Spring Term • Issue 2 • February 9, 2018
Workforce Solutions
Milestone
The Workforce Solutions team at the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) has reached a milestone. They have provided services for more than three million program participants since the program began in 2000.
THE
NEWS LETTER
The 16 colleges of KCTCS offer customized training and support services for business and industry statewide. One example is WACKER Chemical Corporation in Calvert City, which requested employee training in Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and Black Belt through West Kentucky Community and Technical College (WKCTC). This training resulted in a company savings of approximately $2.5 million over the past 18 months. Because of the success of the project, more engineers were hired to focus on additional projects, and all students who took the national certification exams passed.” “The training that our team has received through WKCTC and the KCTCS-Trains program has resulted in multiple operational excellence and cost savings projects for WACKER. They have armed our team members with valuable specialized skills and knowledge which they will carry with them throughout their careers,” said Jeremy Teague, Polymers Productivity manager.
Recognizing
Regional Education
4180 Alben Barkley Drive Paducah, KY 42001
westkentucky.kctcs.edu (270) 554-9200
facebook.com/West.Kentucky
Sometimes they work late hours. Sometimes they use their own money to enhance what they are teaching in their classrooms. Sometimes it’s just the warm smile given on a cold day. West Kentucky Community and Technical College (WKCTC) has established a new awards and scholarship program to recognize those pre-kindergarten through high school educators, administrators and staff members who have gone beyond their daily responsibilities and have worked tirelessly on behalf of students, parents and the community in WKCTC’s service region, which includes Ballard, Calloway, Continued on Page 2
President’s Corner Just over a year ago, I began serving as the second president of West Kentucky Community and Technical College. I had Dr. Anton Reece President big shoes to fill following my predecessor, Dr. Barbara Veazey, who worked at the college for more than 40 years – 14 years as WKCTC’s first president. Despite being a native of Barbados, accepting the leadership role at a four-time nationally recognized community college was more than a humbling honor for me, after spending several years away from the college I started at, returning to Paducah also was a homecoming. The first month of my presidential journey began with a tour and re-visit to the Four Rivers region of western Kentucky, including Fulton, Hickman, Carlisle and Ballard counties, which served as an important reminder to me of the complexity of student access. In many ways, the tour affirmed my focus on a broader outreach of the college and connecting people throughout the region. What makes WKCTC different beyond our excellently maintained buildings and our beautiful facilities is the importance that we place on building people connections. Soon after those tours, we launched WKCTC’s Education Express outreach initiative that allowed our faculty, staff and students to join me in visiting our river counties and to have a more personal approach to connecting with the communities, which we serve. WKCTC’s Education Express made visit to Livingston, Carlisle, Fulton, Hickman, Marshall and Graves counties in Kentucky and Massac County in Illinois. In 2018, we plan to take the Express to communities in Calloway, Ballard, and McCracken counties and Pope and Alexander counties in Illinois. This ongoing initiative aligns with our vision of WKCTC as a regional, comprehensive college. Colleges and universities in Kentucky are facing changing funding formulas for academic success, which are Continued on Page 2
KENTUCKY COMMUNITY & TECHNICAL COLLEGE SYSTEM