b'ConstantChangeAlum at CenterOn his LinkedIn page, Duane Mataczynski 92 of the Modernrecently shared a travel magazine article highlighting SOU and Workplace naming Ashland as Americas coziest college town. Its so true, said Mataczynski. SOU is great. I loved going to school in a small I really enjoyed my classes. I likedthat many of the professors had awere not lifelong professors; theywere lifelong business people whowere also good teachers.practical working background. They town and how the city of Ashland embraces students, he said. Ashland was friendly and safe, with just enough distractions but not too many.Mataczynski is general manager of Microsofts Modern Workplace, where he leads an organization of 61 sales and technical specialists who support 350+ enterprise customers based in the west and midwest regions of the U.S. The goal of Modern Workplace is to transform organizational work by leveraging cloud and AI technologies. I have been with Microsoft as a salesperson, frontline manager, or general manager for the last 21 or 22 years, said Mataczynski. The work world has changed dramatically in those two decades, and Mataczynski recognizes that he is at a unique place at a unique time. Just look back at the last 20 years: technology makes a huge difference. It has changed so much about how people live and work. Thats something I am always excited aboutthat were continually learning, he said.Artificial Intelligence is a great example of fast-moving change, according to Mataczynski. There are a lot of facets to it, but AIs number one job is to help take processes that you do as a person or an organization, especially the mundane ones, and automate them. So it is taking away the bad part of peoples jobs and making it easier and quicker to get work done, he said.The constant change and evolution of the tech industry has required that Mataczynski learn at a rapid pace so he and his teams can succeed. His SOU experience gave him perspectives that he remembers every day. The business world is just a people-world. My professors taught me to view situations from the other persons shoesto listen to them and work toward a resolution, he said.Mataczynski, who grew up in Medford, noted that SOUs faculty had an important edge to those at other schools. I really enjoyed my classes. I liked that many of the professors had a practical working background. They were not lifelong professors; they were lifelong business people who were also good teachers, he said. Additionally, Mataczynski acknowledged the personal attention from teachers and the experiences he gained outside the classroom. I worked my way through school after sports were over, so by balancing my classes and work I learned how to manage my time and to multitask. Those are great life skills. Understanding the whole time-management piece has really helped me move forward, he said.12 NEWS FROM SOUTHERN OREGON UNIVERSITY'