What's Happening at Ranken Technical College

The Case for Working With Your Hands - NYT Magazine

This weekends's New York Times Magazine examines why now might be the perfect time to train for a career in a technical field.

High-school shop-class programs were widely dismantled in the 1990s as educators prepared students to become “knowledge workers.” The imperative of the last 20 years to round up every warm body and send it to college, then to the cubicle, was tied to a vision of the future in which we somehow take leave of material reality and glide about in a pure information economy. This has not come to pass. To begin with, such work often feels more enervating than gliding. More fundamentally, now as ever, somebody has to actually do things: fix our cars, unclog our toilets, build our houses.

Even in Uncertain Economy, Ranken Graduates Get Jobs

98% Placement Rate for Graduates Holds Steady

Despite challenging unemployment numbers in many job markets, there are some careers that don’t disappear, even in an economic climate like the one we’re facing. Careers in the HVAC, precision machining and electrical fields, for instance, are still going strong. Graduates from Ranken’s two-year associate degree program enjoy excellent job placement rates, usually with more jobs available than there are graduates.

“We have so many companies wanting to hire our students, we have to turn them away,” says Steve Swenson, head of the College’s Electrical division. “Some companies want to hire the entire graduating class. These graduates are in a great position to launch successful careers.”

Careers in automotive maintenance, heating and cooling and industrial technology are not going to disappear, says College President, Ben Ernst.

“You can’t outsource your car repair, or the maintenance of your facility’s machinery. There’s always going to be a need for skilled technicians to keep businesses running. That’s why 98% of our students have a job in their fields within six months of graduation. And many of them have a job even before they walk out our door.”

Ranken’s 2009 graduation ceremony is on May 16th. The College plans to graduate more than 700 students this year.

Since 1907, Ranken Technical College has served the St. Louis region by providing skilled labor through hands-on, state-of-the-art training in a variety of technical disciplines. Ranken prepares students for successful careers in their chosen technical fields by placing emphasis on technical training, general education and professionalism. The College offers Associate of Technology and Science degrees in five core divisions—Automotive, Construction, Electrical, Information Technology and Manufacturing, as well as Bachelor of Science degrees in Architectural Technology and Applied Management. Ranken is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. For more information about Ranken Technical College, visit www.ranken.edu or call 1-866.4RANKEN.

Ranken to offer Hybrid Technology Seminar

Due to industry demand, Ranken Technical College has created its first-ever hybrid technology seminar. This two-day course is designed for automotive technicians, service associates, roadside service personnel, instructors and others who are interested in being prepared for the most current automotive technology. Course content is as follows:

Day One: Introduction to Hybrid Vehicles

• Hybrid technology
• Identifying hybrid vehicles
• Current and future hybrid vehicles
• Introduction to Belt Alternator Starter (BAS) and GM 2 mode systems

Day Two: Alternative Fuels

• Hybrid drive train
• Transaxle system
• Electric motors
• Various hybrid models
• Hybrid accessory systems (braking, steering, air conditioning, etc.)

This is a certificate-based course, and all participants will receive a certificate of completion for hybrid technologies.

Classes will be held on Monday, July 13 and Wednesday, July 15 from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. The course fee is $300, which includes all the necessary printed materials.

Enroll today: contact the admissions office at (314) 286-3638 or admissions@ranken.edu.

If you have any specific questions about the course content, contact John Shoffner at (314) 286-4843.

The enrollment deadline for this seminar is Monday, June 29, 2009.

Ranken Hosts Car Club

Don Huster (AMT '67)  and Bill Rueckert (AMT '56), Ranken alumni, members of the Alumni Leadership Council and advocates of Ranken, are members of a car club that meets monthly for lunch. This month they brought their fellow club members to Ranken's campus for a visits. 

As they ate lunch and toured HPRT, students from Ranken departments were able to see the cars parked in front of the Mary Ann Lee Technology Center atrium. The club was impressed with the atrium, the HPRT department and with what they heard about Ranken. Comments ranged from "very impressive", "I never would have known", to "this is great". 

Cars on display were: 1966 Dodge Coronet; a 1948 Barris Custom Cadillac; a 1932 3-window Ford Victoria Coup w/ Hemi; a Roadster; a 1941 Willys Coupe; a 1957 Buick Station Wagon; Don Huster's street rod, and Bill Rueckert's 1973 Camaro.   

Some of the visitors asked to come again for lunch so that they could tour the entire automotive division. 

The Ranken campus is always changing.  We hope that all members of the alumni association will visit campus and bring their friends. 

May Alumni Birthdays

Please join us in wishing the following Ranken alumni a happy birthday!

May 1st
Richard C. Bancroft
John K. Banes
Michael J. Barnes
Michael J. Barry
Chris L. Bruce
Robert R. Brune, III
Joshua  Carroll
Jason  Carter
Travis M. DeBlois
Fred  Deckard
Edwin R. Downey
Rodger E. Downing
John R. Gleghorn
John V. Godfrey
William L. Helvie
John A. Hollman
Tyler F. Houberg
Jason M. Johnson
Matthew J. Kilmurray
James  Koch
Lonnie L. Lewis, II
John J. Lyons
Brandon W. Markus
Peggy A. Meisch
Wayne F. Meyer
Trey R. Miller
Douglas R. Morrow
Don G. Naumann
D. T. Nicholson
Alan M. Poth
Donnie R. Revelle
Michael J. Rickert
Michael A. Sander
James E. Schrader
Ben D. Schulte
Robert  Senne
Alonzo J. Skipper, Jr.
John L. Snyder
Frank  Soellner
Chris  Stumphf
Michael N. Sweeney
Steven R. Thole
Philip C. Tiernon
Jeffrey S. Turner
Jeffrey S. Turner
Anthony A Van de Riet
Charles X. VanderBol
Nicholas J. Vitale
Alan F. Wesloh
Mark M. Williams
Michael W. Willows

2006 GMC Yukon Denali

 

After almost three class periods of spot weld removal the door surround finally slid out.  With the side out the roof had to be supported with a hood prop rod.  After it was out the flanges need minor straightening and dressing before test fitting the new surround.

