Rafn honored
for leadership
by Wisconsin
Technical
College System
NWTC President Jeff Rafn received
the 2020 Eagle Management
Leadership Award from the
Wisconsin Technical College System.
The award recognizes a manager
in the Wisconsin Technical College
System who excels in a wide variety
of areas such as achieving results
and student success at both the
district and state levels.
Rafn—who came to NWTC in 1997—
is the longest-serving president in
the system, and he has mentored
several other WTCS presidents.
Under his leadership, the
107-year-old college has been
transformed into a team-based,
customer-focused organization
with strong enrollments and
industry-leading facilities. NWTC
was recently ranked in the
top 10 percent of U.S. community
colleges in demonstrating high
levels of student success by the
Aspen Institute.
At the state and national level, Rafn
has been named to the Governor’s
Task Force on Climate Change and
Governor’s Task Force on the Health
Care Worker Shortage. He led WTCS
Presidents’ Association initiatives to
bring grant funding to Wisconsin and
support kindergarten through 12th
grade partnerships. He serves on
the executive boards of Community
Colleges International Development
and the Workforce Development
Commission of the American
Association of Community Colleges.
Dr. Rafn’s leadership has been
celebrated on multiple levels. In
2019, he received the Lifetime
Achievement Award from
Tec/Vistage III. NWTC has been
recognized as an Achieve the
Dream Leader College for student
success initiatives and has been
a finalist for several American
Association of Community
Colleges Excellence Awards.
Teamwork makes the dream work in the Marinette area
NWTC and the University of
Wisconsin-Green Bay in Marinette
are working together to reduce
duplication and increase access
to higher education opportunities
for students.
Leaders at NWTC Marinette and
UW-Green Bay, Marinette Campus,
have been meeting with area school
districts, business leaders and
community members to spread the
word about the new Marinette
Area Higher Education Coalition.
The effort makes sense
because both institutions share
common goals.
For example, both campuses fulfill
educational needs beyond high
school. Both provide workforce
training to individuals and
employees of local businesses.
Both are committed to lifelong
learning through credit and non-
credit opportunities. Both exist to
help foster economic development
in the Marinette region. By working
14 \ FRIENDS OF NWTC
together, administrators from the
schools say they can use resources
to expand offerings and bring
greater opportunities to the area.
Under a recent UW-System
restructuring, Marinette now fits
under the umbrella of the four-year
UW-Green Bay campus.
“Our region can now benefit from
the availability of several four-year
baccalaureate degrees right here
in Marinette,” said UW-Green Bay,
Marinette Campus, Executive Officer
Cindy Bailey. “Students who complete
certain programs at NWTC Marinette
will be able to continue their college
education right in town.”
In addition, the partnership means
coordinated student activities,
expanded services and more
opportunities for clubs and events.
“The coalition means people in
our area can obtain their desired
degree without having to leave the
community while saving a lot of
money,” NWTC Marinette Campus
Dean Jennifer Flatt said.
Although the two campuses are
working together, both will maintain
their individual identities. Each
campus will continue to offer certain
programs the other does not.
School leaders say the coalition
can add more to the educational
and economic vitality of the region,
providing community resources in
many areas, such as career services,
individual courses, degree programs,
classroom space for rentals and
much more.