Presiding over 23rd conference, Smith bids adieu

Dr. Ileana Smith, campus director at Del Tech’s Owens Campus in Georgetown, presided over her final Today and Tomorrow Conference on Wednesday this week. This was the 23rd annual event that shines a spotlight on Sussex County trends and economy.

Ileana has been in attendance for every one. And she may be back next year, but not as campus director. Ileana announced her retirement after many years of directing a focused and accomplished team for the single most positively influential institution in Sussex County.

Ileana came to the campus when Jack Owens was in the thick of getting Del Tech’s first location off the ground, in the former William C. Jason Comprehensive High School for African-American students. Owens had a perfect protege in Smith who started out as a math teacher. She shared and fully embraced his contagious enthusiasm and belief in every student’s ability to acquire marketable skills through proper and supportive education.

During remarks at the beginning of Wednesday’s conference, Ileana summed up Del Tech’s guiding mission - simple but critically important - through its five decades of lifting the fortunes and dignity of thousands of Sussex County residents: “We’re very skilled at preparing people for jobs in the community.”

In her usual humble fashion, Ileana spoke little of her coming transition, but announced that Dr. Bobbi J. Barends has been appointed the new campus director. Barends previously served as Dean of Instruction for the Owens Campus. “The Owens Campus will not skip a beat with Bobbi as campus director,” said Ileana.

Ileana also announced that the program for registered nurses to advance to bachelor of science in nursing degrees will begin in January of 2017. “Our first cohort will include 60 students,” said Smith. “Del Tech now has 225 associate-to-bachelor degree programs.”

Del Tech partners with University of Delaware and Wilmington University to offer the bachelor’s programs after students have completed associate degrees.

Stats from the conference

In a statistical snapshot of Sussex County presented by Ed Simon of Delaware’s Economic Development division, nurses - with average annual salaries nationally of $70,000 - rank among the highest paid people in the county. Simon’s stats showed general practitioners - at $170,000 nationally - at the top of the average annual salary category, and lawyers at $105,000 as next on the list. He said the average annual salary in Sussex County across all industries is $37,621.

“This year has been exceptionally good in Sussex County,” said Simon. “Most careers now span all 12 months, our economy is becoming more and more diverse, and that applies to a growing manufacturing sector as well. Sussex is outperforming the state.” He said infrastructure and transportation, as has been the case for many years, still stand as obstacles for continued growth in Sussex.

A graphic he prepared showed Sussex with a 7.7 percent unemployment rate in 2002 compared to 4.5 percent in 2015.

He noted that since 2002, jobs in Sussex County have increased by 28 percent compared to 11 percent for the state overall.
One final statistic from Simon: Sussex experiences about 188 births each month and 201 deaths. At the same time, 411 people are moving into the county each month from other areas. In 1990, the 55-plus population accounted for 28 percent of the Sussex population. By 2030, that number is expected to reach 43 percent. By 2035, the population of 65-plus residents is expected to grow by 27,000 - the largest increase of any age segment.

The implication for the educational programs at Del Tech? “There will be a tremendous need for the training of persons to fill the void in the workplace left by retiring baby boomers,” said Simon.