New faces, places at NCTA
NCTA Dean’s Message by Larry Gossen, Ph.D.
The countdown has begun for our Fall semester to begin on August 23!
By next Monday, the Residence Halls will have their fulltime resident assistants moved in and taking their RA training (which includes CPR) and all faculty will report for duty in their respective units.
The Aggie campus will have a slightly new “look” in some of the buildings and a new face or two to welcome to our staff or faculty.
I look forward to greeting our employees at the Staff and Faculty Inservice on August 18.
Around Campus
Three residence halls have been cleaned from top to bottom by our stellar Facilities and Maintenance staff. We’re expecting near-full capacity in residence life with about 175 new and returning students living on campus. There could be some last-day changes to the numbers as we still enroll students through that first week of classes.
Erika Arambula, residence life manager, oversees the RA training and housing duties. She also coordinates the New Student Orientation for new freshmen and transfer students. Move-in weekend is in two shifts for freshmen on Saturday, August 21, with returning Aggies moving in on Sunday afternoon.
The Aggie Store which has been located in the Education Center since mid-2020 is moving back over to Ag Hall. It will be located in Ag Hall #7 on ground floor, across the hall from Frontier County-Nebraska Extension.
This location is more efficient since the store is run by the Ag Business Club and managed by classes in the Agribusiness Management class along with the Associate Dean’s Office, all located in the second and third floors of Ag Hall. Mary Rittenhouse is the primary sponsor and faculty for this initiative.
Vet Tech Faculty
I am very pleased to announce that two Aggie alumni of our Veterinary Technology Division have been hired for fulltime capacities in our faculty.
Leighlynn Obermiller and Noel Ochoa will be lecturers in Vet Tech. Their offices will be located in the main office area of the Veterinary Technology building. They join current staff of Barbara Berg, Judy Bowmaster-Cole, Libby Fraser, D.V.M., and Chrissy Barnhart.
Leighlynn taught part-time in an adjunct capacity the past two years and coaches the Aggie Stock Dog Team. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Textiles and Merchandising from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, then came to NCTA to earn her associate degree and become a licensed veterinary technician (LVT) in Nebraska. Currently, she is working on a master’s degree in Biology from the University of Nebraska-Kearney.
Noel has worked in private and corporate veterinary clinics in Colorado since graduating in 2011. He graduated from Ogallala High School and attended NCTA, graduating in 2011. He also is a licensed veterinary technician and specializes in exotics with an emphasis in birds. He will teach courses in Anatomy and Physiology, and Clinical Practices.
Dr. Barnes-Wach retires
We appreciate the outstanding work in Veterinary Technology by Ricky Sue Barnes-Wach, D.V.M. who has worked at NCTA for 32 years. She officially retired at the end of July but will fill in as necessary for fall and spring as a lecturer.
We have advertised over the summer for two faculty positions at NCTA, a veterinary faculty member and assistant professor for animal science in Agricultural Production Systems. We begin review of the APS applications this week, and the VT position in late August.
Also, NCTA Food Service is seeking an employee for a daytime position. If interested, see Cindy Fritsche.
Enroll Now
All offices at NCTA are open and preparing for student arrival. Faculty are finalizing their academic planning, online and in-person training sessions, and outreach to students.
As high school students are going back to school, we invite them to consider taking a dual credit class. It’s affordable (half price of college tuition) and a great way to prepare for college. For details, see https://ncta.unl.edu/dual-credit-and-agricultural-academies. To register, contact Gaylene Stinman at gstinman2@unl.edu.
Applications for NCTA housing and registration for classes are in the final stages. However, it’s not too late to become an NCTA Aggie!
I hope to see some of you on campus in the next few weeks. Go Aggies!
NCTA Events:
Aug. 14-15: Summer Shoot Out Cattle Dog Trial, North Platte Buffalo Bill Arena
Aug. 21: Campus Move-in and New Student Orientation begins
Aug. 23: NCTA Fall Semester at Curtis and Dual Credit Classes begin
Aug. 25: Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory Open House, 8 a.m., Whitman
Aug. 25: NCTA Recruiter at Cuming County College Fair, West Point
Aug. 27: Final day to register for Dual Credit classes
Aug. 27: Nebraska State Fair opening day
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 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 colleges in the nation.