President’s All College Update: October ’19

21 Oct 2019

Welcome back from break! I hope those of you who were away from the college or your studies had a restful week.

Manufacturing Summit

On September 26, students and faculty from the college’s Manufacturing program, members of the Continuing Education and Workforce Development staff (pictured below), representatives from the Professional Pilot Program and the VFA, and VMEC all attended the 2019 Manufacturing Summit hosted by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce at the Champlain Valley Expo in Essex Junction, VT. The program opportunity for students, as described by the Chamber’s Vice President of Business Development, Chris Carrigan, is to learn about new career opportunities in Advanced Manufacturing. He describes manufacturing as a $3B industry for the state. The event created opportunities to link the 120 companies like GlobalFoundries and Boeing and students from Vermont Tech for jobs and internships. Student participant, Andrew Conway, reports that employers were, “treating my resume like gold!” Faculty member and graduate, Wes McEntee, says that the workforce is at a point where many older workers are retiring or about to retire, but we have not yet filled the gap with students being trained now. The industry-based events are great opportunities for our students to network with their future employers!  Vermont Tech has attended the last 4 years and taken advantage of the Business-to-Business matchmaking opportunities. We expect to be going again next year!Members of the CEWD staff at the Manufacturing Summit

Marshall Marketing 2019 Survey Results

Amanda Chaulk, Director of Marketing, has presented to faculty and staff at their respective meetings this month, so I will share the just highlights of the findings of this recent research. We have access to this consumer preference data thanks to our partnership with NBC5 for the Math+Science=Success advertising campaign. A national company that uses this survey tool in over 100 other areas annually performs this research. It is the 2nd year we have been included in the survey.

Data comparing '18 and '19 responses to "are you aware of Vermont Tech"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Awareness of the college increased 2% among Vermonter’s (75% to 77%) and 9% increase overall in total adults (60% to 69%)
  • The most significant increase of awareness was in NY with a 31% increase (29% to 61%)

Chart of Stem Programming recall list

 

  • Results of the first unaided question (recall of all STEM institutions) showed a strong awareness of what Vermont Tech does with a 19% response, behind only UVM (29%)

Homecoming 2019

What a weekend! The weather could not have been better for this year’s Homecoming Weekend back in September. I just wanted to celebrate with you all at how our alumni attendance was robust with over 150 registered guests between the dinner and the first-annual All-Classes after party. This year, we benefited from the home soccer games and the dedication of the Haskins Environmental and Renewable Energy lab as well.  The men’s team lost 0-1 to Paul Smith’s College but the women’s team pulled out a win at 1-0! It was exciting to watch both games among well-matched teams. Pictures from the event are available on the college’s Flikr page for anyone who is interested.

Mid-term Reminders

Most students and faculty are just returning from the October break today. I hope it was a restful and relaxing one. Thank you to all the students who stayed on campus to care for animals while your peers were away! I know we are at the halfway mark of the fall semester, so wanted to remind everyone that help is available for academic and non-academic concerns. Never hesitate to reach out to the Center for Academic Success to take advantage of their stress management or study skills programs. Mental health counseling is also available and Mary Kathryn Juskiewicz in Student Affairs can help connect you with resources. Your academic advisor is another great resource! They all have office hours and can be reached by email. Contact the Academic Dean’s office if you have any questions about who your advisor is.

Welcome, Fuji Dimatix!

On October 4, 2019, we held a very small ceremony to celebrate the addition of another employer partner at the college. Fuji Dimatix is a Silver Sponsor in the Employer Partnership program and gave us a $2,500 gift in addition to offering scholarships and internship opportunities for students. As much as this is a welcome to our Employer Partner program, Fuji Dimatix has provided their incumbent workers training through Vermont Tech’s Continuing Education and Workforce Development department in the past as well. Fuji has a location in Lebanon, NH for its manufacturing business in inkjet print heads for commercial and industrial printing. The company invests in R&D significantly and boasts that over a third of its staff is involved in product engineering.

Employee Changes

We are pleased to welcome Suzanne Pickett to the Academic Dean’s Office as the Assistant to the Dean. As Dean Gaillat noted in her email, Suzanne is a professional engineer too! Cathy McCullough completed a successful search to replace Judy Luce and that new employee will begin in November. More details to follow when they arrive, but we are so pleased to fill such an important position. We are also saying goodbye to a couple of esteemed colleagues. To Alex Tyrrell and Jane Kearns, we wish you both well in your new endeavors. The college is looking to fill both positions as quickly as possible.

President’s Social

I hosted my first President’s Social for employees last Wednesday and enjoyed it very much! A crowd of about 15-20 staff and faculty enjoyed a warm fire on a cold evening. I plan to host these every third Wednesday during the fall semester. I wish to thank you all for your sincere efforts to help make Vermont Tech – and by association, Vermont – work!

President’s Open Office Hours

STUDENTS:
Open Office Hours in WILLISTON: Tuesday, November 12th from 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM in the Library Conference, room 409.
Open Office Hours in RANDOLPH: Wednesday, November 13th from 1:30 PM – 4:00 PM in the President’s Office – Admin Building 2nd Floor, room 206.

STAFF & FACULTY:
Open Office Hours in WILLISTON: Friday, November 8th from 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM in the Library Conference, room 409.
Open Office Hours in RANDOLPH: Friday, November 15th from 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM in the President’s Office – Admin Building 2nd Floor, room 206.