 16 Wisconsin Technical Colleges is chosen based on academic achievement, a detailed application, essay and a letter of recommendation.
• The annual "Excellence in Marketing" student awards were presented at an uplifting ceremony in late April. Recipients were Andre Burnett (Tourism and Travel Management), Brian Czarnecki (Materials Management), Ryan Hansen (Marketing Management - Marketing Communications), Sylvester McCloud (Fastrak Marketing) and Christopher Tannis (Marketing Management - Business to Business).
• At the May 22 commencement ceremony, three graduates will receive the annual Medallion Award, recognizing the highest academic success:  Nathan Waldera, IT Information Security Specialist (associate degree winner); Ann Green, Baking Production (technical diploma winner); and Randy McClinton, Adult High School (pre-college studies winner). Nathan will deliver the student graduation address.
   

HBCU Partnerships Grow to Nine
We added three new four-year college transfer partners on April 28 at a signing ceremony at the Downtown Milwaukee Campus: Jackson State University (Jackson, Mississippi), North Carolina A&T (Greensboro, North Carolina) and Talladega College (Talladega, Alabama). These fine Historically Black Colleges and Universities raise the total number of our HBCU agreements to nine.

My thanks to Dr. James Maddirala, provost, Jackson State; Dr. Lea Williams, interim vice chancellor, North Carolina A&T; and Dr. Billy Hawkins, president, Talladega College for representing their colleges at the event and offering inspiring words about our new partnerships. Many MATC staff members helped to make these agreements happen. They again did a stellar job at the signing ceremony. Special acknowledgements to Barbara Cannell and Gloria Pitchford-Trice.

Photo: Billy Hawkins, president, Talladega College (far left) and Dr. Cole thank and congratulate HBCU students who attended the signing.

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Korean Educators Tour Campus
Recently it was our pleasure to welcome a group of South Korean educators to the Downtown Milwaukee Campus for tours of the technical engineering and dental hygiene program areas. The visiting educators have MATC connections through a partnership with the West Allis Rotary and MATC Board Member Jeannette Bell. Special thanks to Brenda Vento,  College Events, for coordinating this tour.

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Reception Highlights the Power of Words
I spoke to a great group of motivated students at the May 6 Readers as Writers reception sponsored by The Key newspaper. Many of our GED, HSED and ESL students were recognized for their winning entries published in the annual Readers as Writers magazine. More than 364 submissions were received from literacy programs statewide. The Key awarded 118 first-place winners and 63 honorable mentions. For their outstanding short stories, poems and essays, my congratulations to all who entered.

Nearly 300 people attended the ceremony. Governor Jim Doyle sent commendations marking the project's 20th anniversary. Our staff, especially Editor Virginia Balistreri, worked long hours to produce the annual magazine and monthly newspaper, used in our pre-college classrooms to teach and inspire. The Key is a proud venture of MATC, Journal Communications, Inc., the Wisconsin Technical  College System and the Milwaukee Public Library. 

Photo: Pre-College and ESL students got well-deserved accolades for their short stories, poems and essays published in the 2008 Readers ad Writers magazine.

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Moving Forward with AQIP
We celebrated the many accomplishments of our Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) at a May 6 event. I was pleased to join many of you in acknowledging our great progress in four critical areas during 2007-08:

• Establish the Foundations of Excellence for student success
• Develop a quality review process for the Student Services Division
• Assess, review and create an improvement plan for student advising
• Evaluate and enhance shared decision-making to create a collaborative community

AQIP is a process of continuous improvement. Our goal is to identify where we need to improve and reach excellence in all categories. AQIP is everyone's responsibility.

Photo (l to r): Dr. Cole congratulates Evonne Carter and Tom Pilarzyk for a job well done.

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Banquet Honors Retirees and Marks Milestones
Our faculty and staff make a huge difference in the lives of students every day. It's important that we recognize years of dedicated service upon retirement or when reaching 25-year and 35-year milestones. We celebrated their achievements May 16 at the annual Employee Recognition Banquet, offering our best to 47 retirees, eight 35-year employees and 32 employees who hit the 25-year mark.

Two Tons of Effort for the Troops
I am pleased to provide a follow-up to last month's "A Ton of Support for the Troops" effort at the Oak Creek Campus. The final numbers are in. An incredible amount of goods were collected, including:

• Two tons of supplies, double the initial goal
• Cash donations of $5,000 to purchase additional personal supplies and nonperishable food items

Many thanks to the Criminal Justice Student Organization and faculty advisor James Dailey.

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Auction Again Passes $1 Million Mark
Public support is essential to the continued success of Milwaukee Public Television, and viewers showed their support in a big way through the MPTV Friends annual spring Great TV Auction. It raised more than $1.2 million, surpassing the $1 million mark for the 20th consecutive year. The live, televised event aired April 25 through May 3 and sold more than 19,000 donated items. Hundreds of volunteers run the auction. Their ongoing efforts help southeastern Wisconsin residents continue to enjoy quality, noncommercial programming. Annual MPTV Friends fundraising efforts bring in more than $5.5 million for MPTV.

Photo: MPTV receives a large check from Johnson Controls Inc.

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Children's Centers Collect for a Cause
Our annual Giving Campaign theme "People Helping People" extends throughout the year. Another example: Staff and students of our Children's Centers collected more than 1,800 pounds of nonperishable food items during the recent national Week of the Young Child celebration. The items were donated to local food pantries.

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Mequon Campus Serves as Community Drop-Off Point
The Mequon Campus was Ozaukee County's drop-off site for the recent "Medication Collection Turn-in Day." Almost 200 people took this opportunity to properly dispose of old prescription medications and prevent contaminated water supplies. The effort was held in conjunction with the Northern Ozaukee Health Department, the Mequon Police Department and Veolia Environmental Services.

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Welding Lab to Become National Test Site
It's my pleasure to report that the Welding Technology lab at West Allis Campus is poised to receive national certification. We anticipate that the lab will become an American Welding Society test site for Robotic Welding Certification this summer. The lab is also a potential AWS test site for the Certified Welding Inspector exam. If all goes forward as expected, the college will be seen as a destination for welder certification - a high honor in the industry. Congratulations and special thanks to welding instructor Larry Gross for his work toward the certifications.

Photo: Students hard at work in the Welding Tech lab.

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Remembering Chris Susedik
Melanie Susedik, wife of former Culinary Arts faculty member Chris Susedik, asked us to share a brief note to the MATC community. Chris died at age 49 last spring.

"Although hard to believe, the one-year anniversary of Chris' death was May 12. We can't thank our MATC 'family' enough for all the love and support shown us. Thanks especially to Bob Ilk, John Reiss, Bev Johnson, Kathy Thompson, Cathy Smith, Bonnie Drabowicz, Jan Loderhouse and Michael Rosen. I know I have missed others, but thanks to all." - Melanie, Courtney, Andrew and Ben Susedik

Photo: Melanie Susedik at the Culinary Recognition Luncheon thanks the MATC Foundation for the scholarship in her husband's name.

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Celebratory Forecast
Georgiana Gormley of Information Technology plans a big get-together at her home on June 18. It's to celebrate completion of our massive upgrade to the COSMO data management system. Because a TV weatherman will be there, hopes are high for a sunny day. Fox 6's Vince Condella will do a live weather report from the party during the 6 p.m. news. Georgiana secured his appearance through a winning auction bid at a fund raiser for the Florentine Opera. Congratulations to our many employees who have persevered to make COSMO a more efficient and effective tool to serve students.

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