Southeast Technical will be commemorating Black History Month with the film A Time for Justice: America’s Civil Rights Movement. A Time for Justice is directed by four-time Academy Award winner Charles Guggenheim and recalls the crises in Montgomery, Little Rock, Birmingham, and Selma. More importantly, it reveals the heroism of individuals who risked their lives for the cause of freedom and equality.

Bring your lunch. Bring a friend. Help us commemorate Black History Month. This event is free and open to all Southeast Technical students and employees. Dates and locations for this event are below:

• Winona campus: February 7, 12:00-1:00 p.m., room 302
• Red Wing campus: February 9, 12:00-1:00 p.m., room 108

What started as an idea among students in Southeast Technical’s Chinese culture class has grown into a must-attend cultural event for the Red Wing community. Join Southeast Technical students, faculty, staff, and special guests on Feb. 8 from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. for the college’s Chinese New Year & Multicultural Celebration!

Now in its second year, Southeast Technical’s Chinese New Year & Multicultural Celebration will showcase Chinese music, dance, art, and food to usher in the year of the dragon. Attendees will enjoy performances from professional Chinese dance troupes and music ensembles and learn about Chinese customs through student poster presentations and booth exhibits.

This year, the event is expanding its celebration of cultural diversity with musical performances and booth exhibits featuring Bahamian, French, Korean, Liberian, and Spanish traditions. In a nod to American heritage, drummers from the Prairie Island Indian Community, a jazz ensemble of Southeast Technical students, and a local quilting expert will spotlight traditions that are uniquely American. Students from Southeast Technical’s band instrument repair program and nursing program will also be on hand with noteworthy presentations and information on their courses of studies.

The Chinese New Year & Multicultural Celebration is a largely student-led event that spiraled out of a desire to share their experience in the college’s Chinese culture class with the Red Wing community. View the video below to learn how three of these students found personal enrichment in their Chinese culture coursework.

Congratulations to students who made the President's List for this past fall semester. Student who complete a minimum of 12 credits during an academic term and achieve a GPA of 3.5 or above are named to the list. View the full fall 2011 President's List.

Click the image above to view the KSTP segment featuring Southeast Technical's band instrument repair program.

Students and instructors in Southeast Technical's band instrument repair program were recently featured on KSTP's On the Road segment with Jason Davis. The band instrument repair program, which is located on the college's Red Wing campus, is one of few in the nation and has a remarkably high job placement rate for graduates. To learn more about the program, view the KSTP video and view the band instrument repair program page. 

The faculty and staff at Southeast Technical wish you a joyous holiday season and New Year filled with peace, happiness, and new opportunities. Please click the image to the right to view our holiday e-card.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) has awarded a $200,000 grant under its Minnesota Job Skills Partnership to train 140 workers at Hiawatha Broadband Communication (HBC). The award was confirmed at a grant signing celebration held at HBC home office in Winona December 14, where Southeast Technical College President Jim Johnson; HBC CEO Gary Evans and MJSP Executive Director, Paul Moe signed the agreement The grant is a collaborative effort between education, the state and private industry that will allow Southeast Technical to deliver lean training, lean tools and fundamentals value stream mapping and Kaizan. In addition more than 90 employees will be trained in fiber optics with access to  a state-of-the-art lab. Minnesota State College-Southeast Technical will partner with Riverland Community College to offer Power Limited Technician training for current employees to maintain licensure as well as training for new hires who prepare for the Minnesota State Electrical Board PLT exam.

MnSCU Chancellor Steven Rosenstone recently joined SE-Tech faculty and area business leaders to discuss the NSF grant. From left to right: CAD instructor Jim Ziegler, President Jim Johnson, Chancellor Rosenstone, math instructor Alice Zimmer, and electronics instructor Marc Kalis.

This fall, there’s been big talk about a little thing called “nano” at Southeast Technical. The excitement centers around an $830,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, which will help the college establish the Nanotechnology Partnership for Rural Education Pathways, also referred to as NANOprep. Through this program, Southeast Technical will continue to be a leader in advancing high-tech programs that have significant potential for the regional economy.

MnSCU Chancellor Steven Rosenstone recently visited Southeast Technical to learn more about the grant and how it may lead to regional partnerships between the college and area businesses. “Finding the right partnerships and making them deep and real is key,” Rosenstone noted. “This grant could make the area a magnet for nanotechnology, and I’m looking forward to being along for the ride.”

What is nanotechnology?

“Nano” means small. Think thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair, or the smallest fraction of time, a nanosecond, and you are at the nanoscale. Nanotechnology is the study of how matter work at the most basic molecular and atomic level. In many cases, nanotechnology can alter common items to provide new benefits. Waterproof clothing, for example, involves a very thin coating applied via nanotechnology to tightly knit stain-repellant fabric. Likewise, the latest flat panel televisions are made even thinner and more flexible with nanowire electrodes.

What is the future impact of nanotechnology in the workforce?

The NSF reports that more than half of all new products will be developed with nanotechnology by 2015, and accordingly, nanotechnology has been noted as the driver of a second industrial revolution. In the coming years, few industries will remain touched by nanotechnology. Manufacturers at all levels will need to conduct additional research and development to improve production and stay competitive. And most importantly, they will need to hire knowledgeable, skilled technicians to implement these processes. The

NSF forecasts a demand for two million nanotechnology workers worldwide in 15 years, including 800,000 to one million in the United States. Nanotechnology job titles include laboratory technicians, research technicians, electron microscope operators, cleanroom technicians, and materials specialists, to name just a few.

What does the latest NSF grant mean for Southeast Technical?

With support from the latest NSF grant, Southeast Technical will pursue a cultural change in its approach to recruiting students and exposing them to 21^st century skills—not only in nanoscience programs, but also in new programs that involve a variety of emerging technologies. The largest draw will be an introductory survey course highlighting nanoscience. The new course demands no prerequisites, serves as an elective to a variety of existing technical programs, contains modules that will be embedded in Science Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) courses, and will be offered for dual credit to high school students and other educators. To help Southeast Technical build pathways for students, the workforce, industry, high school students, and high school teachers, the grant will provide $50,000 in tuition stipends for participants in the introductory survey course.

View the full version of this article in Southeast Technical’s Connections magazine.