7QUESTIONS+PLUS

Bryan Albrecht, who, since 2006, is the president of the Gateway Technical College District, which serves Kenosha, Racine and Walworth counties. Albrecht told us his true vocation is teaching, having taught at the high school and college levels, though he knows the importance of community involvement, too, as he is also the president of the United Way Board. And yet he still makes time to speak to students, watch his daughter play volleyball and cheer for the Brewers.

Bryan Albrecht will now take your questions ...

How did you get involved with the United Way?

I was invited to serve on the United Way Campaign Committee by Kenosha County Executive Allan Kehl. Mr. Kehl encouraged me to stay active in our community, and the United Way is one way in which I can give back for all that Kenosha has provided me. Currently I serve on 17 community organizations or boards within all three of our counties. I believe community service is a cornerstone for strong community leadership.

How can we get more people to understand the importance of the United Way and other community involvement? Why is it important to you?

I wish there was an easy way to answer this question. I am sure you may have heard when you were growing up that anything worthwhile takes hard work. It will take all who are involved in United Way to help share the story and experience. Each one of us has a story to tell on how the United Way influenced our way of life and our belief in our community and in each other. Our best resource is experience and it is up to each of us to share that experience with others.

What type of community involvement do you enjoy doing the most?

I enjoy working with youth. I have had the fortunate opportunity to speak to thousands of youth on career education, technology in our changing world, and lifelong learning. Working with youth selling hot dogs at the Boys and Girls Club concession stand, visiting with college students in the student center, or hosting a tour group all give me optimistic energy and encouragement.

Every year the United Way seems to set its goals higher and higher. Why is that? How do you ensure United Way doesn’t fall short? Goals are meant to stretch one’s thinking. They are a way to motivate us to do things that we might not otherwise imagine. Failing is not something I worry about. The only thing worse than failing is not trying at all. If we think about falling short we will never know how far we can grow. The United Way is a growing organization, and I have great confidence in all the community volunteer leaders that serve with me that together we will not let our community fall short. After all, who is the United Way . . . we are.

Growing up, did you envision yourself someday becoming the president of a college?

How does one get to be in that position? I had always set my career goals as a classroom teacher and really never thought about becoming a college president. Now that I look back I can see the progression of my experiences that led me to this stage. One of my great rewards is that I never let go of being a student or a teacher. I am currently working on additional advanced degrees as a student at UW-Stout and the University of Minnesota. I also find time to stay active in speaking in classrooms on all of our Gateway campuses.

What’s the toughest or most frustrating part of being the president of a college?

There is never enough time to do all that I wish I could. I am very proud of our students, faculty and staff and I wish I could be at every event that they are featured at. Between our college and our community, I have learned more this last year than I could have ever imagined. Just think what we all might learn if we had more time.

How does Gateway set goals and document cost savings and cost avoidances?

Gateway has a series of comprehensive budget and accountability systems. Led by our Board of Trustees, we have established a planning and reporting process that is guided by a vision we call 2012 — what will Gateway look like in the year 2012. From that base we work collectively with the community and college staff to set priorities and align our budget with the resources our community has provided. One of the most important techniques we have instituted is a budget council made up of representatives from all campuses so that we can share ideas and strategies to reduce duplication and leverage cost savings.

What must Gateway do to compete with Parkside and Carthage to attract students?

I do not see that we need or should be competing with UW-Parkside or Carthage. They, like Gateway, are excellent educational institutions and serve an important role in our community. Each college has a mission and purpose that supports the other two colleges. Gateway has a strong focus on career and occupational education training. Our mission is to align our programs and students with careers and jobs that will meet students' personal goals and in turn improve our communities' economic future. I am very proud to call UW-Parkside and Carthage partners in providing educational options for all citizens.

Given that technology changes so rapidly, how does Gateway keep up in order to best serve its students?

This is one of the very unique aspects of Gateway’s programs. In our effort to stay current, we have over 400 business and industry leaders that serve on one or more program advisory committees. Our faculty not only have educational credentials but most also have occupational experience and industry credentials. This combined experience provides multiple perspectives on technological changes.

Funding or other obstacles aside, what’s one thing you wish you could change or improve at Gateway?

I am not sure if it is a change or not, but I would really like to cast a greater net of awareness of what Gateway provides to our community. I am not sure how many people know that we offer engineering, bioscience, business management, dental assistant, aviation or culinary arts along with sixty other degree programs. I am not sure if it is well known that we have hundreds of transfer agreements where Gateway courses transfer to other colleges including four-year colleges and universities. I am not sure how aware our community is of our partnerships with the Kenosha Unified School District and other secondary school districts to provide high school and Youth Options programs for students. I am not sure if it is well known that we have an accredited campus in partnership with SCJohnson or the first Snap-on Diagnostic Certification Center in the nation. My goal is to strengthen the awareness and access to Gateway for all of our community learners.

How do you spend your spare time?

Well, with a daughter in high school, I spend most of my time in the gym cheering her volleyball team or keeping sprinter times at track meets. If there is a weekend when I can get away, I really enjoy walleye fishing on Lake Alice in Tomahawk.

What book are you currently reading? Why did you pick it up?

“The Radical Leap” by Steve Farber. The book was given to me by a friend and it creatively expresses the everyday challenges and how our attitude defines how we respond to obstacles. In a people-driven profession like education, attitudes make all the difference.

If money was no object, what hobby would you like to try?

I think I would like to try flying. I have been intrigued with our pilot training program. Who knows the next time you look up, it might be me up there.
What do you enjoy most about Kenosha? The people, the food, the fun! I enjoy the community feeling Kenosha provides.

If you could have one wish granted, what would that wish be? I really want the Brewers to make the playoffs this year. They have great energy fueled by hard work. It is nice to see people and teams achieve goals that many never dreamed possible.

If you could swap places with anyone for one day, whom would you choose and why?

That is an easy one. It would have to be Brett Favre so I could compete with all the Bears fans around here.