Star Alert will inform students, staff and faculty of emergenices

Star Alert Emergency Notification System
In the interest of promoting the safety of our campus community, Pine Technical College is implementing a new wireless emergency notification system, Star Alert™, for students, faculty and staff.

What Is Star Alert?
Star Alert emergency messages are sent through text mail and e-mail during emergencies that threaten life or safety and/or severely impact standard campus operations. The Star Alert system will only be used in emergency situations.

Who Can Register?
All members of the Pine Technical College community are encouraged to register for this valuable service. Star Alerts provide immediate emergency communication, and as a wireless notification system, they provide critical information if computers and telephones are compromised.

More Details
Notifications are brief and clearly identified as Star Alerts. They include information on the situation at hand, action to take and where to find additional information.

Register Now
Registration is free, quick and easy. Participants must be able to receive text or e-mail messages on their cell phones. The process also can be reversed if the service is no longer desired. Information submitted through the registration process will only be used for the Star Alert system.

Are you a PTC student wishing to subscribe to Star Alert?
Click here: Student Star Alert Registration

Are you a PTC faculty or staff member wishing to subscribe to Star Alert?
Click here: Faculty/Staff Star Alert Registration

Annual Fall In-Service features speakers, awards and a "Welcome Back" to faculty

Each Fall, before the new academic semester gets underway, all Pine Technical College faculty and staff members gather for the In-Service -- an assembly, whereby all PTC employees get up-to-speed on new policies, go over and get refreshed on old policies, meet new staff and faculty members and of course enjoy a PTC lunch together.

Highlights from the Fall 2009 In-Service included a "Welcome Back" presentation from President Musgrove complete with facts, figures, graphs and comparisons depicting the College's tremendous growth in enrollment and services over the years; a presentation on "Community and Diversity," given by Stacy Johnston and Carl Crawford from the Division of Diversity and Intercultural Competency at Lake Superior College; a "Right to Know" presentation covering employees' right to know about hazardous substances in the workplace, given by Steve Vopatek of Vopatek Consulting; a presentation of "Length of Service" awards to PTC staff and faculty members who have served PTC for 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 years.

President Musgrove and department heads presented the Length of Service Awards together. The following PTC faculty and staff members received awards:

Department: Child Care Resource and Referral
Diane Evenson -- 30 years of service (retired)
Linda Bergstrand -- 5 years of service

Department: Employment and Training Center
Michael Murray -- 20 years of service
Steven Smith -- 20 years of service
Susan Welinski -- 20 years of service
Doreen Polzin -- 15 years of service
Kris Corelli -- 10 years of service

Department: Faculty
Renee Larsen -- 20 years of service
Larry Hendry -- 10 years of service
Stacy Foster -- 5 years of service
Marcella Sylvester -- 5 years of service
Chris York -- 5 years of service

Department: Media Center (LRTC)
Ron McGriff -- 5 years of service

Department: Information Technology
Thomas Melin -- 10 years of service

Department: Business Office
Janis Wegner -- 5 years of service

Department: Continuing Education and Customized Training
Margery Fagerstrom -- 15 years of service

The Fall, 2009 Annual In-Service marks the start of the new term. Following the lineup of events and presentations, faculty members reported to their offices to round out their planning for the new semester and to meet many new students that were on campus early.

Welcome, Erin White, new Academic Skills Center Director

Erin White will be joining the Pine Technical College Student Affairs Office as Director of the Academic Skills Center. White starts Aug. 19 and will manage all aspects of the Access, Opportunity and Success grant.

White's first tasks will be to determine which academic areas require tutoring support and hire and train peer tutors. White also will arrange and provide other academic services to support student learning.

White is not new to Pine Technical College, as she previously served the Student Affairs Office in a part-time role as a Marketing and Recruitment Specialist. White brings seven years of experience in disability services support, tutoring, special accommodations and student advising at Lake Superior College, and she most recently served as a Financial Aid Specialist at Century College.

White's office is located in the Learning Resource Technology Center (LRTC). The entire Student Affairs Office and PTC family warmly welcomes back White.

Art exhibit debuts on campus

New works of original art, created by established and emerging artists in the community, will be on display in the enclosed glass case/exhibit near the east entrance. Artworks will be featured routinely, and the display will be changed at the start of each semester.

Already on display is "Chef Ramsey," a welded sculpture created by Pine City resident Adam Klinkhammer. Klinkhammer's piece took first place at the Rum River Arts Festival in June.

"I am proud to have my sculpture exhibited, and I'd like to encourage other artists to volunteer pieces to display," Klinkhammer said. "It makes sense to display artistic, expressive and inspiring pieces of art at our local College," Klinkhammer added.

