Spotlight On: Michael Torrence, President, Motlow State Community College

Spotlight On: Michael Torrence, President, Motlow State Community College

2022-09-28T12:30:25-04:00September 28th, 2022|Education, Nashville, Spotlight On|

4 min read September 2022 — Motlow is a public, multicampus college that offers certificates, associate degrees and flexible learning pathways toward a variety of bachelor’s degrees and industry-recognized training programs. In an interview with Invest:, President Michael Torrence discussed key highlights, programs in demand, partnership with Big Interview and the outlook for the college in the near term.

What have been some key highlights and milestones for Motlow over the past year?

We are in the process of expanding an automation and robotics facility. The project is a $5 million infusion approval for 7,500 square feet for our Automation Robotics Training Center, or ARTC. It is a state-of-the-art location that allows the world’s three largest robotics manufacturers to engage with our students, business and industry and community while they learn the next generation of robotics through manufacturing, logistics, supply chain, robotics material handling and mechatronics. We have completed the design phase and will break ground in the next six to eight months.

What programs are experiencing the most demand?

Demand is being driven by the market and the types of companies the state of Tennessee Department of Labor and Economic Development recruits. We are a land-rich area, the county has a lot of acreage available, and there are two new megasites of around 2,000 to 3,000 acres for technology companies. I am hoping to get a motorcycle company into the region that has high-end performance and is not only focused on vehicles but also hybrid and electric tech and tools.

Another advancement for the college has been the Uncle Nearest and Jack Daniels DEI initiative. We have built the first Tennessee Whisky-focused curriculum. We are excited about the finishing touches put on this program, and have submitted it for process review at the College, then onto the state, and we hope to have it approved and running for Fall 2023. It will be a robust program focused on the science behind making spirits and incorporating it with STEM.

Starting in January of 2023 we will launch our aviation-simulation program in our 11-county service area. We are also looking at other opportunities in what we call STEA3MB, which stands for science, technology, engineering, aviation, agriculture, art, mathematics, and business. Additionally, we are looking to partner with over 300 nurses in our service area to implement a digital program. We are utilizing simulators in our aviation program to prepare pilots at a lesser cost. We are focusing on partnerships because it leads to direct employment for those who graduate from us and also that ecosystem of lifelong learning.

How are initiatives like partnering with Big Interview helping you leverage technology to provide more resources for students while they are still enrolled?

Big Interview is a relationship we have built over the last decade for Warren County Schools, Rutherford County Schools and our institution. It was initially led by the school system and the Chamber of Commerce, and now it is driven internally at our college. It has become an important part to make sure we are providing students with what they want and need. We spend a lot of time talking about the employee, the trainee, the student and the learner but we don’t spend enough time talking to them and asking them important questions. We must engage with them to make sure the people we want to benefit have a voice and agency in the process.

If I had to highlight a repeated opportunity throughout my career, I would say it has been the opportunity for broader engagement with our ecosystems of students. To address this, we are creating space for opportunities, talking to third and fifth graders, students in middle school, and ninth and 10th graders before they come to the dual enrollment programs. How many schools across the nation have added data science in the last 12 months? How many schools have truly understood the importance of blended learning in the last five years? We are taking the opportunity the pandemic has given us to become more efficient and learn more about our students’ needs 

What steps is Motlow State taking to provide affordable education?

We are looking at creative financing and making sure that students are prepared as best as possible. The reality is that unless you are on the job, doing an internship or apprenticeship, there will be a learning curve. Big Interview is another way to get into that. Education is a right, it is a fundamental part of having a decent and humane society, so we look at what we do very seriously.

The Tennessee board decided to freeze tuition because we need to make sure we don’t impact people negatively as we come out of the pandemic, while also sustaining the quality and rigor of the teaching and learning institutions. I believe it was the appropriate response to make sure people can keep up while the economy stabilizes. We continue to shower our communities with the opportunities to learn via Open Educational Resources (OER) as well as Z-Degree, or zero-cost degree options. We are working to get back to where we were through creative financing, additional programs and the use of digital spaces to engage students and employers to produce new training environments.  

What are your enrollment numbers and where are you experiencing the most growth?

The explosion of dual enrollment is happening at our college as well as in other institutions. It is a part of our performance funding through the state mechanism. The adult population, African American males, micro-minority populations, and Pell-eligible students are our greatest opportunity to get back to where we were in 2019 with over 7,000 students.

We saw a drop of around 15 to 17% from 2019 to 2021. To recover from this, we must make sure we are being creative and providing the programs people want, as well as completing our students with micro and macro credentials that can lead to a degree or employment. That also means thinking about our pathways to intentionally prepare students, learners and trainees coming through our institution. We recognize that enrollment will also be driven by the needs of industry, along with the skills, dispositions and emergent labor market.

What is your outlook for Motlow State Community College for the near term?

The state is in a great fiscal place and our higher education leaders are focused on what we need to do to support and sustain our growth. We are using design thinking methodologies and flexible funds to build more spaces that tie to the existing workforce and the workforce we want to recruit. We would love to become an IT destination for people who want to have access to our beautiful region and enjoy the mountains, valleys, lakes, rivers and cool cities. I think the future is bright. I don’t see myself as an eternal optimist, I’d say the realist in me sees the ecosystem continuing to grow and it doesn’t hurt to have one of the fastest-growing counties in the country; that trickles down from the county into other areas of the region. In the near term, we expect to operate as flexibly and at the speed of business to support the needs of our communities.

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