Five questions with Rod Moore
Wichita Technical Institute has been part of Rod Moore's life for all of his 43 years.
His dad, Paul Moore, was the second owner of WTI, which was founded in 1954. Rod graduated from the school's electronics program in 1987. He's taught there. Worked in admissions and career services. And since 1996 he has been WTI's director.
Owned by Barry Mannion and Gary Hively since 2001, WTI has about 1,400 students at its campuses in Wichita, Topeka, Tulsa and Joplin, Mo. It has five programs: integrated electronics technology; computer electronics and networking technology; medical assistant; medical billing and coding; and heating, air conditioning and refrigeration technology.
A graduate of Andover High School, Moore has been married for 24 years. He and his wife, Beth, have three children: Josh, 22; Cody, 21; and Chelsie, 19.
Do you feel like you're at an advantage by growing up in the business?
"Most definitely. Obviously being exposed when I was a youth, being able to come into the facility and kind of get familiar with what was going on... then graduating high school and going through the electronics program here helped fill in the gray areas, helped me understand what Dad was doing."
How do you compete with the community colleges?
"Obviously the curriculum is a little different. We really pride ourselves on the hands-on experience we give our students throughout all of the programs. All of us are out there to help people. We find that students that come to our school are the type of learner that would like to learn more from a hands-on experience."
Is it difficult to keep the curriculum in line with the jobs that are out there?
"We rely on our advisory board a lot on that. Obviously we rely on teachers, too. Our teachers are very proactive when analyzing the market out there.... A lot of the changes that we implement also will hinge on the certifications that the industries require....
"We try to stay as proactive as we can in the market, and I think that has definitely helped us be successful over the years."
What is the job market like for your graduates?
"It's been tough for the last year and half, two years, but things are starting to open back up. We see more employers starting to call us for technicians and graduates.... We are seeing an industry uptrend in the last quarter.... The opportunities are starting to grow out there, which is good. It's about time.
What do you do to escape from work?
"I love photography. I'm kind of a photography nut. It's been one of my hobbies for the last 25 years. ... I'll do an occasional wedding now and then, senior portraits. The big thing I love doing is commercial photography. A lot of the marketing stuff that we do, any kind of picture, has probably come from my camera. I guess from that standpoint it's been kind of beneficial. We've saved a lot of money over the years."
This story was originally published January 13, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Five questions with Rod Moore."