Tim McGhee, Dean, Engineering and Information Technologies Division, at Chattanooga State Community College, recently served as one of three panelists at the annual Advanced Technical Education (ATE) Principal Investigators Conference in Washington D.C.

The panel discussion centered on “21st Century Skills – Leadership, Pride, and Ownership.” This topic delved into the needed skills to perform highly technical jobs in nuclear programs, but also took a look at key components such as human performance and soft skills, often missing from leadership curriculum. These skills - leadership, pride, and ownership - need to be embedded into nuclear programs in order for today’s technicians to become tomorrow’s leaders. The panel discussed methods, approaches, and resources to embed these skills into programs.

With support from the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), approximately 800 people whose focus on critical issues related to ATE attended this conference. Representatives from community colleges, business and industry, secondary school systems, four-year colleges, as well as research and development centers whose interest are information technology, engineering, micro- and nanotechnologies, chemical technology, biotechnology, and more were in attendance.

“Tim McGhee and his team are holistic educators; they care about making sure that Chattanooga State students graduate not only with the technical expertise that they need to be successful in industry, but also that they graduate with networking skills and a sort of social savvy that can take them into advanced leadership positions,” states Dr. Dana Nichols, Vice President of Academic Affairs.

For more information about Engineering and Information Technologies, call 423-697-4434 or visit https://www.chattanoogastate.edu/engineering-information-technologies.