Generous gift humbling, inspiring

The generosity of SC Johnson has resulted in a $1 million commitment to Gateway Technical College for training and student support through the Gateway to Careers initiative. I am humbled by their commitment to community and the value placed on Gateways' educational programming by the SC Johnson team.

The Gateway to Careers initiative will open many doors of opportunity for hundreds of future students. Let's join together to say thanks a million to SC Johnson for trusting in Gateway to make a difference in the Racine community.

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Gateway expands Earth Day
Celebration to every campus

Gateway Technical College has expanded its popular community Celebrate Earth Day to include the Kenosha, Racine and Elkhorn campuses. The event, which will be held 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, April 21, began on the Kenosha Campus four years ago.

The first 1,200 visitors in total across all three sites will receive a environmentally gentle, reusable grocery bag, courtesy of event sponsor, Snap-on Incorporated. The event is free and open to the public.

The celebrations will begin with a community cleanup 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in each of the individual communities:

• Kenosha, Simmons Island, 5001 Simmons Island Drive
• Racine, Pershing Park, 500 Pershing Drive; and Samuel Myers Park, at 11th Street and Pershing Drive, near Gateway's Racine Campus.
• Elkhorn, Babe Mann Park, Proctor Drive in the city's industrial park

From there, each individual campus will host the event, from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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WEDD wants to know
your business training needs

Gateway Technical College's Workforce and Economic Development Division (WEDD) wants to meet your training needs and help provide skill upgrades for your employees. By completing the WEDD Employer Training Interest Survey and indicating your needs, you will help drive programming for companies throughout the Gateway Technical College District for the coming year.

"As your training partner we look forward to assisting your business' growth and productivity," said Lauri Howard, WEDD director of Workforce Training.

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Electromachanical trends, issues
outlined in professional series

Gateway's Workforce and Economic Development Division will hold a series of seminars focused on electromechanical technology, providing participants with insight and knowledge into industry trends and providing information on how the division can meet the training needs of area business to address technological issues.

Interested businesses and members of the public are encouraged to attend the seminars. The sessions are free and begin at 7:45 a.m. with the opportunity to meet and have a continental breakfast, followed by the 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. presentations.

Seminars include:

Programmable Logic Controllers and Programming Languages. April 13, Centerfor Advanced Technology and Innovation, Room 132, 2320 Renaissance Blvd., Sturtevant.

Where are Industrial Motor Drive Controls Going? April 20, Burlington Campus, Room 100, 496 McCanna Pkwy.

Robot Programming – Moving Beyond the Teach Pendant. April 27, Elkhorn Campus, Room 112, South Building.

Industrial Controls – Where All the Different Pieces Fit In a Control Scheme, and Why. May 4, Center for Advanced Technology and Innovation, Room 132, 2320 Renaissance Blvd., Sturtevant.

Industrial control and communication expert David Linton will conduct all the seminars.

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Racine Campus to move Student Services to remodeled space

Students on the Racine Campus will soon benefit from a $1 million renovation to create a new Student Services area to meet the needs of an expanding student population.

The renovation to the third floor of the Racine Building will provide for an easier way for students to find many of the resources they need, including admissions, advising, counseling, registration and financial aid services. Student workshops will be held there, as well as staff training. Some of the current Student Services area will be converted to classrooms to meet the academic needs of students.

The expansion is expected to be complete and meeting the needs of students by Fall 2012.

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Racine Culinary Arts
kitchen expansion approved

Culinary Arts students beginning in Fall 2012 will benefit from an expansion, remodel and equipment update approved by the Gateway Technical College Board of Trustees.

Board members approved the $1 million project to remodel and refurbish the existing 2,600-square-foot culinary arts space, as well as add a walk-in freezer to the north side of the building. The new space will provide a practical hands-on training facility for a new retail bakery program to start in Fall 2012, allowing students to produce and sell bakery goods on-site.

"Our students will benefit from being trained on modern equipment used in the world of culinary arts today," said lead Culinary Arts instructor Susanna Elrod. "The addition of the bakery retail space will also provide us the great opportunity for students to engage in an internship for the bakery certificate, without leaving the campus."

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Webinar highlights Gateway's
international partnership efforts

Gateway Technical College President Dr. Bryan Albrecht was a featured member of a webinar by the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) highlighting the college's involvement in an international partnership to train automotive instructors in Morocco through a Higher Education for Development grant.

"This project includes multiple stakeholders with diverse perspectives demonstrating how, in the future, we need to leverage our partnerships to grow our college," said Albrecht. "In the future of community colleges, growth strategies must align with national and international efforts relating to education and economic issues."

Albrecht was joined in the webinar by Roger Tadajewski, executive director of the National Coalition of Certification Centers, known as NC3; and Soumia Boutkhil of Universite' Mohammed I Oujda / Ecole Superieure de Technologie.

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Gateway DECA students
capture state honors

Three students from the Gateway Marketing and Management Association/Delta Epsilon Chi captured first-place honors – and several others took second place and third place – at the 51st Wisconsin Collegiate DECA annual Spring Competitive Events Conference held March 1 to March 4 in Madison.

The strong showing results in 23 Gateway students qualifying for the national Collegiate DECA competition of marketing and business education to be held April 28-May 1 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Nicole Rugen (Delavan) and Sarah Akey (Whitewater) captured first place in the Advertising Campaign category while Andrew Barnhill (Kenosha) took first in Web Site Design.

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Gateway president facilitates STEM discussions with business leaders

Gateway Technical College hosted one of five regional meetings focused on gaining input from business and industry leaders on the skills they need for their future workforce in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Gateway President Dr. Bryan Albrecht facilitated the Southeastern Wisconsin meeting March 30 at the American Transmission Company in Waukesha to gather input from the wide array of leaders interested in development of professionals in the areas of STEM. The input from all five regions will be used to develop the STEM Talent Development Roadmap for Wisconsin, an effort seen by many as crucial to bolster the state's current and future economy.

"We need students to understand the technologically-driven world they live in and how they might one day contribute to identifying and solving problems that will improve and advance our shared, global quality of life," said Albrecht. "It is an urgent need across America, and it's important that Wisconsin lead the nation in this effort."

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Gateway selects student
Star Ambassadors

Randall Delaney, of Kenosha, was named as Gateway Technical College's District Ambassador. As District Ambassador, Delaney will represent the student voice of the college to communities in Kenosha, Racine and Walworth counties as well as speaking engagements at several public events held by the college each year. Delaney will represent Gateway at a statewide leadership conference of District Ambassadors from each college of the Wisconsin Technical College System, serve as the keynote speaker at Gateway's Adult High School graduation ceremony and receive a Gateway Technical Foundation Inc. scholarship.

Delaney was initially selected as Kenosha Campus Star Ambassador. Other Star Ambassadors selected include Colleen Henningfeld, East Troy, for the Elkhorn Campus and Burlington Center, and Katie Sell, Pleasant Prairie, for the Racine Campus. The procedure calls for the District Ambassador to be chosen from the field of three Star Ambassadors.

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