The cover photo of ATE Centers Impact is a mosaic that represents the 40 ATE centers and two large projects featured in the national publication. It is inspired by a photo of a technician performing gas tungsten arc welding that was provided by the National Center for Welding Education and Training (Weld-Ed).

ATE Centers Impact, which debuts this week at the annual convention of the American Association of Community Colleges in Washington, D.C., summarizes the accomplishments and activities of 40 Advanced Technological Education Centers (ATE) and two large ATE projects.

U.S. President Barack Obama points out in his introduction to the 114-page, full-color publication that during its 20-year history the National Science Foundation's ATE program has been part of the nation's proud tradition of ingenuity. "By building strong partnerships in education and industry, government and the non-profit sector, this program helps prepare students for their careers. And by building the technical workforce, it contributes to our Nation's security and economic competitiveness," President Obama wrote.

National Publication Highlights Each ATE Center

In addition to program-wide data from the Evaluation Resource Center for Advanced Technological Education (EvaluATE), each ATE center and large project is featured in distinct two-page spreads of text, photos, graphic illustrations of data that explain how they are improving technician education in advanced technology fields that are vital to the nation.

Infographics highlight the wide range of ATE activities. These include the 360? Center's Seamless Career Pathway in Minnesota, the national growth of the Convergence College Network, and the multiple enrollment goals of students in CREATE's renewable energy degree and certificate programs in California.

The diverse populations served by the ATE program are evident in the photos of students and graduates of ATE-supported programs that appear in photos throughout the publication.

Numerous quotes from industry leaders make plain how ATE centers address employers' needs for highly skilled technicians.

For example Edith Coen, director of Environmental Health, Safety and & Security for SemGroup Corporation, noted that "Through the use of ATE programs, specifically CSEC, we were able to illustrate to our employees the importance of both cyber and physical security. The classes brought an awareness to our employees that their actions are vital in helping to secure our networks." The faculty professional development programs that CSEC, the Cyber Security Education Consortium, offers in Oklahoma and seven other Plains states have cultivated a corps of faculty experts who now lead specialized cybersecurity programs for manufacturing and energy technicians throughout the region. CSEC also offers associate and bachelor degrees, certificate programs, and educational opportunities for incumbent workers to upgrade their skills.

ATE Centers Generate "Spirals of Success"

Researcher Charles Henderson, who studied the local impacts of national ATE centers, calls the cascading positive effects generated by ATE centers within their disciplines and their host institutions a "sprial of success."

In a 2012 Community College Review article, Henderson wrote that successful ATE centers generate positive, overlapping trajectories of outcomes by

• Improving the quality of programs in the targeted technology field.
• Creating partnerships with industry and/or professional societies.
• Providing faculty professional development.
• Aiding in acquiring additional external funding.
• Increasing the number of students.
• Improving instructional technology.
• Assisting in transfer arrangements with four-year institutions.
• Producing high quality curricular materials.
• Improving the external reputation of programs.

Stu Rodberg, a graphic designer with MATEC (the ATE center that prepared the ATE Centers Impact publication with support from the National Science Foundation) illustrated Henderson' s concept using the experience of two Sinclair Community College educators. In the illustration he created, Rodberg showed the dynamics of the ATE program's influence on the intellectual capacities of Fred Thomas and Robert A. Chaney. Thomas now leads Learning with Math Machines Inc., a non-profit company that continues to share curricula and innovative equipment that he and Chaney developed with ATE support. Chaney, who continues to teach math at Sinclair, was selected as 2013 U.S. Community College Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).

Free Copies Available

MATEC Executive Director Michael Lesiecki said ATE Centers Impact exemplifies how the centers have developed as a real community. "The centers' leaders are fulfilling the long-term vision they themselves helped create for technology education. Every photo in the book is of real students and real working technicians who represent the essence of the ATE program.

"Our group at the Maricopa Community Colleges was privileged to work with the centers to create the publication," Lesiecki said.

Free paper copies of ATE Centers Impact are available by emailing requests to MATEC at [email protected] or calling 480-731-8050. The publication may also be downloaded at www.atecenters.org/impact2014. The publication aims to inform educators, students, and employers about the opportunities available through the ATE program.

As President Obama points out, "Through this program, educators are developing innovative initiatives to attract more young people and adults to careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics."