I want to make sure we are focusing on the right things. We want to make sure we’re on the right track and that we’re aligned with your interests.
What will Milwaukee Area Technical College look like five years from now?
More students? More technology? New programs?
Those are the types of questions MATC President Anthony Cruz, Ed.D., is asking the community to help answer.
This fall, Dr. Cruz is inviting district residents, business executives and community leaders to participate in a series of Presidential Roundtables to discuss the future of the college.
MATC’s current five-year strategic plan, Transformation 2025, is nearing an end, so the college is planning for the next five years.
“I want to make sure we are focusing on the right things,” said Dr. Cruz at a roundtable held October 17, 2024. “We want to make sure we’re on the right track and that we’re aligned with your interests."
“I believe this college is a special place,” added Dr. Cruz, who started as MATC’s 11th president in July. “I think we’re doing some amazing things and even greater things are on the horizon."
The college’s strategic planning committee is gathering input from students, faculty, staff and the community this fall and hopes to have the MATC District Board approve the next strategic plan next spring, said Jennifer Mikulay, Ph.D., the college’s director of quality planning and assessment and co-chair of the committee.
The committee, which includes students, staff and faculty, held two sessions at the college's annual MATC Day on Oct. 15, 2024, is appearing at team meetings and at the community roundtables to explain the planning process and timeline.
The first roundtable for community partners was held October 16 at the college’s Oak Creek Campus and the second October 17 at the Downtown Milwaukee Campus. Two sessions will be held in November and two more in December.
A host of community leaders attended the first two roundtables, including Oak Creek Mayor Dan Bukiewicz; Port of Milwaukee Director Jackie Q. Carter; Angela Damiani, CEO and founder of NEWaukee; Joel Brennan, president of the Greater Milwaukee Committee; Melinda Wyant Jansen, vice president of programs and chief academic officer at Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee; Phillip Aiello, CEO of Mandel Group; and several representatives from the City of Milwaukee.
During the sessions, guests learned about the college’s strategic planning process and timelines, and were encouraged to offer their insights and ideas.
Several residents urged the college to strengthen its connections to businesses and industry in the region.
The college currently works with more than 900 partners that help craft courses and curriculum to ensure MATC teaches the skills employers want and need their workers to have, Dr. Cruz said.
“We will always need that expertise,” Dr. Cruz said. “It’s vital we understand the needs of industry and the workforce.”
Several others mentioned that the college could play an integral role in Milwaukee reaching a population of one million — a goal publicly embraced by Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson — and Milwaukee County’s goal of being the healthiest county in the state.
By working together, intergenerational poverty can be alleviated, Dr. Cruz said. “Higher education can be one of the great equalizers,” he said. “We are here to help Milwaukee and the region become bigger, better and stronger.”
The college also shouldn’t hesitate to trumpet its successes, said Jim Walsh, a retired MATC instructor, who attended the Oak Creek roundtable. “There are a lot of great stories out there and the public needs to hear them,” he said.
Dr. Cruz plans to make the roundtables a regular event. “Right now our focus is on the strategic plan, but I will be using these roundtables to listen to your thoughts about what we are doing and what we need to do,” he said. “Knowing what you are thinking is extremely valuable to our success.”
Viola Rembert, executive director of HeartLove Place, a nonprofit Christian ministry located in Milwaukee’s Harambee neighborhood, was grateful to be part of the discussion and hoped that the input will make a difference. In 2023 her organization connected with MATC’s Culinary Arts program to provide food service training for high school students.
“I want to be part of moving the needle,” Rembert said. “I hope and pray that we can do that.”
About MATC: As Wisconsin’s largest technical college and one of the most diverse two-year institutions in the Midwest, Milwaukee Area Technical College is a key driver of southeastern Wisconsin’s economy and has provided innovative education in the region since 1912. More than 30,000 students per year attend the college’s four campuses and community-based sites or learn online. MATC offers affordable and accessible education and training opportunities that empower and transform lives in the community. The college offers more than 180 academic programs — many that prepare students for jobs immediately upon completion and others that provide transfer options leading to bachelor’s degrees with more than 40 four-year colleges and universities. Overwhelmingly, MATC graduates build careers and businesses in southeastern Wisconsin. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
