Home › › Campus Closed for Jan 2019 in-service

Update From President, Jason S. Wood, Ph.D. – July 30, 2021

Jason WoodPosted on Posted in COVID-19, Update

Hopefully this message finds you having recently enjoyed time with your family or friends.  If not, hopefully you have plans to do so soon. 😊

As we prepare to return for the fall semester, I am reminded of the words of Booker T. Washington, “Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.”  There are many, many people at the college who strive to help others as their primary passion in life.  May we remember to take care of each other as we seek to help our students be successful.

Here’s a few items from around campus:

  1. COVID Update
    1. The Delta variant continues to surge across Wisconsin.  We are aware of the local conditions and will continue to monitor the situation to determine if changes are warranted.  It is possible we move forward reopening campus, remain in the same phase, or revert back to a more cautious approach.  Please know we consider our local situation and consult with health care officials to develop our strategy.
    2. We strongly urge people to get vaccinated whenever possible.  Please consider using facemasks while indoors with other people.  If you don’t feel well, stay home and consult with your primary care physician.  There are still many unknowns but we hope we can provide the training and education our students and employers need.
  2. Did you know? (aka…teasers for in-service)
    1. Scott Kennedy, Golf Course Management Instructor, is actively recruiting women for our new women’s golf team!  Stay tuned for additional ways we are attracting students to the college.
    2. Mary Johannesen, Kim Maier, and Katie Garrity will be presenting with Jane Wonderling, Board member and Fennimore Superintendent, at the annual conference for the Association of Community College Trustees.   Their topic will be our k-12 partnerships and the successes we’ve experienced.  Tech Ed in the high schools is a focus of recent innovations.  Learn more soon!
  3. Public Safety Training
    1. Thank you to our Public Safety program for providing professional development opportunities to outside agencies.  Southwest Tech is hosting a K9 training on August 6-8.   Canines and officers from all over the state  will be in the Lenz Center (no dogs) on Friday and then they will be in various areas around campus for trainings on searches.  The areas most likely impacted will be the main campus, ag/auto building, public safety facilities, the farmette, and the firearms range.  If you would like to observe or participate, please contact Kris Wubben.
  4. Charger 360
    1. We are proud to provide laptops and technology support to our students. Many, many students need these services.  We are grateful for the federal funds which offset the cost of the program again this year.  While acknowledging some students may not require the laptop, we remain convinced the program is beneficial to the majority of our students and especially so for our most at-risk populations.  Please help be part of the solution to strengthen the program and help more students reach their educational goals.
    2. You can get all of the details about the Charger 360 program here.  Please let me know if you have questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions on how we can improve this initiative.
  5. Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Update
    1. Please see the attached chart (attached to email sent to staff) for information about our fall term enrollments.  We continue to place a major emphasis on helping more people reach their career goals by graduating from one of our programs.  Yes, this is about “increasing FTE”…because we care about students improving their situation.  I also recognize the revenue from FTE is part of sustaining our business operations.
    2. We need everyone to help potential students know how they can enroll, successfully learn, and get good jobs.  During in-service we will share specific opportunities for you to be help make a difference in bringing more people to the college.

In closing, here are a few special kudos to…

  1. Gin Reynolds for her great work helping nursing students get their COVID vaccines!  Nurses are essential front-line workers and Gin helps them help others.
  2. Holly Straka for her excellent work recruiting students!  Holly reached out to every single student who left the college since March of 2020.  Of the 270 phone calls and 175 text messages, over a dozen students have enrolled with 15-20 more considering the opportunity to register!
  3. To the people who reach out to other faculty and staff to express sympathy or provide compassionate service when tragedy strikes.  Thank you for caringly supporting one another.

Thanks,

Jason

Posted in COVID-19, Update