washington business
In Their Words
Starting as an intern in the Legislature in 1977 , recently-retired State Board for Community and Technical Colleges Executive Director Marty Brown concluded his four decades of public service June 30 . Called a “ behind-the-scenes statesman ,” Brown is respected by elected officials , advocates and association leaders across the political and issue spectrum . Under his watch , the community and technical college system worked closely with the AWB Institute to educate employers about the many college programs in every corner of the state that prepare the workforce for trade and technical jobs in Washington state . Brown sat down with staff writer Bobbi Cussins in May to share his love of , and his legacy in , politics and public policy , and his passion for the in-demand career options offered to 381,000 students each year at the state ’ s 34 community and technical colleges .
How did your life and work experience shape your work at the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges ?
Having gone to a community college , even though it was 47 years ago , I realized early on that our community and technical colleges are very locally oriented . Having gone to a state college and a community college , you realize there is a significant difference , that a lot of the people that go to community and technical colleges stay in the local community and are very important to those communities . You go to Centralia and that college is it . I mean , it is really important . It has the theater , performing arts center and meeting space ; it ’ s a focal point of the community . I ’ m even surprised when you go to Walla Walla and you have a world-class university in Whitman and , yet , I ’ m firmly convinced that Walla Walla Community College is more important than Whitman because those Whitman students come and leave , but the Walla Walla students come and stay and develop the economy .
What do you see as the next step in the state ’ s community college programming ? And , should there be efforts to better highlight the career pathways the colleges offer as a way to bridge the gap from graduation to a post-secondary credential or degree ?
I think that for community and technical college education , we need to do a lot more outreach to older students who have some college but no degree or certificate . Every time you get a degree or certificate you move up in the world . And , I think employers recognize that . Our development of applied baccalaureate degrees is proof . In a lot of industries ,
Marty Brown
“ A lot of the people that go to community and technical colleges stay in the local community and are very important to those communities .”
businesses have said , “ We need more people with bachelor ’ s degrees . We love the fact that our workers have technical knowledge , but we want them to know more about how to run the business because we ’ re aging out . We need people to be foremen , managers , and take over these industries and grow them .” We ’ ve hit that perfectly because we have people who get a degree in diesel technology at Centralia College and now they can get a bachelor ’ s degree in diesel technology . There are only two of those programs west of the Mississippi River — Montana State and Centralia . Those jobs are in high demand and they are open . I think we — business , employees and the colleges — need to do a better job of educating mom and dad that these are really good jobs ; they ’ re not grease monkey and they ’ re not dangerous . They are well-paid STEM jobs in a lot of cases . When you go to get your car fixed , the first thing they do is hook it up to a computer . That ’ s a STEM job . And , I want to have the smartest auto mechanic possible work on my car .
20 association of washington business