Gateway gives back
to its communities

I am proud to share with you Gateway's commitment to give back to our community through volunteerism.

One of the most important ways individuals can build a stronger community is by becoming a stronger member in it. This year, Gateway Technical College staff has set a goal of giving back to our community with at least 5,000 hours of community service.

Some of the activities included in the project are youth mentoring, youth health and dental check-ups, United Way and other charitable fundraising. I am proud of this effort and encourage you to reflect on the power of giving back through volunteerism.

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Gateway breaks ground
on HERO Center

Gateway Technical College, in partnership with the Burlington Area School District, Pierce Manufacturing Inc. and Medtec Ambulance Corporation, broke ground on a 12,000-square-foot addition to its facility at 380 McCanna Parkway, Burlington, to support expanded programming in emergency medical services and firefighter training.

The $1.5 million facility will be renamed the Health and Emergency Responder Occupations – HERO – Center. Gateway will also spend $600,000 on equipment for the center.

“Increased enrollment and changes in the type of training provided to today’s firefighters and EMS professionals is driving the expansion,” said Gateway Technical College President Bryan Albrecht. “Gateway provides training in all aspects of fire and emergency medical services. A large percentage of its first responder training is for fire fighter companies of local municipalities.”

At the HERO Center, students and professionals will have access to real-life, scenario-based training, disaster simulation and technology-equipped classroom instruction. Through the HERO Center, Gateway will offer specialized training for area departments such as confined space rescue and firefighter rescue.

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EMS, firefighter scholarship
set up by Pierce, Medtec

Pierce Manufacturing Inc. and Medtec Ambulance Corporation, combined to establish an endowed $10,000 scholarship.

The scholarship will be available to Gateway students in emergency medical services and firefighting programs. Pierce Manufacturing is the leading manufacturer of custom fire apparatus and Medtec Ambulance Corporation, a leading manufacturer of custom ambulances.

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German students again
visit Gateway

Seven exchange students from Kaufmannischen Schulen in Germany participated in the exchange project at Gateway Technical College recently.

Students visited the college in October and participated in a number of Gateway-organized learning opportunities, on campus as well as at several local businesses.

The German students are enrolled in a Dual System of Apprenticeship program at Kaufmannischen Schulen, a German educational institution. The students’ project for this trip was to work with Gateway students on a web site development project for the Hispanic Community & Resource Center of Racine. Both groups of students will continue working on the project using distance learning technology. Gateway students will travel to Germany in March and the two groups will work together again to complete the project.

As part of their three-week visit, the German students also toured and job shadowed at Snap-on Incorporated, Electrical Systems & Services, Pioneer Products, Kenosha Public Museum, Chrysler Kenosha Engine Plant, Andis Company and Martin Peterson Company.

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Gateway, WCEDA to accept
grant for training program

Gateway Technical College and the Walworth County Economic Development Alliance (WCEDA) accepted a $687,100 grant award from the U.S. Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA). The grant will allow the partners to develop and deliver an entrepreneurial training program spanning a four-county region in Southeastern Wisconsin.

The three-year EDA grant underwrites a significant amount of the training costs for new entrepreneurs who are establishing businesses or technology-based firms in Kenosha, Racine, Walworth and Rock counties – a region highly dependent on the automotive industry sector and severely impacted by the 2008 floods.

Total project costs are estimated at $1,126,387 with an in-kind match of $439,287 from Gateway, WCEDA, and the Small Business Development Centers at University of Wisconsin-Parkside and University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

The investment includes partnerships with those Small Business Development Centers and the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation to provide on-site delivery of business planning services; development and implementation of an online business planning course; FastTrac Tech Venture, targeting professional and technical dislocated workers, and a micro-loan program.

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Gateway to provide training
through five state grants

Gateway will provide training to five area companies as part of Workforce Advancement Training Grant initiatives.

The grants will support a company’s efforts for continuous improvement, increasing efficiency and productivity. They will help a company to retain the workers they currently have and to increase its competitive productivity. The state grant pays for 75 percent of the training project’s overall cost, with the remaining 25 percent paid for by the company.

Companies receiving grants include Teleflex Medical OEM, Kenosha; Johnson Diversey, Racine; Pentair, Delavan; A&E Incorporated, Racine; SPX Process Equipment, Delavan.

