PTCC Foundation Receives $8,000 Onan Family Foundation Grant

Funds provided for Bridging the Dream Scholarships

Pine Technical & Community College Foundation’s Bridging the Dream scholarship program will be able to help a few more students achieve their educational and career goals, thanks to a grant from the Onan Family Foundation. The Onan Family Foundation recently award an $8,000 grant to provide "Bridging the Dream Scholarships" to qualified students attending PTCC. The Onan Family Foundation has indicated to the college that they intend for the grant to be ongoing.

The Onan Family Foundation is based in Minneapolis and supports nonprofit and community organizations through grants. Its founder, David W. Onan, was a man who never shied from hard work and felt the need to give back to the community that had always supported him and his business endeavors. His grandson David W. Onan II, now a trustee of the organization, said the Onan Family Foundation had often supported colleges in the past, mostly liberal arts schools. The trustees of the Foundation sought an opportunity to support technical education.

“The family started as tradesmen, and we want to support the trades of any kind – all the things that put people to work. We need people with hands-on skills,” said Onan. “What [PTCC] does is an ideal fit.”

Onan explained that by supporting the trades, the Onan Family Foundation can also help foster entrepreneurism and the regional economy. His daughter, Karen Onan Amundson, was excited for the opportunity to support a college she felt she had an affiliation to.

“The trustees are giving to the organizations that we feel strongly for. We’re feeling a connection to those that we’re giving to. With what Pine Tech does, it supports the community,” Amundson said. “And I think a lot of the folks that go there have a thought to start their own business. That’s something my great-grandfather would have been proud to support.”

“We are indebted to David Onan and the Onan Family Foundation for their great generosity.  This partnership will ultimately benefit a great number of students, enabling them to attend college and gain the benefits that technology education can provide,” said PTCC President Robert Musgrove. “In some cases, a scholarship can mean the difference between going to college or putting those dreams on hold. Our graduates go on to be some of the very finest entrepreneurs, healthcare professionals, business leaders and tradesmen that our community relies on. And we’re proud to help them achieve their goals with the generous gift from the Onan Family Foundation.”

Each year, scholarship recipients share a similar story: Bridging the Dream Scholarships have made a difference in their lives.

“I would not have been financially prepared to go back to college if it wasn’t for the Bridging the Dream Scholarship,” said Nicholas Seeger, a 2013 scholarship recipient.

“Receiving this scholarship played a key role in helping to achieve my educational dreams,” affirmed 2012 scholarship recipient, Jamie Anderson.

“We are a small foundation, and we do things in small ways,” said Onan.

The Onan family tradition of helping the community dates back to the 1930s, when David W. Onan became the president of Optimist International and began volunteer work building a boys’ camp. Helping to improve the lives of children was always close to D. W. Onan’s heart, and became the impetus for the Onan Family Foundation. Today, the Onan Family Foundation has provided more than $10 million in grant funds to various nonprofit, arts and education organizations throughout the region.

For more information on the Onan Family Foundation, go to http://www.onanfamily.org/. To learn more about the Pine Technical & Community College Foundation, or to contribute to scholarship funds, go to http://www.pine.edu/partners/ptcc-foundation/.

2014 Phi Theta Kappa members inducted

2014 Phi Theta Kappa members inducted

Congratulations to the members of Phi Theta Kappa, who were inducted at a December 1 ceremony. From left are: Chapter President Robyn Miche, Betty Dockham, Ciara Hill, Karissa Hill, Sara Jensen, Jenna Michel, Nick Seeger and Chapter Advisor Tony Mueller.

Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society recognizes and encourages scholarship among two-year college students. PTK is the largest honor society in American higher education, with more than 200,000 students each year. To learn more about the PTCC chapter, visit our website.

 

Award for Excellence in Teaching 2014-2015 Nominations Open

Pine Technical & Community College and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) Board of Trustees is pleased to announce that nominations are now open for the Award for Excellence in Teaching. This is the ninth year of the awards.

