Dr. Dorothy Duran on "valuing people, acknowledging success, respecting your team, and creating a vision"

In March, the Board of Trustees of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities appointed Dr. Dorothy Duran as president-elect of Minnesota State College - Southeast Technical. "Dr. Duran is committed to excellence and student success," said Steven Rosenstone, chancellor of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. "She has a track record of fostering a culture of trust and collaboration and will be a generous partner with business, industry, the public schools and the communities the college serves. She will be a strong, decisive and effective leader for Southeast Technical."

Dr. Duran was the vice president for academic affairs at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs from 2006-2014. Previously, she served at Northern New Mexico College as dean/director of the El Rito campus from 1998 to 2006, and at Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute from 1988 to 1996. 

"I am tremendously honored to be named president of this outstanding college. I look forward to working with faculty, staff, students, and the Winona and Red Wing communities to build upon the college's 65-year record of innovation and collaboration, and to lead Southeast Tech to new levels of excellence," she said. 

A native of New Mexico, Dr. Duran grew up in Albuquerque. In tenth grade, she was seriously injured trying out for a soccer tournament. She was in and out of the hospital for the next two years and didn't return to finish high school. Instead she passed the GED test. 

When she was 18, she accompanied a friend who was enrolling at the University of New Mexico. She recalled, "I felt intimidated and unworthy to even go through the door, so he went in without me. After he registered he came back out and finally coaxed me in to sign up for classes myself. One person's belief in me made the difference." Four years later she graduated from college with a major in English and minor in sociology. 

She went on to earn a master's degree in educational foundations from the University of New Mexico. As a Kellogg Fellow, she earned her Ph.D. in 1988 at the University of Texas-Austin's Community College Leadership Program, one of the nation's top programs for developing key college administrators.  

"I've been blessed and I want to pay it forward," Dr. Duran said. "I've gone from GED to Ph.D. I want to help people develop the grit, determination, and resilience that have seen me through to where I am now."

On July 1, 2014, Dr. Dorothy Duran will become the college's eighth president. She stated, "I am very excited to come to Minnesota State College - Southeast Technical. Jim Johnson has put the college in a great place by sharing the same qualities that I feel a leader has to have: valuing people, acknowledging success, respecting your team, and creating a vision. Every time I have had the opportunity to visit the college I have been delighted by the happiness, focus, and genuinely positive atmosphere found at Southeast Technical." 

We are very happy to welcome Dr. Duran to Southeast Technical!

Tuition is FROZEN for 2014-2015 Academic Year

MnSCU tuition approximately 1/2 to 1/5 the cost of alternatives

Great news for Southeast Technical students! 

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) has announced that tuition will remain frozen in the 2014-15 academic year. Under the freeze, undergraduate tuition rates for 2014-15 academic year will remain at the 2012-13 academic year levels. 

"The benefits of freezing undergraduate tuition for the second year in a row continue to make MnSCU colleges and universities the lowest cost, highest value higher education option in the state of Minnesota," said Steven Rosenstone, MnSCU chancellor.

Affordability received a significant boost during the 2013 session when the Legislature and Governor Dayton improved access to the state grant program, including expanded access for working part-time students with financial need. This improvement benefited about 7,700 MnSCU college students in the 2013-14 academic year. 

Chancellor Rosenstone said, "The combination of the tuition freeze and the changes to the state grant program will, on average, actually lower the cost of tuition for MnSCU students receiving a state grant in the 2014-15 academic year."

Tuition rates at MnSCU colleges and universities are dramatically lower than the alternatives. "Tuition at the seven MnSCU state universities is nearly 1/2 that of the University of Minnesota, and 1/5 the cost of private colleges and universities," said Chancellor Rosenstone. "Tuition at our 24 colleges is less than 1/3 the cost of private trade schools. These differences save students tens of thousands of dollars and leave students with dramatically less debt upon graduation."

  
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Southeast Technical President Jim Johnson speaks at Quzhou College of Technology's Mechanical Engineering Graduation Ceremony via Skype

High technology was highly effective on Thursday evening, June 12, when Southeast Technical President Jim Johnson gave a speech via Skype to the graduating Mechanical Engineering class at Quzhou College of Technology in China. Speaking at about 9:00 pm in the evening from the Winona campus, the students heard the address at their 10:00 am ceremony - a 13 hour time difference.

Jim Johnson said he was "honored and humbled" to have been asked to give the address. "The online connection was a success, and the speech went very well," he added.

