Albany Technical College President, Dr. Anthony Parker, presented the ATC State of the College address to the Albany Rotary Club on Thursday, October 28th, at Doublegate Country Club.

Parker, a long-time member of the Albany Rotary Club, spoke to the group about the steady growth taking place at Albany Tech. He placed special emphasis on how Albany Tech is helping the victims of structural unemployment to gain the skills necessary to go work. “This is definitely part of the employment solution we can do something about in our Service Delivery Area,” said Parker.

In addition, Parker emphasized the College’s continued 98 percent job placement rate, which is well above average within the Technical College System of Georgia. He also noted the partnership agreements the College currently holds with Albany State University, Georgia Southwestern State University, Fort Valley State University, and Southern Polytechnic State University.

“We encourage as many of associate degree graduates as possible to go on to earn their bachelor’s degree as they go to work,” said Parker.

Many of the accomplishments and challenges Albany Tech will be facing in 2010/2011 were noted in the Rotary address. In 2011, the College will hold a year-long celebration of its 50th anniversary. Several activities are being planned to span the entire year. Albany Tech, along with all of its sister technical colleges within the Technical College System of Georgia, will switch from the quarter to semester system.

Albany Tech has completed the second step in the Georgia Oglethorpe Process by being awarded the Georgia Challenge Award and anticipates obtaining the actual Georgia Oglethorpe Award in a couple of years. This is a distinguished award based on the Malcolm Baldridge criteria, which is very difficult to obtain by an organization.

Beginning Winter Quarter, which begins January 4, 2011, Albany Tech will launch its new Civil Engineering Technology program. In addition, the Telecommunications Engineering Technology program will graduate its first ABET certified graduate in December. ABET is known for leadership and quality assurance in Applied Science, Computing, Engineering, and Technology Education.

Parker stressed to the group that Albany Tech teaches work ethics to its students and also warranties every graduate. “If you have an Albany Tech graduate come to work for you and you feel they require additional training, Albany Tech will retrain the graduate at no additional cost,” added Parker.