 

The MnSCU Board of Trustees bestows the award to acknowledge and reward exceptional professional accomplishment and to encourage ongoing excellence in teaching. The winners will be selected from faculty members named Outstanding Educators by the presidents of their respective institutions based on nominations by students, faculty peers or staff.

Evaluation criteria include: content expertise and professional growth; teaching strategies and materials; assessment of student learning and performance; and service to students, the profession, the institution, and the system.

Nominations are open until November 24, 2014.  MnSCU has established criteria as to who is eligible to be nominated. For a nomination form, email Joan Bloemendaal-Gruett, Chief Academic Officer at bloemendaal-gruettj@pine.edu.

Nominations may come from students, staff, faculty, alumni, administrators, or community members. 

 

The faculty nominated will complete additional information.  The nomination committee will review this information, using scoring criteria.  Then one faculty member will be selected in December and represent Pine Technical & Community College by submitting a portfolio to be considered for the Educator of the Year: Board of Trustees Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Quality Matters recognizes PTCC for its commitment to course quality

 The Quality Matters (QM) Program, a nationally recognized, faculty-centered, peer-review process that certifies the quality of online courses, has recognized nine courses from six different faculty at Pine Technical & Community College for their commitment to quality assurance by designing courses that meet Quality Matters standards.
 

Quality Matters has developed a widely respected set of standards for the design of effective online courses and a rigorous, faculty peer review process for applying these standards to existing courses. Through this process, reviewers provide instructors and instructional design teams with insights and recommendations that increase learner engagement, retention and satisfaction, and, ultimately, learner achievement. The PTCC faculty and their courses that earned QM certifications include Elayne Beehler, Introduction to Health Care Careers; Phil Darg, United States History Since 1877, Minnesota History and American Government and Politics; Melissa Felland, Children with Challenging Behaviors and Working with Diverse Families and Children; Stacey Foster, College Composition; Gavin House, Introduction to Business; and Chris York, Introduction to Creative Writing.

 

Quality Matters (QM) is a leader in quality assurance for online education and has received national recognition for its peer-based approach to continuous improvement in online education and student learning. QM subscribers include community and technical colleges, colleges and universities, K-12 schools and systems, government agencies, corporations, and other education-related organizations. www.qualitymatters.org

 
 

 

 

 

Pine City Area Early Childhood Coalition and Pine City Honored

The Initiative Foundation has selected Pine City and Pine City Area Early Childhood Coalition as the recipient of the 2015 Outstanding Community Initiative Award for their efforts to build thriving communities and a strong economy in Central Minnesota.

The awards ceremony will be held in May, where the agencies will receive a grant for nonprofit, government or public school initiatives.

Pine Technical & Community College is proud to partner with both Pine City and Pine City Area Early Childhood Coalition and congratulate them on this great honor.

Additional scholarship funding available

 

 

Important News!

Additional Early Learning Scholarship funding is now available! Kanabec County has been added!

Did you know half of all Minnesota Children are not fully prepared for Kindergarten?

High-quality early learning ensures our children enter kindergarten ready to succeed in school and life; because of this, The Minnesota Department of Education is offering scholarships to help more families afford high-quality child care and early education programs. 

Do you have or know of a family who has a child age 3 or 4 as of September 1^st, 2014?

*Exception: parents under the age of 21 pursuing a high school or general education equivalency diploma - Children birth to 5 are eligible.

Does the family live in Pine, Isanti, Mille Lacs, or Kanabec County?

They may be able to receive up to $5,000.00 to help offset High Quality Child Care!

Scholarship eligibility is based on family income. To find out more information please contact:

Annette Weaver

weavera@pinetech.edu
320-629-5134
Professional Development Support Coordinator
Early Learning Scholarships
Pine Technical and Community College

Dr. Musgrove Announces Retirement

 

Pine Technical College President Robert Musgrove recently announced plans to retire at the end of the 2014-2015 academic year. Dr. Musgrove has served as president of the college since 1998.

