Join us this spring semester at The REC!
The REC is a vibrant space where students can relax, connect, and recharge outside the classroom. We believe in supporting not just your academic success but your overall well-being.
Whether you’re looking for a place to hang out with friends, enjoy some entertainment, or just unwind after a busy day, The REC has something for everyone.
Start enjoying The REC! Sign-up for orientation to receive full access.
Please open the PDF file to activate all hyperlinks.
Pine Technical and Community College’s Phi Theta Kappa chapter, Beta Kappa Rho, held it’s fall induction ceremony on December 11th, 2024. 25 new inductees had their academic achievements celebrated in the ceremony in the Lodge. Phi Theta Kappa is the International Honor Society for students at two-year colleges. The Pine Technical & Community College local chapter is Beta Kappa Rho, a member of the Minn-Kota regional chapter. Students have their eligibility for Phi Theta Kappa determined based on their GPA and the number of credits they have completed towards their degree. There will be another induction ceremony in the spring, on April 28th. Students interested in learning more about Phi Theta Kappa can reach out to chapter advisor Sara Carman at sara.carman@pine.edu.
When asked ten years ago what his dream job was, Joe Mulford would have responded, “being the president of Pine Technical & Community College.” Mulford achieved that dream and still considers it his dream job going into his tenth year as president at the college.
Mulford took a moment to speak on this tenure, the changes the college has seen during this time and looking ahead to future possibilities.
Prior to coming to PTCC in 2015, Mulford served about 18 years at multiple two-year Minnesota colleges in administrative positions. In 2003, he and his wife Julie moved to Mora to be near her family. There they renovated an old farmhouse where they still live. At that time, Mulford worked for Anoka Technical College and realized he wanted to help students in his own community achieve their academic goals.
“Being the President at Pine Technical and Community College was literally my dream job,” said Mulford. “I commuted to different jobs at different colleges in the Twin Cities for over a decade and hoped my preparation and the presidential opportunity at Pine would somehow align.”
The opportunity arose at PTCC, and Mulford was offered the position. His prior experience helped craft a vision for the college. The college has seen many changes, some due to external influences such as the Frandsen scholarships and a legislative bond, but not without the unique vision Mulford offered.
“When you look back over our nearly 60 years, there have always been changes happening at Pine,” noted Mulford. “My role essentially falls into the two key areas of risk management and culture management. Foremost is making sure we are student-focused and doing the things that really matter or impact students the most.”
Of the recent changes, the college has seen renovations inside and outside with the plaza area and the front of the building. Most notably is the major expansion happening on the east side of the facility largely thanks to a $21.4 million legislative bond which Mulford and local legislators lobbied for. The expansion will include a 25,000 sq. ft. addition and a 15,025 sq. ft. renovation of existing space on campus for trades such as automated systems, automotive, welding and gunsmithing, and a new nursing lab. The addition will be added onto the 80,000 sq. ft. existing building.
Also notable is the Lakeside Student Housing development owned by Fred Stelter which opened this summer and allows students to live near campus on Cross Lake. Several new academic programs have also been added in areas like automation, construction, applied engineering, welding, emergency medical services, and liberal arts courses.
One of the biggest challenges, said Mulford, is staying on course with the long-range strategic goals while also not losing sight of the short-term needs of the organization. “At small colleges like Pine, the president might set up tables if help is needed or jump start a student’s car if they are having problems while also having to know where the college needs to be in five years to ten years,” he added.
When asked of the most unusual thing that has happened in his tenure, Mulford said “for sure COVID.”
“You could never have imagined getting a phone call that you have about two weeks to move all courses on-line as well as figuring out how to provide all college services remotely,” he recalled. “This is hopefully a once in a career thing.”
On a lighter note, he recalled on one warm fall day a few years ago, he was called because a garter snake had found its way into the building. “People were rightfully freaked out,” he quipped. “It is the only time in my career I had to physically grab a snake and remove it from a building. As they say, other duties as assigned…”
When asked about the most rewarding part of the job, he responded, “That has always been graduation day. I like to tell people it’s the best day of the year. Seeing the student that you weren’t sure was even going to start college and then graduate is awesome.”
