■ CREDIT TRANSFER TO UW
We had a very productive meeting with UW President Dick
McGinity and key staff members earlier this month when they came to Powell to
discuss UW acceptance of our transfer students’ credits. It’s a
frequently-mentioned concern among our current and prospective students, their
parents and high school counselors. NWC participants included academic Division Chair, VPs
for Academic Affairs and College Relations, Registrar, and myself. Joining
President McGinity were his Associate VP for Academic Affairs, Coordinator of
Student Success and Transitions, and Associate Director of UW
Extension. In addition to credit transfer, we also discussed the potential
of increased UW degree offerings in Park County. They listened closely to our
concerns and suggestions. My sense is that Dick is taking the issues seriously,
and I appreciate the commitment they made to come to our campus for
discussions. Naturally, we want to see our transfer students attend
the state’s only four-year university. We’ve worked closely with UW in the past
and will continue doing so. I look forward to productive discussions as the
JEIC considers this topic.
■ BUILDING CONSTRUCTION PROCEEDING WELL
Construction of our new Yellowstone Building is going well.
Our Instructional Technology and Computing
Services staffs have considerable work ahead of them in the building however. The first
space occupied will be classrooms, and the dividable Conference Center. We have the luxury of transitioning into the rest of the building over time. I’m excited
that my second annual Fall State of the College Address on August 20th will be in the Yellowstone
Building’s Conference Center! We anticipate an October building dedication
ceremony. Legislative funding was
paramount in providing just over 60% of funding for the building.
■ FACILITIES MASTER PLAN APPROVED
Our Trustees recently approved the new Facility Master
Plan, which the college is required to update every five years. It provides
a strong road map for development of the physical campus. Projects in the plan
total 10s of millions of dollars, with construction of a new DeWitt Student
Center being the top unmet need. Completing such enormous projects will
undoubtedly require a variety of funding sources. ■ MEETEETSE VISIT
I spent most of the day on July 2nd getting to know Meeteetse residents. Thanks to Trustee Nada Larsen, I got a first-class introduction to that unique community and its members. I heard several great ideas for ways NWC can improve its service to that area of our district.
■ NEW DINING SERVICE COMPANY
We’ve selected a company, Chartwells, to provide dining services to our students. Chartwells has developed a higher education niche and has a strong reputation for
understanding, engaging and satisfying students with tailored campus dining
service operations. Chartwells assumed operations in July,
replacing Aramark with which Northwest contracted for about 25 years. I’m
pleased to let you know that the new company has rehired Ken Beebe, longtime
Director on campus, and that off-campus catering to community groups will
remain a part of services provided.
Stefani
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