“I am very proud of the many accomplishments PTC has seen during the 16 years I have been privileged  and we have improved the quality of our programs. We’ve grown in just about every possible way, and we have brought improved technology to the community. The faculty, staff, and students can be very proud of all that we have accomplished, and it has been a privilege to serve with them.”

Enrollment at PTC has increased 74 percent since 2003, which Musgrove believes is a direct reflection of the way the staff approaches program quality and student services. Musgrove views the change in the college’s mission and name – Pine Technical College will soon become Pine Technical and Community College – as a major achievement. The name change has been approved by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) Board of Trustees and will become effective upon approval by the Higher Learning Commission.

“President Musgrove has left his mark not only on Pine Technical College, but on the state higher education landscape as well, earning recognition as the President of the Year in 2001 by the Minnesota State College Student Association,” said MnSCU Chancellor Steven Rosenstone. “He has brought to his presidency an entrepreneurial spirit that has had a tremendously powerful impact on the way all of our colleges and universities are working together to find solutions to common challenges.”

Originally from Texas, Musgrove started his career in education teaching at Walton Middle School in Charlottesville, VA, in 1975. He held a number of positions within the public school system and private sector before joining the Texas State Technical College at Sweetwater in 1986 as an instructor and program chair for the English department. He was chief academic officer when he left Sweetwater in 1998 to join Pine Technical College. Musgrove was drawn to PTC in part by the possibilities he saw in the higher education merger that produced the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities.

A national search for a new president will be initiated in the fall with the expectation of an appointment to start on July 1, 2015.

Musgrove’s advice to his successor is simple: “Learn the place. Learn the people.”

 

Pine Tech IT Staff Member Earns State Recognition

Pine Technical College’s Stephen Bobowski was recently recognized for his work with PTC’s datacenter renovation project. Information technology directors from around the state nominated IT professionals for the IT Award for Excellence; Bobowski earned third place out of more than 30 nominations statewide.

The IT Award for Excellence is an opportunity to recognize exceptional work performed by IT personnel that reaches beyond the boundaries of their expected scope of influence. It is intended to highlight work performed that has a direct benefit to others inside or outside the Minnesota State Colleges or Universities.

Nominated by PTC’s Chief Information Officer Ken Ries, “Stephen successfully coordinated the complete renovation of the Pine Technical College Data center. Stephen worked with our stakeholders and contractors to ensure a successful renovation with minimal downtime for our partners.”

Bobowski has been with Pine Technical College for more than two years as a network technology specialist. He is also a graduate of several of PTC’s information technology programs, including network administration.

 

 

Pine Innovation Center ribbon cutting ceremony set

Pine Technical College’s business incubator, Pine Innovation Center, will officially open its 7,500 square-foot facility with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 3 p.m. on Friday, April 18. The Pine Innovation Center is located at 585 Hillside Avenue Southeast in Pine City.

Following a welcome from PTC President Robert Musgrove, the ceremony will include special remarks from Minnesota District 8 Congressman Rick Nolan, Minnesota District 11 Senator Tony Lourey, Minnesota District 11B Representative Tim Faust, Jerry Fallos, representing U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar and Pine City Economic Development Authority member Frank Christopherson. Refreshments and tours will also be available after the ceremony.

The incubator will house and support hi-tech and light manufacturing entrepreneurs in the community, and, at the same time, the incubator will provide PTC students access to internships and practical experience in cutting-edge, hi-tech industry. The Pine Innovation Center holds the potential to become an effective tool to foster an environment where manufacturing and high-tech jobs can grow and develop and to create wealth within the region. The incubator will house light manufacturing and technology-based businesses working toward producing innovative products or services, and it has been designed to house two start-up companies simultaneously, as well as comfortable meeting space.