On what he is most proud of, Mulford responded, “To know that more and more people in the area see college as possible because of the partnerships and programming efforts we have put in place. I am specifically proud that seven of my nieces and nephews, along with both of my sons have attended Pine in the last few years. It’s great when they compliment you on how nice everyone is at the college or how much courses have helped them.”
Overall, Mulford says it’s hard to think about the college without faculty or students here. “Many of the things that we have done for students and the community requires a ton of behind the scenes work,” he noted. “Our staff and faculty just make things happen and figure a way to do it. The staff and faculty at Pine are as student-focused as anywhere I have ever seen. As a small college we can’t do things alone and the support and partnerships with donors, businesses, school districts, Pine County and Pine City is how we can do the things we are doing. This region appreciates PTCC and we appreciate our region.”
Of Mulford’s tenure, PTCC Foundation Board member Mike Gainor noted the energy, enthusiasm and vision Mulford came to the college with. “It’s hard to believe 10 years have passed since then, but what he and his team have accomplished in that time is absolutely remarkable, with new and retooled programs to better fit students’ needs, a nationally-recognized scholarship program, and beautiful new facilities to improve the student experience. I don’t know how he’s going to be able to top all this over the next ten years, but I don’t doubt for a second that he’s going to try his best to do just that.”
Looking to the future, Mulford is excited to see the current building project take shape that will be conducive to new programs. “This programming will include new academic, student life, workforce programming along with possibly some sports in our future,” he added.
Written by Traci Lebrun, Pine City Pioneer Editor
Pine Technical & Community College is embarking on a large expansion for the college thanks to $21.4 million in legislative bonding money. The expansion will include a 25,000 sq. ft. addition and a 15,025 sq. ft. renovation of existing space on campus.
The project has an expected two-year timeline and will first include an expansion for trades such as automotive, welding and gunsmithing, along with a new nursing lab. Construction will begin this month. In the fall of 2025, a new gunsmithing technology lab/hallway will be constructed, along with new south and east entrances to the college. In the spring of 2026, an automated systems technology lab/hallway and a healthcare simulation suite will be added.
The addition will be added onto the 80,000 sq. ft. existing building. The new welding lab will be ten times larger than the current lab, and the new gunsmithing program (the only one in the state) will house 72 student stations and a test range. The manufacturing lab will resemble a layout similar to manufacturing companies, said PTCC president, Joe Mulford. A new student commons will connect to the existing lodge and west to the nursing area, which will include a hospital, clinic and homecare-like settings.
“It took a steady hand and consistent voice for us which kept us moving down the field,” said Mulford of Senator Jason Rarick’s and Representative Nathan Nelson’s advocacy for the project in the state legislature.
Rarick, present at the groundbreaking Friday, May 3, said, “This was an easy project to advocate for … everyone present on the bonding tour said that we have to do this project.”
Mulford added, “There were times that this day didn’t seem possible, and some people probably got tired of hearing about it. But it was always about students and faculty. Students at colleges like Pine aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet. They’re family, friends or someone you go to church with. When I started 28 years ago in higher education, I first noticed when students brought their families or kids for graduation, they lined up with faculty, not administrators. Those early graduations taught me the true magic happens in these labs and classrooms.”
Mulford charged the audience to “come back in two years for the ribbon cutting.”
Pine Technical and Community College breaks ground for their new technical and trades addition and renovation. Pictured from left are Jake Kiel (Atscott Manufacturing/PTCC Foundation Board member), Karen Jansen (PTCC Foundation Board member), Nolan Peterson (BCI Construction), Bill Maki (vice chancellor for facilities and finance at Minnesota State), Jason Rarick (local state senator), Ann Voda (BRT Architects), Ann Boldt (PTCC Foundation Board member), Gina Pettie (Pine City acting mayor), Steve Hallan (Pine County commissioner), and Joe Mulford (PTCC president).
Get ready to experience THE REC!
Opening in the fall of 2024, THE REC (PTCC Student Recreation Center) occupies 10,000 square feet of space at the new Lakeside Student Living facility on Cross Lake in Pine City, MN! Previously home to the old Fairview clinic along Second Street, this revamped area is set to become the heartbeat of student life at PTCC!