 

This is an overview shot of the door surround removed.  With the side out it was apparent how much support it adds to the vehicle and why so many spot welds were needed to hold it in.  Justin is doing some minor straightening to the B-pillar before the new part goes on.

 

By the end of class on Thursday the new door surround was prepped and dry-fit onto the vehicle.  From here we can find the areas that need minor straightening but all in all it was a good fit. 

Senior Celebration

In April 2009, the first annual Senior Celebration was held in the dining hall on the Ranken campus. The Career Services and Alumni Relations offices partnered to hold the event in honor of all May graduates. 

Seniors picked up their caps and gowns, were treated to light refreshments, gathered information about the College's Bachelor of Science in Applied Management (BSAM) program, and learned about membership in the Alumni Association.

Alumni discounts and coupons were available from Walter Knoll Florist, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Trotter Photo, Working Advantage, and Dobbs Auto and Tire Service.

Alumni Leadership Council members, Don Huster (AMT '67) and Dean Alinder (AMT '62), were on hand to welcome all the new graduates into the Alumni Association.  Students Helping Students participants were recognized and received an Alumni Association polo shirt as a gift. 

Two AMC movie tickets donated by Working Advantage were won by Kyle Dawidowski (AMT). 

Ranken Car Show and Automotive Division Alumni Reunion

The 6th Annual Ranken Car Show & Alumni Reunion was held on Sunday, April 19th, as planned. While it rained all day, it didn't drown anyone's enthusiasm for classic cars, trucks, motorcycles, good BBQ, and getting together with old friends.

The alumni lunch and Automotive division reunion was attended by 55 graduates from all departments spanning 70 years of Ranken education. The competition for the greatest number of alumni from one program in attendance was won by the Automotive Collision Repair (ACR) department again this year, barely beating out Automotive Maintenance (AMT) by two. As reigning champs, Larry Schmidt, ACR '82 alumnus and faculty member, received the trophy with current ACR student A.J. Bridges. The trophy will be on display in the ACR department for another year. Jim Kyle, AMT '41 and retired Automotive Maintenance faculty, attended along with Bill Wagner CRP '37 and retired Carpentry faculty. Classmates enjoyed the food, looking at graduation class pictures, and keeping dry under the tent. 

Of the Automotive Division information collected, Ron Ray ('73 AMT) drove 325 miles to attend the event from Chicago, IL; Jacob Colter ('58 AMT) has been married the longest logging in 53 years; Randy Prewitt ('96 AMT) has a Bachelors De gree and is a teacher; Dean Alinder ('62 AMT) held the highest position title as owner of his own auto shop, and Jim Kyle was the oldest in attendance at 87 years of age. 

2006 Yukon Denali

 

This picture shows the majority of the damage to the Denali. Pieces of tree bark were found behind the front passenger wheel leading us to believe that the vehicle left the road and side swiped a tree damaging the entire side.  The most severe area of damage was from the A-pillar through both doors.  From our initial estimate we believe we will have to replace the hood, fender, both doors, inner door surround, and the quarter panel.

 

After the vehicle tear down, which consisted of removing the entire interior minus the dash, we proceeded to begin the anchoring process on the Chief Frame System.  Before anchoring a measurement was taken of the center section. This was done to make sure we had a true center and would not throw off future measurements.  Being a full frame vehicle the process is more time consuming then a uni-body vehicle. 

  

This is the new inner door surround that we will be replacing on the Denali.  These are spot welded from them factory.  To remove this piece as a whole, more than a 1,000 spot welds will need to be drilled or ground out.  This process with a team of 5 took almost 3 class periods to remove.

 

Once the vehicle was anchored to the frame rack and measurements were taken we use multiple pulls to remove some of the damage.  Because the height of the vehicle the pulling towers were not always tall enough to do some of the pulls needed.  In this picture we are using a portable ram to make a vector pull on the cowl. 

 

Once the Denali was off the frame rack our team began the multiple days for removing spot welds.  We were able to keep the dash in place but the headliner and sunroof had to be removed to gain access to spot welds securing the door surround to the roof supports.  Once the side and quarter panel are removed we will begin prepping the new surround by transferring the spot weld locations to the new panels and punch holes for plug welds.

Ranken to hold open house for new homes constructed by students

On May 2nd, Ranken Technical College will hold an open house to display the newest homes constructed by its students.

The homes, located at 4025 & 4033 Cook Avenue were primarily the work of second-year carpentry students, but also enlisted the help of Ranken’s Architecture, Plumbing and Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Technology students.  The open house will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will feature home tours and a backyard barbecue.

In the last 10 years, the Ranken Community Development Corporation has built more than 50 homes in the area surrounding the College.

"Ranken has always been recognized for going the extra mile, and the efforts of the Community Development Corporation strengthen that reputation," says Ben Ernst, president of Ranken Technical College. "It's rewarding for our students to apply the skills they learn in the classroom to the community just outside of our campus-and to see the positive effects their work has on the lives of others."