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Gateway celebrates opening
of Elkhorn Campus Health Wing

Gateway held an open house for its Elkhorn Campus Health Wing in late September, a remodeled area that will address the need for qualified graduates in health careers in Walworth County.

The 6,600-square-foot wing opened in time for the start of the Fall 2009 semester. The upgrade will benefit health careers students – and area communities –through equipment and facility improvements that provides realistic, hands-on training.

The new lab area will give Certified Nursing Assistant, Medical Assistant and Community Pharmacy Technician students the ability to train in a real-world environment and the skills to be successful in their career. The work done is a result of a commissioned study group of Walworth County residents which recommended changes to programs and services needed for the region.

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Gateway president to work
on national initiative

Gateway Technical College president Bryan Albrecht has been named to the national Validation Committee for the Common Core State Standards Initiative.

The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers announced Albrecht is among the 25-member national and international group. Committee members will immediately be tasked with reviewing and verifying the standards development process and the resulting evidence-based college- and career-readiness standards.

The standards are intended to be research and evidence-based, aligned with college and workforce training program expectations, reflective of rigorous content and skills and internationally benchmarked.

The standards will help shape the knowledge and skills necessary for postsecondary success in math and language arts. Basic skills in math and communications are essential for success in today’s job market.

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Albrecht named to CORD
executive board

Gateway Technical College president Bryan Albrecht was named to the board of directors for the national Center for Occupational Research and Development (CORD).

“I’m honored to be selected to the board of directors for CORD,” said Albrecht. “They provide innovative means to prepare instructors and students to succeed in their careers.”

CORD is a Texas-based national nonprofit organization “dedicated to leading change in education.” Since 1979, CORD has created educational tools and innovative programs to empower faculty and prepare students for greater success in careers and higher education.

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Debbie Davidson named
NCATC president-elect

Debbie Davidson, Gateway Technical College vice president, Workforce and Economic Development Division, was selected as the president-elect of the National Coalition of Advanced Technology Centers for 2010.

Davidson will then assume the role of president for the group in 2011. Prior to being selected as president-elect, Davidson served on the NCATC’s executive board and as the group’s Midwest Region coordinator.

Davidson’s work on the group will help Gateway by keeping the college on the cutting edge of technology and best practices efforts undertaken by other NCATC members.

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Horizon Center named
in US Chamber publication

Gateway Technical College’s partnership with Snap-on Incorporated in creating the Horizon Center for Transportation Technology in Kenosha was featured by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as a quality model of partnership between business and education and a strong “best practices” example for other technical colleges.

The effort was featured in a joint publication of the National Career Pathways Network and the Institute for a Competitive Workforce, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The publication features 17 of the nation’s best practices in business and education partnerships. Gateway is featured for its partnership with Snap-on and the development of the Horizon Center. The publication is being sent to all 3,000 chamber organizations in the United States, as well as industry, education and government organizations.

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Gateway offers
free webinar series

Gateway is offering free webinars on business and personal productivity and other important topics for the business community.

A webinar is a Web-based seminar where a live presenter speaks to participants who watch their own computer screens to view the presentation, slides and video clips controlled by the presenter. The audience can use their keyboard to interject questions or comments and can reply to polling or question and answer sessions.

Webinars include:

• Nov. 11: Manufacturing Skill Standards Council, 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
• Nov. 12: Increased Productivity Through Employee Engagement, 11 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
• Nov. 20: Aligning Your Organization for Exceptional Customer Service, 11 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
• Dec. 2: Apprenticeship, 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
• Dec. 9: Training ID Tool, 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.

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Gateway again offering
‘green’ business seminars

Gateway Technical College is again offering its Green Business Practices seminar series, an introduction to profitable “green” strategies that can improve a business’s bottom line and increase employee awareness of sustainable practices.

All seminars will be held 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. in the Center for Advanced Technology and Innovation, 2320 Renaissance Blvd., Sturtevant. Seminars cost $25 per person, which includes a continental breakfast.

Seminars include:

• HVAC Systems, Nov. 12.
• Green Cleaning, Dec. 17.
• Green Behavior, Jan. 21.
• Introduction to Alternative Energy, Feb. 18.
• Return on Green Investment, March 18.