PTC and a body of experts from the Pine Area will provide consulting services, technical expertise, product evaluation, assistance with marketing and business planning, and much more to start-ups and growing businesses choosing to reside in the incubator while putting down roots. New companies will stay in the incubator for 3-4 years, while they are solidifying their businesses.  Then they will be required to move out, and the College will bring in another fledgling business and repeat the process.

According to Musgrove, it is a job creation strategy which improves the success rate of new companies.  “Around 50% of new companies don’t survive five years,” he explained.  “However, research shows that an incubation program boosts that success rate to around 84%.  And 87% of companies who are incubated remain in the community where they started.”

Pine Technical College’s Medical Assisting Program Earn Accreditation

Clearwater, FL – At its meeting on March 21, 2014, the Board of Directors of the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) granted initial accreditation to the Pine Technical College’s Associate in Medical Assisting Program. Pine Technical College is located in Pine City, Minnesota.  The CAAHEP Board acted upon the accreditation recommendation of the Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB).

Through the accreditation process, which includes a thorough review of the program, curriculum, faculty and staff, as well as a site visit of the program, the Medical Assisting program at Pine Technical College in Pine City, MN, was determined to be in substantial compliance with the nationally approved Standards and Guidelines for educational programs as established by the Medical Assisting profession. 

PTC’s Medical Assistant program prepares students to perform administrative and clinical tasks to keep the offices of physicians, podiatrists, chiropractors, and other health practitioners running smoothly. Designed with flexibility in mind, coursework includes phlebotomy and electrocardiography (EKG/ECG) training, as the duties of Medical Assistants vary from office to office, depending on the location and size of the practice and the practitioner's specialty.

CAAHEP accredits nearly 2,100 educational programs that prepare health professionals in 24 different disciplines.  Accreditation is one step in a process that is meant to protect the public and ensure a supply of qualified health care professionals.  For more information about CAAHEP and accreditation, visit www.caahep.org.

For information on the Medical Assisting program at Pine Technical College visit www.pinetech.edu.

Pine Tech Community Forum Addresses Mental Health Needs

The recent closure of Riverwood Centers underscores the lack of mental health workers and patient services throughout Minnesota, which is an ongoing concern for state officials. To address the issue, the Minnesota Legislature asked MnSCU to convene a summit and develop a state workforce plan. A community forum is slated for 1-3 p.m. on Thursday, April 24 at Pine Technical College.

Forums will be held throughout the state with the goal of developing a comprehensive plan to increase the number of qualified people working at all levels of Minnesota’s mental health system, ensuring appropriate coursework and training and creating a more culturally diverse mental health workforce.

“This is a large undertaking, and we need the community’s input and help,” said Stefanie Schroeder, Pine Technical College’s dean of workforce and economic development. “We want to gather information from providers, employers, consumers of mental health care, educators and others to assess the gaps and shortages in the mental healthcare workforce.”

Forum topics will include, but are not limited to, the wait time for individuals to see a mental health professionals, the challenges and length of time to fill mental health professional positions, whether students and graduates are meeting expectations of providers, strategies to recruit individuals to the mental health field and improvements needed to the mental health workforce and delivery system.

A team will use the results from the Pine Tech forum, as well as other forums held throughout the state, to create the comprehensive plan at a summit scheduled for May 28.

Forum organizers ask attendees to pre-register at www.healthforceminnesota.org and clicking on Pine City.

Michael Olesen Joins PTC Staff

Michael Olesen,  a technology and grant administrator with over 33 years of experience in higher education, has been appointed Director of the Rural Information Technology Alliance (RITA) Consortium at Pine Technical College. He will begin Monday, Feb. 10.

Back in September it was announced that Pine Technical College has received an $18.3 million four-college, multi-state consortium grant in part of an effort to expand demand-driven skills training, and strengthen employer partnerships. These grants are the third installment of a nearly $2 billion community college initiative, and the four-year grant began Oct. 1, 2013.    

