Jan Gilbert Joins NCTA as New Business Manager

CURTIS, NE, APRIL 28, 2008: - The Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture (NCTA) recently added Jan Gilbert to its staff as Business Manager.

Gilbert, a native of McCook, Nebraska, attended McCook Community College and graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a bachelor's degree in business administration.  She also has completed two years of graduate level work in business administration from Colorado State University. 

Since returning to Southwest Nebraska from Colorado in 1996, Gilbert has put her 25+ years of diverse, professional and managerial experience to work in manufacturing, service industries, and government.

Gilbert is excited about the entrepreneurial initiatives taking place at NCTA.  "My parents, Francis and Joan Gillen, each were a rural entrepreneur in their own right.  When you grow up with parents who love the land, its bounty and beauty, it rubs off on you," Gilbert shares.  "My dad was an avid sportsman, who loved to hunt and fish in addition to working the land.  Although my mom has given up driving a tractor, she continues to plant, cultivate, and harvest vegetables and flowers."

Gilbert also hopes to put her experiences in higher education to work at NCTA. "Having taught vocational business classes part-time at Aims Community College in Colorado, I have a deep respect for traditional and non-traditional students learning new skills in order to stay viable in a global workplace.  I believe that education is a lifelong, essential process," states Gilbert.  "NCTA's students, faculty and staff are passionate about agriculture and meeting rural challenges head on.  That passion is contagious.  I am thrilled to join and serve in accomplishing our mission with this talented team.  Heightened spirit, in conjunction with focused initiatives, has a way of leading to successful outcomes!"

Gilbert and her husband, Mike, are the parents of one daughter, Natalie, who resides with her husband and daughter in the Culbertson area.

For more information about NCTA, please call 1-800-3CURTIS or visit NCTA's website at http://ncta.unl.edu.