Step into THE REC, and you will find your competitive side in our new Arcade and Game Lounge featuring a pool table, dart board and other automated gaming systems. THE REC will feature an E-Sports gaming room with counsels for multiple players or groups. Stay active and healthy with access to the new gym facility being offered to students staff and faculty. Enjoy workshops and socialization in our flex classroom and lounge spaces or find a comfy space to plop down on a bean bag and study. While you are busy doing all of these new, exciting activities, join us for a snack in the kitchenette/vending area to quench your thirst or hunger.
THE REC isn’t just a space, it’s an experience. We’re proud to offer a diverse range of programming and events to keep students entertained and engaged throughout the year. From professional sports viewing parties to live concerts and music performances, there will always be something fun and exciting happening. Living the lake lifestyle, we will be offering rental lake equipment for a day of relaxation or fun with your friends: kayaks, canoes, paddle boards, etc.
At PTCC, we like to keep our students involved and active in our communities. THE REC will be staffed with the help of student workers during evening and weekend hours.
In addition to THE REC, PTCC will eventually be moving their Early Childhood Care Center over to this establishment as well.
While all of this is developing, there is a lot that can change in the next few months. We are hopeful to provide the best possible experience for our students at PTCC! See you at THE REC!
To learn more about Lakeside Student Living and THE REC, visit ptcclakeside.com
Pine City, MN – April 2, 2024 Pine Technical and Community College (PTCC) is excited to announce that they have reached their all-time historic high in enrollment.
In March, PTCC documented a historical high in the number of students served! With approximately 900 on-campus (undergraduate) students and 1300 college-in-the-schools students (Post-Secondary Enrollment Option and Concurrent Enrollment), PTCC has surpassed its previous Fiscal Year Equivalent (*FYE) record of 819 in 2019, achieving 832 FYE in 2024.
With year over year enrollment growth in eight out of the last ten years, PTCC is one of few colleges in the state of Minnesota that has seen consistent growth. Slowed only by a slight dip in enrollment through the pandemic, PTCC continues to surpass goals due to the many positive initiatives happening around campus, including scholarships from state and private donors, new program and course offerings, and significant investments in facilities and state-of-the-industry training equipment. PTCC’s statewide recognition for high-quality programs, such as nursing, are drawing students from a wider geographical area. PTCC’s Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) program recently ranked number one and their Registered Nursing (RN) programs ranked number two in the state amongst two-year colleges for highest pass rate on the MN Board of Nursing licensure exam. Their RN program would remain in the top four when including four-year university graduates. Additionally, the PTCC Cyber Security Defense Team finished 5th in the Midwest at a regional competition for all two- and four-year colleges and universities.
President Joe Mulford attributes the growth to not only the above-mentioned investments and high-quality programming but also to a shifting interest in technical degrees and occupations. President Mulford stated that, “Technical careers are now the in-demand choice amongst young people as they realize that industry is scooping them up as fast as they graduate.” He also feels that these decision-makers have fully realized their spending power improves not only from the high wages they will earn but also the low amount of student debt.
PTCC projects that the number of students enrolled will continue to trend upward as they break ground on their historic Technical and Trades Lab Expansion and Renovation project which will add and renovate nearly 25,000 square feet of technical learning labs. When completed in the spring of 2026, PTCC students will have all new technical learning labs and almost all new equipment in those labs. In addition, there is a new student housing facility opening two blocks from the campus on Cross Lake: Lakeside Student Living (the old Lakeside Medical Center nursing home), which can house up to 150 students. This new housing opportunity coupled with new and larger lab spaces will provide even more capacity to increase the educational attainment rate in our region. President Mulford shared his excitement that in a few months, “PTCC students will have the opportunity to live on a lake next to campus while learning in the newest technical labs in the state!”
While these are only numbers, what matters is that there is a student and a story behind these amounts – each with unique experiences and reasons they have chosen to come to PTCC whether they are starting out or starting over.
* One FYE is equivalent to 30 college credits
Congratulations, students who made it on the Notable Achievement List at PTCC for fall semester! #proudpine
To be eligible for the Notable Achievement List, a student must be in good academic standing, enrolled in 6-11 credits, and receive a grade point average of 3.5 or above.
Congratulations, students who made it on the Dean’s List at PTCC for fall semester! #proudpine
The Dean’s List recognizes academic achievement within a single semester. To be eligible for the Dean’s List, a student must be in good academic standing, enrolled in 12 credits or more, and receive a grade point average of 3.0-3.9.
