Owensboro Community & Technical College (OCTC) honored Owensboro native Phillip W. Marksberry as the distinguished alumnus for 2018. The award was presented at the OCTC Commencement Ceremony on May 10, 2018 beginning at 6:30 p.m. The college awarded 1103 credentials to 380 graduates at the ceremony at the RiverPark Center, located at 101 Daviess Street in Owensboro. The keynote address was delivered by the president/CEO of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce, Candance Brake. The student speaker was Annie Beth Miller, a graduate of OCTC’s Early College and a member of the KCTCS All-Academic Team.
Marksberry earned his Associate in Applied Science degree in Electrical Engineering Technology in December of 1996 with Distinction. He won the Mathematics Award in 1994 and was teaching AutoCAD part time at both Henderson Community College and Owensboro Community College in 1995. He went on to transfer and graduate from the University of Kentucky earning a BS in Mechanical Engineering and later a MS in Business Management from Brescia University. In 2001 he became a board certified Professional Engineer for the state of Kentucky and in 2002 he returned to UK to complete his PhD in Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis on Near Dry Machining.
“Dr. Marksberry serves as a great example to our students, he has taken a strong educational foundation and built it into a fantastic career and he has become a lifelong learner and teacher in the process. We are very proud to honor him as a distinguished alumnus” said Dr. Scott Williams, OCTC President.
Currently he is the CEO of M-B Companies in New Holstein, Wisconsin overseeing four divisions specializing in specialty vehicle design for snow removal, road clearing, and pavement marking. He has helped to transform this business into a $100M company with 350 employees in five locations and three states.
Marksberry has authored / co-authored more than 20 publications, has three patents on record. In 2011 he published The Modern Theory of the Toyota Production System: A Systems Inquiry of the World’s Most Emulated and Profitable Management System.
“The AS degree was a huge stepping stone for me back in those years. The education at Owensboro Community College allowed me to satisfy much of the core classes of a 4-year degree while staying close to home. I stayed a third year to complete the electrical technology degree option, and then transferred to the University of Kentucky.” Phillip W. Marskberry, Ph.D., P.E.
Hear Phillip Marksberry’s message to students here.
OCTC Distinguished Alumni:
2015 George Henderson
2015 Chad Gregory
2016 Matt Castlen
2016 Pamela Smith-Wright
2017 Art Ealum
2018 Phillip W. Marksberry
