NMTI board eyes changes to school mission statement, logo, letterhead

Jodina Attao

The Northern Marianas Technical Institute’s board of trustees are looking at revising the trade school’s mission statement, the school’s logo, and even its letterhead.

NMTI chief executive officer Jodina Attao took the lead on the subject during last Thursday’s board meeting at NMTI’s Lower Base facility, where she described NMTI’s current mission statement as “quite wordy.” She said the proposed mission statement better explains the school’s “goals, purpose, and values.”

Attao added that the proposed mission statement was prepared by NMTI’s administrative staff, and that a vision statement is being worked on and being prepared by NMTI’s instructors and other members of NMTI’s administrative staff.

The proposed new mission statement for NMTI states: “The Northern Marianas Technical Institute invests in students by providing advanced trades, career, and technical education to produce skilled individuals and strengthen the CNMI workforce.”

NMTI board member Catherine Attao has already expressed support for the proposal. “I like [that it’s] short and sweet. Any mission and vision statement need to be short and sweet. …If you want it to be integrated into the culture, [your mission and vision statements] need to be something that anyone can read,” she said.

NMTI board chair Mario Valentino agreed with Jodina Attao and Catherine Attao, likening the proposed mission statement to “planting a flag in the ground.” “You capture [NMTI’s purpose] with just ‘technical education’ and for me that says it all. This is a technical education institute, and everything else is what we do, the full mission is there,” said Valentino.

Jodina Attao also presented to the board several possible new logos and letterheads for the school, which involved different versions of logos featuring “NMTI” or “NMTech” and symbols representing the courses available at NMTI. Board members expressed the importance of having one logo for consistency and said that “NMTech” may help alleviate confusion, as the Northern Marianas Trades Institute, which also goes by NMTI, is still operational.

Further discussions on the proposed mission statement and new logos will be part of the board’s next meeting, said Valentino.

Attending Tghursday’s meeting in person were Valentino, Jodina Attao, Catherine Attao, and board member Carmelita Faisao. Attending virtually were board members Ana Mendiola and Irene Holl.