The Pine Technical College Marketing Department is spearheading the new exhibit and seeks additional artworks to include in the display.

"We'd love to include more pieces in the exhibit," Director of Marketing and Admissions Dani Chandonnet said. "Any student or local artist interested in displaying sculptures, pottery, wood carvings, paintings or sketches should call us to make arrangements," Chandonnet added.

The College plans to change the exhibit's pieces each semester to give new artists a chance to display their works while giving the exhibit a fresh look at the start of each term. As a result, students and College visitors will discover a mini art gallery directly on campus.

"This project embraces the talent and creativity of our students and community," Chandonnet said.

To contribute to the exhibit or for more information, call 320-629-5114.


Photo: "Chef Ramsey" on display at Pine Technical College.

College under construction: New boilers, new HVAC system

Pine Technical College is in the midst of a comprehensive construction project. The "boiler project," as it has become known, involves converting the College's 30+ year-old steam boilers to hot water boilers.

The main building, constructed in 1965, has relied on its original, trusty steam boiler and a second steam boiler (added in 1978) until now, and it is anticipated the conversion will save the College's facilities budget approximately 30 percent annually.

"The new boilers will run more efficiently," said Steve Lange, Pine Technical College Physical Plant Supervisor. "Plus, the savings generated from this project are timely, given the year's reduced operating budget," Lange added.

In addition to updating the boilers, the College also is overhauling its heating, ventilation and air conditioning system on the west side of the building. This additional project will result in improved air quality, ventilation and energy efficiency for all offices and classrooms along the building's west side.

Construction on both projects began the week of July 20. Engineering and mechanical firms submitted competitive bids, and LBP Mechanical of Minneapolis was selected.

The project is to be completed in phases with the majority of construction on schedule for completion before Fall term classes start Aug. 24. All phases and all construction will be completed by mid-November at the latest.

Pine City Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director gets back to business

For the past six months, the Office of the President at Pine Technical College "borrowed" Becky Schueller, Executive Director of the Pine City Area Chamber of Commerce, to serve as Interim Assistant to the President. The Office of the President had been conducting a search to fill the permanent position of Executive Assistant to the President, and during the transition, Schueller continued to serve in her usual role with the Chamber of Commerce in addition to filling in with the Office of the President from Jan. 5 through July 10, 2009.

"The Chamber and the College always have had a great relationship, and I was happy to work with Dr. Musgrove," Schueller said. "Dr. Musgrove and the College are actively involved with the Chamber and in a number of alliances serving the manufacturing, health care and economic development needs for this region, so it just made sense that I pitch in and help," Schueller added.

Since the President's office hired Alison Holland as its permanent Executive Assistant to the President in July, Schueller is now getting back to business in her usual role as Executive Director of the Pine City Area Chamber of Commerce -- a position she held since April, 2006.

"Becky was such an asset to this office during her six months with us," President Robert Musgrove said. "I've always enjoyed collaborating on community projects with her, and it was a pleasure to have her direct assistance during our transition," Musgrove added.

Currently, Schueller has her hands full with coordinating the Chamber's participation in the Pine County Fair and parade. Additionally, Schueller works with the Downtown Leadership Group, Pine City Horizons Team and serves on several committees and boards including the Minnesota Design Team Visit Steering Committee, the Pine City Heritage Players Board and the Pine City Center for the Arts Board.

The Pine Technical College community thanks Schueller for her assistance and work during the past six months, and the College also looks forward to continuing a mutually beneficial relationship with the Pine City Area Chamber of Commerce.

PTC welcomes Marlene Mixa

PTC welcomes Marlene Mixa, Outreach Coordinator for the Community Based Jobs Training (CBJT) grant project. Mixa began work at PTC on July 6, and in her role, she works to facilitate interactions among academic staff, industry stakeholders, community partners and new and prospective students serviced by the grant. The grant is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor and targets education and training for careers in advanced manufacturing.

"I’m very excited about the CBJT grant and what it means to both Pine Technical College and the community," Mixa said. "I’ve already had a chance to meet some of our local industry partners, and I’m really looking forward to introducing students to career opportunities in advanced manufacturing through new and existing PTC programs," Mixa added.

Mixa holds a BA in chemistry from Carleton College in Northfield and a PhD in inorganic chemistry from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Mixa comes to PTC with more than 20 years of industry experience in research and product development for paper companies in Maryland, Kentucky and Minnesota. Mixa also has been involved in academia throughout her career and has served as a college instructor, a member and chair of various education advisory boards, an academic team coach and a student recruiter and mentor. Most recently, Mixa worked as a consultant for the colleges of the Northeast Higher Education District (NHED) to develop curriculum for industry-based technical programs and degrees and for customized training modules in areas of emerging technologies.