Educating our NCTA Aggies

Dec. 24, 2019                                                         

NCTA Dean’s Message

By Interim Dean Kelly Bruns, Ph.D.

Season’s greetings from the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture!

The end of the academic semester and calendar year brings time for reflection and opportunity to extend appreciation to all who have helped us achieve our goal of educating Aggie students this fall.

Campus became very quiet last Friday after all of the semester grades were posted, final preparations were made for livestock and animal care over the holidays, and plans were in place to re-open campus on January 2.  Classes resume on Monday, January 13.

Appreciating resources:

It seems the semester flew by, in some regard, as each week brought new activities and projects to the fore. In addition to classes and lab sessions, faculty coordinated field trips and industry visits so students could witness their future career opportunities in action.

Thank you to the many employers and producers who hosted our students in their businesses, on farms and ranches, tours of processing and manufacturing facilities, and provided animals or livestock for judging team workouts.

In particular a huge thank you to the individuals who delivered resources to campus or provided stock to workshops or arenas. While NCTA has its campus farm and veterinary science animals for experiential learning, it takes dozens of producers and animals throughout each semester to make a successful FFA or 4-H judging contest, cattle or sheep for the ranch horse team, stock dog trials and practices, rodeo team practice and continuing education sessions. Thank you, partners!

Academic contests:

Our competition teams traveled to several states with rodeo athletes, livestock judging, ranch horse and shotgun sports athletes all making treks near or far. We are thankful all made safe journeys and returned to campus with confidence for their collegiate-level knowledge and leadership skills.

Our stock dog team competed at the Nebraska State Fair, and at trials they hosted on campus. Great appreciation goes to volunteer coach Kelly Popp, who spends countless hours helping Aggie students to train their dogs at his farm near Curtis.  His livestock and facilities get much use as students “go out to Kelly’s” several times a week. Thank you, Kelly, and to all members of the Outback Stock Dog Association who share expertise and resources for our NCTA Stock Dog Team. Faculty sponsor Judy Bowmaster-Cole reports six students are headed to the National Western Stock Show in January for the cattle stock dog trials in Denver. Good luck, Aggies!

In Appreciation:

Thank you to our NCTA faculty and staff for their efforts this past year.  Each individual on Team NCTA has enhanced the lives of our students.

I am grateful to be able to work with each person associated with NCTA, whether headquartered at Curtis, as one of our partners at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, or in capacities across the state through Nebraska Extension. It is their positive attitudes and desire to do better which strengthens us around the common goal of making NCTA a great place for our students.

A special acknowledgement is due three individuals who helped teach classes in the NCTA animal science program this semester. Thank you doctoral students Tasha King and Joslyn Beard for teaching courses in animal biology and nutrition, and introduction to animal science and large animal diseases, respectively, and to research technologist Jess Milby for teaching range management. They will be returning to their fulltime duties with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s West Central Research and Extension Center, where they work in research capacities at North Platte and at the Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory north of Whitman.

Additionally, Dr. Gloria Bautista, who taught math and started a tutoring center in Ag Hall on campus, is joining her family and a faculty position at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Thank you, Gloria, for your efforts.

From the NCTA Dean’s Office, I wish each of you a joyous holiday season. Happy New Year!

NCTA is devoted to a statewide mission of preparing students for successful careers in agriculture, veterinary technology, and related industries. The college provides open access to innovative technical education resulting in associate degrees, certificates, and other credentials.

Upcoming events

Dec. 23-Jan. 2, 2020 – University campuses closed

Jan. 2, 2010 – NCTA business offices open

Jan. 13, 2020 – Spring Semester begins