Congratulations, students who made it on the President’s List at PTCC for fall semester! #proudpine
The President’s List honors students who enrolled in 12 credits or more, and received a grade point average of 4.0.
The Pine Technical and Community College (PTCC) Cyber Defense team traveled to Illinois over the weekend to compete in the Midwest Regional Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (MWCCDC) taking 5th place!
After placing first in Minnesota amongst other two-year and four-year colleges, PTCC was the only 2-year college that made it to the Midwest Competition and the only college to represent the state of Minnesota. Other colleges that competed include: Baker College, Cedarville University, DePaul University, Drury University, Illinois Institute of Technology, Indiana Tech, Southeast Missouri State University, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, University of Louisville, and University of Wisconsin-Stout.
MWCCDC brought together top tech-savvy students to form teams and compete in a high-stakes challenge. These teams constructed and protected mock production business infrastructure against professional “hackers” tasked with the mission of disrupting their production systems and breaching their security. While these determined teams defended against these relentless attackers, the competition’s judging staff introduced network enhancement and upgrade challenges, assessing the teams’ performance, scoring their efforts, and providing essential support throughout the event.
“I can’t express how proud I am of this 2024 Cyber Team. They put in many hours of practice and research and came together to make this experience one that I’m sure they will never forget. PTCC was the only two-year college at the MWCCDC and placed 5th overall. It says something about the dedication of these students that they can compete with four- and six-year colleges and beat most of them” – Chris Morgan, Cyber Security Instructor
Congratulations to the team for putting PTCC and Pine City on the map!
To learn more about the Cyber Security program at PTCC, visit https://pine.edu/academics/programs-courses/cyber-security/
Minnesota State IT Center of Excellence (MN STATE IT COE), one of eight Minnesota State Centers of Excellence, provides high school and college students with various resources and programs to support the ever-changing world of Information Technology and Computer Science. The Center has contributed significantly by reaching out to thousands of secondary students, funding dozens of new curriculum efforts, and leading numerous other efforts to increase the quality and quantity of IT talent in the state.
One of the annually sponsored and organized events is the Minnesota State Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC). Winners of the Minnesota CCDC advance to Regional CCDC (https://www.cssia.org/mwccdc/) hosted by Moraine Valley Community College in Illinois with a chance to compete at the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition At Texas San Antonio, Texas, in April 2024. (https://www.nationalccdc.org/index.php)
Over 80 students from 8 different Minnesota State System institutions joined this year for a full day of competition and learning. Along with students, faculty and industry members participated as advisors, sponsors, and Red Team (Ethical Hackers/Penetration Experts).
In a controlled virtual environment, CCDC competitors assume administrative and protective duties for an existing “commercial” network – typically a small company with 50+ users, 7 to 10 servers, and standard Internet services such as a web server, mail server, and e-commerce site. Each team begins the competition with an identical set of hardware and software and is scored on their ability to detect and respond to outside threats, maintain the availability of existing services such as mail servers and web servers, respond to business requests such as the addition or removal of additional services, and balance security needs against business needs.
Throughout the competition, an automated scoring engine periodically verifies each team’s services’ functionality and availability, and traffic generators feed simulated user traffic into the competition network. A volunteer Red Team (Ethical Hackers) provides the “external threat” of all Internet-based services, which allows the teams to match their defensive skills against live opponents (hackers).
WINNERS
The competition was tight this year, with the top four (4) teams within 2,000 points (out of 42,000).
1st Place – Pine Technical and Community College, Pine City, MN
2nd Place – Alex Technical and Community College, Alexandria, MN
3rd Place – Hennepin Technical College, Brooklyn Park, MN
4th Place – MCTC, Minneapolis College, Minneapolis, MN
Other Participating Teams: Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, MN; Minnesota State Community and Technical College with MN State U, Moorhead, Moorhead, MN; Minnesota State University, Mankato; and St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, MN.
Pine Tech will automatically move on to the Regional CCDC on March 15-16, 2024, and 2nd and 3rd Place Teams – Alex Tech and Hennepin Technical College will complete in the Midwest Wildcard on February 24th, 2024, for an additional chance to move on to the Regional as well.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Janice Aanenson, PhD
MN State IT COE Executive Director and CCDC State Director
Minnesota State IT Center of Excellence
612.659.7226
Janice.aanenson@metrostate.edu