Translation services in China were provided by Quzhou College's English professor Wang Pei Hui, who visited the Southeast Technical community for two months in fall 2013. In Minnesota, technical and linguistic help was available from Southeast Technical's IT specialist Tao T. Peng, a native Chinese speaker and expert on intra-campus communications.

Southeast Technical automotive program instructors Niel Christensen and Tom Brandt were in Quzhou, concluding a two week faculty exchange, and attended the ceremony in China.

Jim Johnson's speech touched on the partnership between Quzhou College of Technology and Southeast Technical. "One of the major goals of this developing relationship is to gain a better understanding of each of our respective cultures through faculty, staff and student interactions.  This cultural understanding is an absolutely necessary skill set for all of us working in this vast global environment."

Future faculty exchanges are planned for fall 2014, with several Quzhou instructors visiting Southeast Technical for a number of weeks, and student exchanges beginning in spring and summer 2015.

"Words cannot express how much we have appreciated the generosity shown by students, staff and faculty of Quzhou College of Technology towards myself, our visiting scholars and others over the last few years," said Jim Johnson.

Download the full text of the commencement address (PDF)

9th Annual Community Connections Golf Tournament raises more than $15,000 for Southeast Technical Foundation

On May 22, 2014, 108 golfers turned out at the 9th Annual Community Connections Golf Tournament, a benefit event for Southeast Technical Foundation.  The tournament took place under clear blue skies at Mt. Frontenac Golf Course. The event was sponsored by Prairie Island Indian Community and raised more than $15,000 this year, funding which is critical to providing scholarships for Southeast Technical students.

"We extend our heartfelt thanks to all of the organizations and individuals who sponsored the event and provided donations for our silent auction and prizes," said Chris Schabow, director of the Southeast Technical Foundation. "Thanks also to the volunteers who made everything work so smoothly. It was an absolutely beautiful day for golf, and helped us build closer relationships with our many friends in the Red Wing area."

Golf Prize Winners

• 1st Place: Samantha Deeb, Jeff Deeb, Slater Lampman & Marv Patton
• 2nd Place: Tom Gnotke, Black Johnson, Rod Johnson & Ed Buck
• 10th Place: James Johnson, Greg Kuehntopp, Bob Baures & Randal Blaser
• "Most Honest": Torry Jeranek, Lacy Seefeldt, Tao Peng & Scott Haigh

Please note: The 6th Annual Alumni and Friends Golf Tournament at Cedar Valley Golf Course in Winona is coming up on Monday, August 4, 2014. For more information, contact Casie Johnson, 507-453-2663 or [email protected]. 

Community Connections Golf Tournament Sponsors

Event Sponsor
Prairie Island Indian Community

Eagle Sponsors
Minnesota State College - Southeast Technical
Sylvander Heating

Birdie Sponsors
Associated Bank
Capital Safety
Merchants Bank of Cannon Falls & RedWing
Riester Refrigeration
StarTech Computing, Inc.
Xcel Energy

Par Sponsors
Acelectric of Red Wing
Corner Medical
First Farmers & Merchants Bank
Susan Hovell
Lexus of Maplewood
Players Sports Grille
Powder Coating Solutions

Hole-in-One Sponsor
Tom Heffernan Ford

Southeast Technical instructors visiting Quzhou College of Technology

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Southeast Technical instructors Niel Christensen (automotive technology) and Tom Brandt (auto body collision technology) are continuing the "Quzhou Connection" in China.

They landed in Shanghai on Sunday June 1st and are visiting our sister city Quzhou and the Quzhou College of Technology, including Fang Xiaofen  and Wang Pei Hui, who were on campus at Southeast Technical last fall. 

They were fortunate to arrive in China just prior to a national holiday, the Dragon Boat Festival, which falls each year on the 5th day of the 5th month of the Chinese lunar calendar. This year the festival took place on June 2, and a visit to a village to enjoy the celebration was on the schedule.

While in China, Niel and Tom will be observing a variety of classrooms and automotive labs. They are presenting lectures on what automobiles mean to Americans and recent developments in automotive diagnosis and repair technology. They are also speaking on American culture and lifestyles to students of the college's Applied English program. 

"Things are going well and we are learning a lot.  We have started to get the opportunity to see the labs and what the program design is," wrote Tom Brandt in an email part way through the trip. "We are grateful to visit the college and have a chance to better understand their educational system. We look forward to the opportunities that this will bring."

The 2-week visit will conclude on June 13. Plans are now in the works for another faculty exchange with Quzhou instructors in Fall 2014, and future ITV (Interactive TV) classes coordinated with both campuses.

Please join us for Retirement Socials in honor of Southeast Technical President Jim Johnson 

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