Episode 93: Bourbon and Learn with Dr. Michael Torrence, President of Motlow State Community College
Dr. Michael Torrance is the seventh seated President of Motlow State Community College, since being named President in 2018 Motlow State has scaled its presence to the International arenas connecting its rich history and location that Directly Dice Institution, the world-famous Jack Daniel Distillery, George Dickel Tennessee Whisky, and more recently Nearest Green Distillery leading the development and coming edition of distilling program in College's academic inventory. Under Dr. Torrent's leadership, Montlo State has transformed itself into a cutting-edge award-winning institution on multiple fronts.
Dr. Torrance is a passionate carrier educator. He has worked in higher education for more than 25 years as a faculty mid-level senior administrator, and ultimately CEO. His diverse areas of expertise include research, adult education, student success, academic affairs, staff development, and business learning.
What is a Distillery Program and How Unique is the Program?
The Tennessee distillery program is focused on Tennessee Whiskey and Tennessee whisky can only be made in spirit. The claim of fame is the location of Jack Daniel and this is a part of the “Whiskey Trail”. The Montlo family, who are descendants of Jack Daniel gave the college over 180 acres in the 60s to being Montlo State Community College. The idea behind creating the distilling program was birthed by Ms. Fawn Weaver, who is the CEO of Uncle Nearest Distilling. This idea came from a lunch conservation where topics like the economy and student population were discussed. Both of these come through the normal pipeline of graduate high school and those who were in a mid-career that looked at becoming a part of the lore of the Tennessee whiskey trail. In the distilling program, there is lots of math, science, and chemistry, because there is a science that makes it look and taste the way it does. It was looked at from multiple tiers because it was not just about creating the science of the spirit. Tailing off the distilling program, we have culinary, hospitality, and management which are all a part of the industry in the spirits sector. There has to be someone who can manage and make sure things move and that the production and quotas and numbers are met on a day-to-day basis. There are things like how long something needs to stay in a barrel and the higher inside of a barrel house which make it hotter for the aging process a different maturation than the lower parts of the barrel house. There are also other aspects talked about like entrepreneurship, marketing, and culinary. Culinary is especially important because it is all about the idea of creating foodstuff that has tinges of these different spirits in them so it can have a very particular type of culinary appeal for those who would come to this part of the United States.
Dr. Michael Torrence’s Learning Journey and What is the Montlo’s Automation and Robotics Training Center?
As all institutions are, Montlo is also a unique institution with its own culture. There are six different locations across eleven counties in Southern Tennessee, encompassing 4,500 square miles serving between 500 and one small location to upwards of over 3,000 to 4,00 students in another location. In total, over the year, Montlo is serving roughly 18,000 to 25,000 people annually. There is a large contingent of engineers who work in the mechatronics and robotics programs. This program has spurred some large interest forces. Nationally, this training center is one of the top 10 training centers in the nation. People come in from all over the country to train with top professionals like Larry Flat, Charlie King, and Emmett. The facilities that they have are great as they have the world’s three largest robotics manufacturers all under one roof. Dr. Torrence got into this idea of him learning another skill and that being with his hands. His grandfather used to talk to him about the importance of working with your mind and also working with your hands. His daughter recently finished a chemical engineering degree from Tennessee Technological University and when she was finishing up, Dr. Torrence asked her what she is learning that applied. He supports that there needs to be balanced and that they do not need to be disparate but they need to be synonymous. For example, if you are going to learn to engineer then you should also learn to solder, weld, and even understand the concepts of robotic material. Both Dr. Torrence and his daughter decided to take a course and went through 4 days of training. That is the beauty of it as they can learn a new skill in a short amount of time.
The Importance of Belonging
The idea of belonging is about community. It is about to be centered on whatever is happening within the space in which you live, learn, love, play, and laugh. Even Dr. Torrence has had a very unique and interesting background of all of the eclectic things he has gone through in his life to get to the position that he is empowered and honored to lead an institution in the State of Tennessee. They allowed him to be president of an institution in one of the fastest growing counties in the State and Nation. What to do with that is the question. The easy part is going to have classes every day and having a good CFI, and financial index so the people can make sure that the employees are taken care of. Putting in place a good RR account so that the old rules can be fixed and new ones can be placed. Having a good portfolio investment strategy and raising money are also important but easy parts. The difficult part is making sure that across the organization, everybody understands that they have a space, agency, and a voice within the institution. It is important to lead from where you are. You do not need a high position of power to lead. The concept of belonging spurred from Dr. Torrence’s early work which concentrated on diversity, equity, and inclusion. He wanted to move away from anything that was going to demystify what was important. The important part is if you come through our threshold or cross our threshold, you belong here with us and we’re going to do everything, no matter what you look like. This is a space where you can find your next level of trajectory.
Contact Dr. Michael Torrence: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-torrence-ph-d-63011b150
Learn more about Montlo State Community College: https://www.mscc.edu
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