Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MassMEP), a leading resource for manufacturing companies in Massachusetts, is pleased to recognize Dean Kathy Rentsch, Quinsigamond Community College, with the 2014 Manufacturing Champion Award. The award was presented at the December meeting of the MassMEP Board of Directors.
With the assistance and guidance of Ms. Rentsch, MassMEP developed and implemented a Certificate of Applied Manufacturing Technology. The Certification is a pathway to higher education for many individuals who do not have the skills for the jobs that are available in today’s manufacturing environment. Based on a five level pyramid, Level 3 of the Applied Manufacturing Technology Pathway Certification program, in combination with the structured on-the-job training, allows students to earn the first 26 credits of an A.S. degree in Applied Manufacturing Technology at Quinsigamond Community College.
Figure 1. MACWIC Applied Manufacturing Technology Pathway Certification
“Kathy Rentsch spent countless hours shepherding the Applied Manufacturing Technology Pathway Certification through the Community College articulation approval process and just as many hours assisting MassMEP as she patiently explained what needed to be done,” said Jack Healy, Director of Operations at MassMEP. “Without Kathy’s guidance, MassMEP would still be exploring ways to give credit for hands-on experience and the Center’s graduates would not have a solid career pathway that includes a higher education option.”
Ms. Rentsch is Dean for the School for Business Engineering & Technology at Quinsigamond Community College. She provides both academic and administrative leadership, establishing collaborative partnerships with industry, educational partners, and community agencies, and developing grants and other funding proposals to enhance programming. She spearheaded an industry, education, and community partner planning effort to secure a $750,000 National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education grant to design and launch a public communication campaign on advanced manufacturing. This career awareness effort, called Mass-TEC, informed the statewide awareness campaign – “AMP It Up!”. She has been actively engaged in campus-based implemented of the USDO TAACCT/MA Community College Workforce Development Transformation Agenda, developing stackable certificates and more flexible and responsive curriculum pathways leading to industry credentials and employment in six key industries.