2023 NCATC President's Message

Q1-2023

How are our 170 partner institutions benefitting from their membership with the National Coalition of Advanced Technology Centers? That’s the question that is framing our work within NCATC’s Board of Directors for 2023. We want every member to have a clear and compelling answer to this question.

If you are reading this article, we already know that you enjoy our quarterly newsletters, updating you on innovative programs and approaches to close critical skill gaps in Industry 4.0 and Cybersecurity; to implement credential and competency-based education; to facilitate meaningful Work-Based Learning, and to address gaps in diversity, equity, access, and inclusion for students.

Do you regularly leverage our many networking opportunities—like the quarterly online member drop-ins, our annual conference each September, the links to our strategic partners, or connecting with other institutions for best practices in supporting advanced manufacturing? Have you connected with NCATC’s member services to plan, fund or evaluate your programs and services, like the Member Assistance Program or Grant Evaluation Services?

Our institutional partners typically renew year-after-year, so whether you use all or some of these benefits of your NCATC membership, we believe you are getting real value for your investment of time and money. But how can you expand the value of your membership even more?

Share the Love—Our data show that many of our institutions have registered only one person to receive communication and updates from NCATC. Who are the others in your college (deans, directors, faculty, managers, executive leadership, etc.) who would benefit from direct connections with NCATC? In the coming months, representatives of our Membership Committee will be contacting each member institution to explore who that should be, how they could benefit, and how best to contact them. There’s no cost to add others, so expanding your institution’s value received from NCATC is easy and free.

It’s my pleasure to serve as president of the NCATC Board of Directors for 2023 and it is my objective to learn how NCATC can more deeply serve our member institutions. We firmly believe that expanding our reach will provide more value for your institutional membership investment. I’m always interested in learning how we can better serve our members, so feel free to reach out with your ideas, questions, and comments. 

Craig Lamb 

2023 NCATC President