To health and Aggie success

NCTA Dean’s Message by Larry Gossen, Ph.D.

In our first semester together at the NCTA campus we’ve seen successes all around. Bravo to our Aggie students, staff members and faculty!

When I joined the administration at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis as the new dean in mid-June, it was with enthusiasm for education and determination to navigate with others the unknowns presented by COVID-19.

Certainly, I had concerns in the midst of a global pandemic, but also I was confident in the entire team at campus and those elsewhere with the University of Nebraska system who would do everything possible to ensure the health, safety and educational opportunities for our Aggie students.

Not only have we survived, but with success on many fronts.  We started, as planned, with in-person classes on August 24.

This week we complete the fall semester with final exams. Bravo, Aggies!

NCTA has a dedicated team of fulltime and adjunct faculty. Our administrative and support staff in all academic divisions are equally dedicated. And, with an amazing group of individuals in food services, facilities, maintenance and student services, our campus moved forward throughout the semester and dealt with new circumstances collectively.

Now, six months after becoming residents of Curtis, Fay and I are well settled into this community. We appreciate our new friends, organizations, businesses, churches, and educational partners in the region.

Through the semester Associate Dean Jennifer McConville and I have worked closely with partners in the Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department. I appreciate the guidance and suggestions of these professionals.

Fortunately, NCTA has been able to continually provide in-person classes on campus.  We kept operating as every event on campus ensured that we had carefully designed a health protocol.

We were able to plan and conduct two well-attended “Discovery Days” for prospective students and their parents, one each in October and November.  Huge kudos to NCTA’s Enrollment Associate Gaylene Stinman for planning these important days from strategic traffic flow and attendee activities to working with faculty for interactive classroom sessions and ambassador-led tours. We know students want to visit the campus where they will enroll.

We also provided virtual, interactive tours for prospective students with a student guide customizing their experience with narratives. These were highly successful throughout the summer and fall.

Additionally, NCTA was able to provide educational programs in November for on-campus and virtual opportunities for nearly 500 FFA members in Career Development Events. These are significant experiences for high school FFA chapters.

We are planning a second round of FFA activities here on Dec. 16 and Dec. 17 with Leadership Development Events. These activities are a huge commitment by all sectors of our campus – faculty, staff, students, facilities, food service and administration working with about 35 high schools.

As Aggie students depart Curtis this week to return to their homes, I wish them all safe journeys and good health for the holidays.

Take this time until the spring semester reconvenes on January 11 to relax, destress, focus on the important aspects of life with individuals and family members. Tell those you care deeply about of your love for them. We have all experienced some losses this year. Emphasize your relationships and bring joy to what is most treasured in your life.

From our home to yours, I wish you a Merry Christmas and happy holiday!

Part of the University of Nebraska system, the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture is a two-year institution with a statewide mission of preparing students for successful careers in agriculture, veterinary technology and related industries. NCTA is known for its affordable tuition, high job-placement rate for its graduates, and for the success of student teams in numerous competitive activities including crops judging, ranch horse events, livestock judging, shotgun sports, stock dog trials, and intercollegiate rodeo. The college is consistently ranked as one of the best two-year schools in the nation.