What are you excited about when planning for the 2022-2023 school year?

It is always great to have students back on campus. They bring a positive vibe not only to our campus, but to our community.

There is no greater time to support your community college than now. We are the No. 1 workforce producers in the state.

This year will be a special one as we launch our new five-year strategic plan.

Our strategic plan has four major areas of focus:

• Advancing developmental opportunities

• Cultivating Triton culture

• Uniting through communication and collaboration

• Empowering student engagement

Our goal is to have students come to Iowa Central and finish their degrees and/or certifications in the shortest amount of time possible, with the least amount of student loan debt, so they can have a better life. Our strategic plan will assist us in creating the premier community college of choice in the state of Iowa.

Visually, there are changes to campus heading into the new school year, such as the Triton Circle project. Can you tell us what updates are being made? What is in store for Decker Auditorium?

During the summer we were able to complete a concrete replacement project on the west entrance of Triton Circle. This project also allowed us to create a safer loading zone for students in our housing units. We have also launched the renovation of the former Student Services building to create the Art and Technology Building. This renovated space will house all of our visual and graphic arts as well as computer science programs.

In addition, the Board of Trustees has finalized a contract to begin building the Center for Performing Arts that includes a renovation to Decker Auditorium. We will be transforming the auditorium space into a state-of-the-art performance hall. As a part of the project, we will be adding classroom space and restrooms to make sure everyone has a better experience when coming for performances. This project will be awesome when it is done.

Iowa Central will also be completing a new Learning Center in Storm Lake and a new Biofuel Testing Laboratory in Fort Dodge.

Iowa Central has a relationship with various community partners, creating mutually beneficial experiences. Can you tell us more about some of these partnerships?

Iowa Central’s business and community connections are second to none. Last year we had nearly 70 formalized agreements with employers in which we trained over 14,000 people in our service region. Whether it is customized job training, externships or career discovery, our team is working hard every day to ensure people have access to the skills they need. One of the most popular programs for companies is job training through the 260E (Iowa Industrial New Jobs Training Program) or 260F (Iowa Jobs Training Program). Both of these programs allow companies the opportunity to provide training to their current or new employees at no cost to the company.

Jesse Ulrich is the president of

Iowa Central Community College.