Over the past five years Olesen was the Director of Information Technology, Biosciences, and Research for the University of Minnesota Rochester (UMR). With UMR's transition to a system campus and the introduction of a Biomedical Informatics and Computational Biology Research and Academic program and the launching of BS in Health Science in fall 2009, Olesen played the lead role in planning, developing, implementing, and managing UMR's information technology infrastructure. This included facilitating the development of UMR’s leading-edge Minnesota High Tech Associate (MHTA) TekNe award winning learning management system iSEAL (intelligent System for Educational Assessment and Learning) and implementing active learning classrooms at UMR. In addition, he was responsible for research administration and research programs of the Biomedical Informatics and Computational Biology (BICB) program.

Prior to joining UMR, Olesen was Associate Director of the University of Minnesota Digital Technology Center where he was involved in building university-industry research consortia and Assistant Director of the Minnesota Supercomputer Institute where he implemented high performance computing solutions.

Michael has a B.A. in History from Hamline University and a MS in Higher Education Administration from Saint Cloud State University.

Pine Technical College Expands Mission, Changes Name Change

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees approved on Jan. 22 an expansion in the mission of Pine Technical College to a comprehensive technical and community college. The change enables the college to offer, perhaps as early as the Fall, the Associate in Arts degree. To reflect this change, the Board also approved a change in the name of the institution to Pine Technical and Community College. The change in mission will also require approval of the Higher Learning Commission, at which time the name change will become effective.

“The mission expansion, coupled with this name change, empowers the college to continue its record of service and program excellence,” said Robert Musgrove, President of Pine Tech. “A balanced offering of liberal arts and sciences and workforce programs is a critical need in our region.”

The new mission will remove barriers that prevent students from taking advantage of higher education due to location or financial issues. “We can now allow undecided students to enroll with a declared major in the Associate in Arts degree and maintain eligibility for financial aid while they are exploring degree and career options,” said Musgrove. “This change will allow us to provide an extraordinary education to more students in our region seeking a broader range of excellent educational experiences.”

In making this change, Pine Tech will retain its focus on serving the needs of students seeking a technical degree. “Our history, heritage, and culture have centered on technical education, and this change will not diminish that focus,” said Musgrove.

The college’s change request to the MnSCU Board also substantiated the need for the expansion by pointing out the low rate of degree attainment in the region.  Each year according to the data, almost 70 percent of 10^th graders in the region intend, at that stage of their lives, to seek a bachelor’s degree.  However, the reality is that only around 40 percent  of graduates in the region actually do enroll after graduation.

“That translates to over 770 high school graduates each year who do not enroll in college – even though they said as 10^th graders that they wanted a career that requires a bachelor’s degree,” PTC Dean of Students Paula Hoffman explained.  “We hope to provide initial access to that degree through our AA for as many of those students as we can reach.”

For further information about PTC’s mission expansion and name change, contact Katie Krier at 320-629-5174, or krierka@pinetech.edu; Paula Hoffman at 320-629-5180, hoffmanp@pinetech.edu; Robert Musgrove at 320-629-5120, or musgrover@pinetech.edu.

Pine Technical College, established in 1965 and accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, serves more than 1,300 students and awards certificates, diplomas and associate degrees. PTC’s notable programs include Accounting, American Sign Language, Automotive Technology, Business Administration, Business Technology, Computer Programming, Computer Science, Early Childhood Education, Gunsmithing Technology, Computer Network Administration, Practical Nursing, Registered Nursing, Precision Manufacturing/Machining, Automation/Robotics Technology, Plastics Technology, Medical Assisting, Human Services Eligibility Worker and many more.

Pine Tech is accepting applications for new students in all programs. For more information about PTC’s programs, including information regarding how to apply, call 320-629-5100 or visit the website at www.pinetech.edu .

PTC is a proud member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, which include 24 two-year community, technical, and comprehensive colleges and seven state universities serving more than 430,000 students. It is the fifth-largest higher education system of its kind in the United States.