A brief conversation with Jeff Mitchell
A familiar name and face around the Kirkwood Community College campus will now be visible in a new role. Jeff Mitchell has been appointed Dean of the Industrial Technologies department. Mitchell is a 32-year veteran at Kirkwood, with most of that time spent in key program director roles in the college’s Continuing Education division.
Kirkwood’s Steve Carpenter spoke with Jeff Mitchell about his broad experiences and this new academic leadership role.
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Steve Carpenter: That “32 years” number is pretty impressive, Jeff. What was your first role at Kirkwood? Can you recall your first day, your first week here?
Jeff Mitchell: I started the first week in August of 1978 as a full-time faculty member hired to teach a newly created “Welding Specialist” program. I had three weeks to develop the entire curriculum/program before the first day of class. As I drove onto campus for the first time, I had to veer off the road onto the grass in front of where Johnson Hall is now–to avoid hitting one of East Campus’s buildings which had been blown off its foundation over the weekend due to a tornado.
What other duties and roles have you had in the three decades since your start?
I taught the Specialist Welding program for eight years, then two years for the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) here on campus as an On-the-Job Training Developer/Coordinator. Ever since that, I have been a program director for Continuing Education which included developing Industrial Technology courses for the general public, administering 10 Bureau of Labor Approved apprenticeship programs, and assisting KTOS develop training programs for local business and industry.
In your opinion, what are the biggest contributions our Industrial Technologies programs bring to our community?
Each of the Industrial Technology programs help to make our community fiscally and culturally vibrant in an increasingly competitive world marketplace, by providing our students with basic/advanced skills and knowledge in their respective field of endeavor.
What are the biggest changes to the department you’ve seen over the past years?
Technology evolving, all the time. At first, there were no computers at all, then we got desktop computers in the office. Now, 75-percent-plus of the manufacturing/environmental equipment is driven and controlled by computers.
What goals do you have for your first year or two in Jones Hall?
To create more seamless pathways for learning and joint ventures between Kirkwood’s credit division, Continuing Education, Kirkwood Training Outreach Services and our local business/industry community.
If you could point to an event, initiative or project at Kirkwood over the past few years and say, “That is this college at its best,” what would that be?
The Kirkwood Foundation’s initiative to create more student scholarships and Continuing Education’s initiative to use Iowa’s state funding sources in creative ways to promote tuition assistance for adult students based on financial need.
What’s one thing almost nobody knows about Jeff Mitchell?
One of my many passions in life is auto racing. In fact, I am team owner of my son’s dirt late-model race car. We compete regionally in Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. So, you will find me at the race track most weekends, fine tuning the engine, changing suspension set-ups and grinding tires. Yes – I’m a hands-on person that loves the sound of power and doesn’t mind getting dirty.
What was a truly FUN moment for you over your college tenure?
Several years ago the Continuing Education division had all its employees go through “Ropes” training to help build working relationships and trust within the division. This day-long exercise was insightful, fun and meaningful, and left a lasting impression on me.