Updates on the new Career
Technology Center building and
the Whitman Center were among
topics discussed in January’s
MCCC Board of Trustees meeting.
Jim Blumberg, director of the
college physical plant, provided
the update on the CTC building.
“As of the last invoice, we are
about 80 percent complete with
the construction,” he said.
“We’re
working on finishes now, flooring
and final ceilings, working our
way from front to back.”
Blumberg said the building is
set to have its occupancy certificate
by April, and final details
will be worked out throughout the
summer.
A hot dog and hard hat event,
which will include tours of the
building, has been scheduled from
4-6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 7.
Judith Hamburg, of Concerned
Citizens for the Whitman Center,
talked to the board about her concern
for the Center.
“We care very much for our
Whitman Center,” she said.
Hamburg waved an issue of
Campus Connection, a Toledo
publication that focuses on colleges,
which did not include an
advertisement for the Whitman
Center.
She told board members that the
Whitman Center needs more advertising
to attract more students.
“Please remember us in your
advertising… Please see the vitality
of our Whitman Center, “she
said.
She also said the Whitman Center
is understaffed and asked the
board to provide more funding for
the center.
“We are very vulnerable. We
need a director,” she said.
The former director of the Whitman
Center resigned last summer,
and the position hasn’t been filled.
“We see a lot of students at
Whitman. So I ask you, please
look for avenues. Please look at
us carefully,” she said.
Joe Verkennes, MCCC’s marketing
director, explained why
Whitman was not included in the
Campus Connection magazine.
“The primary strategy is to market
in our target audience,” he
said after the meeting.
Verkennes said he has created
a marketing campaign for Whitman
that primarily targets young
to middle age people in Monroe
County.
There are limited funds for marketing,
he noted.
“We can’t be in everything.”
The board also called a special
board meeting for Feb. 18 at 6
p.m. to discuss the search for the
next college president.
At the close of the meeting,
board member Linda Lauer read
a quote by board member Mary
Kay Thayer.
“I think it’s a good way to set
the stage,” Lauer said.
Thayer’s quote reads:
“Effective boards consist of
people who come together to
form a cohesive group to articulate
and represent the public interest;
establish a climate for learning,
and monitor the effectiveness
of the institution… the college
trustees are accountable for the
performance and welfare of the
institutions governed.”
