The vision of the Advanced Technology Environmental Education center (ATEEC) is to create a national network of community colleges, supported through public and private partnerships, that prepares and maintains an environmental technology workforce to address industry's needs and to promote the transfer of secondary students to higher education. Through an ATEEC National workshop, environmental technology has been defined as "a career field that utilizes the principles of science, engineering, communication, and economics to protect and enhance safety, health, and natural resources." The environmental technology field encompasses an array of professions, i.e., pollution prevention, water and wastewater treatment, energy and conservation, and many others. The interdisciplinary nature of environmental technology programs includes math, science, sociology, political science, technology, economics, and more. This field is an excellent mechanism to reach ALL students and particularly those who may feel threatened by the study of math or science. It is imperative that ALL students receive core instruction enabling them to become competent in math, science, and technical skills as they prepare for environmental technology careers. ATEEC was designed to address the need to build a strong environmental technology education infrastructure which assists the nation's community colleges in the development of quality environmental technology education programs. To achieve this, the Center's mission which incorporates three goals, is to advance environmental technology education through curriculum development, professional development, and program improvement in the nation's community colleges and secondary schools. To build the environmental technology education infrastructure, ATEEC has utilized the strengths of its partners, the Hazardous Materials Training and Research Institute (HMTRI), the Partnership for Environmental Technology Education (PETE), and the University of Northern Iowa's (U NI) Center for Environmental and Energy Education. To date, more than 40 activities have been completed successfully which substantiate ATEEC as a national focal point to lead efforts in environmental technology education program development and improvement. The foundation for the activities which will carry ATEEC through 2000 is based upon the planning efforts of the National Visiting Committee, ATEEC partners, and the Center's director. The activities address needs articulated by education, business and industry representatives. The team-approach to strategic planning ensures partner buy-in and responsibility for delivery of high quality programs and services for which ATEEC has established a national reputation. ATEEC is continuing its original mission as it progresses toward 2000. Firmly established as a "national" Center, ATEEC continues to strengthen the necessary infrastructure to support and complement environmental technology education in secondary schools, community colleges and four-year colleges. ATEEC enables these institutions to cooperatively build quality environmental technology programs which embrace a defined knowledge base emphasizing strong math, science, and technology skills. ATEEC is an incubator in the truest sense which enables the creation of new programs and the continuous improvement of existing programs.
