President Barhorst: Expanding Job of Madison's Junior College

Bettsey Barhorst | MATC President
Expanding job of Madison's junior college

Deborah Ziff | 608-252-6234 | dziff[at] madison [dot] com | Posted: Sunday, January 3, 2010/Wisconsin State Journal

It’s tough to be a college in a college town when you’re not the star attraction.

Madison Area Technical College has long been overshadowed by UW-Madison, its bigger, high-profile sister. But like community colleges across the country, MATC has recently been thrust into the spotlight by the poor economy.

With an 11 percent increase in enrollment this fall, President Bettsey Barhorst is charged with the critical task of figuring out how the college will train future workers — from young adults just out of high school to people who have been laid-off after years of labor.

“We are overrun with students, which is very good,” she said. “But it’s also very difficult and very challenging.”

The 64-year-old with a shock of red hair is in her fifth year on the job and has proven to be a dynamic force.

In the past year, she’s unveiled an ambitious 10-year facilities plan, opened a West Side campus, and begun to rebrand the school as Madison College.

But the changes aren’t all popular, and the college has been criticized for plans to close Mitby Theater, its treatment of part-time faculty and for focusing on the school’s nickname.

Barhorst will need all the goodwill she can get when the college begins to implement its expansion plans, which will require asking taxpayers for money. Such a referendum will likely happen “sooner, rather than later,” said MATC District Board President Jon Bales.

In the meantime, Barhorst will need to continue to find space and resources to prepare her students for 21st century jobs.