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Gateway offering Smart Career Restart
Telecommunications classes

Gateway will begin offering Telecommunications courses as part of its Smart Career Restart effort to help dislocated workers get back on their feet and re-enter the workforce.

The program teaches students telecommunications safety and installation, telecommunication fire stopping, customer service, math and other quality standards. This an eight-week program where the participant can earn 12 credits along with up to five certifications. These skills, abilities and knowledge, are beneficial for a student seeking employment in the telecommunications cabling field.

Students will have the opportunity to earn a Belden IBDN 726 Copper Certification, STI Fire Stopping Certification, Unique Fire Stopping Certification, MSSC Safety Certification, and an ETAI Customer Service Certification. Belden products and the Belden IBDN 726 course are a key part of the Safety and Installation class.

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Wind power appliance
generates power, learning

In keeping with its environmental commitment, Gateway Technical College installed a vertical axis wind power appliance – a Mariah Power Windspire® at its Center for Advanced Technology and Innovation, 2320 Renaissance Blvd., Sturtevant.

The Windspire will become a learning tool for students, as well as a way for the college to reduce its purchase of electricity. The 30-foot wind vertical wind turbine was erected to the north of the CATI and will be used to demonstrate to students the capabilities of energy monitoring and management.

Instructors and students will use computer software to monitor the unit, which has applications in some Engineering programs, and will also serve as a test station for Gateway’s wind torque program. The turbine will generate an estimated 2,550 kilowatt hours annually, based on the prevailing wind speed for the region.

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WGTD to broadcast
in High Definition

WGTD 91.1, the public radio station owned and operated by Gateway Technical College, will now broadcast in HD.

“The digital signal means listeners who have new HD radios are already receiving WGTD’s ‘NPR News & Classical Music’ format in near compact-disk quality,” said WGTD general manager David Cole.

It’ll also make possible the development of two new radio stations, one devoted to jazz with the other focusing on public service, old-time radio, sports, and experimental broadcasts.

The changes won’t affect listeners who decide against upgrading to HD, but only those listeners with HD radios will be able to pick up the new stations and receive the higher-fidelity broadcasts.

The new opportunities were made possible by the recent installation of a digital transmitter in Kenosha which was financed in part with a $72,000 grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The new transmitter won’t affect WGTD’s low-power “translator” stations in Walworth County, 101.7 FM in Elkhorn and 103.3 in Lake Geneva.

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New Gateway
academic deans named

Gateway Technical College has now completed implementation of its new academic dean structure, created to enhance support and resources to students.

New academic dean appointments include:

• Dr. Jackie Love – Dean of ABE/ELL, or development education, an emphasis to meet the growing need for basic education in our communities.
• Diane Skewes – Associate dean for Nursing and Nursing Assistant programs
• Beverly Frazier – Associate dean for Manufacturing, Engineering and Transportation
• Robert Simmons – Associate dean for Business, Information Technology and Service careers
• Ja’Tawn Campbell-Pinson – Associate dean, Allied Health and Emergency Medical Services

Two academic deans continue to serve in the same position:

• Dr. Bernard O’Connell – Dean of General Studies
• Dennis Sherwood – Dean of Manufacturing, Engineering and Transportation careers

New deans of Campus Affairs include:

• Mike O’Donnell is now the dean of Campus Affairs, Elkhorn Campus and Burlington Center. O’Donnell also retained his position as dean of Health Occupations. O’Donnell took over the Campus Affairs position in July 2009 following the retirement of former Elkhorn Campus Affairs dean Grace Kragness earlier this year.
• Ray Koukari – Dean of Campus Affairs, Racine Campus. Koukari also retained his position as dean of Business, Information Technology and Service careers. Koukari took over the Campus Affairs position in July 2009 following the retirement of former Racine Campus Affairs dean Ann Henderson, who retired early this year.

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Gateway holds annual
health care job fair

Employers and potential workers benefited from Gateway Technical College’s annual Healthcare Job and Career Fair, Oct. 28 in the Madrigrano Auditorium, Gateway Technical College’s Kenosha Campus, 3520-30th Ave.

Several of Southeastern Wisconsin’s major healthcare providers, local health agencies and nursing home facilities were at the event. Four-year colleges were also seeking Gateway graduates and other individuals who want to continue their education and earn a bachelor’s degree.

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