For Immediate Release

Contact: Daniel Wackershauser, Marketing Specialist
Phone: 608.822.2303
Mail: 1800 Bronson Blvd., Fennimore, WI 53809
Date of Release: April 16, 2020

Bolstad elected to Wisconsin Technical Colleges District Boards Association

FENNIMORE, Wis. – Chuck Bolstad, chairperson of the Southwest Wisconsin Technical College Board of Directors, has been elected secretary/treasurer for the Wisconsin Technical Colleges District Boards Association. The one-year term begins this summer and is scheduled to end in one year, pending re-election. “I truly am humbled that the membership of the District Boards Association voted me in as secretary/treasurer of the organization,” he said. “I hope that I can learn from and also have a few things to bring to the executive committee as well.”

“We are excited for Chuck to assume responsibilities for serving as the secretary/treasurer for the District Boards Association,” said Dr. Jason Wood, Southwest Tech president. “His service in this state-level leadership will be a benefit both to us as a college and to our state-wide efforts as a collective technical college system.”

Bolstad, from rural Viroqua, spent his career as an educator and school counselor and has served on the Southwest Tech board since 2016. “I’ve always believed that technical colleges present a tremendous opportunity for learners of all ages,” he said. “One of the things that is personally important to me is facilitating opportunities for people to have family-sustaining jobs. Southwest Tech provides the opportunity for students of all ages to improve their career path.”

The Wisconsin Technical College District Boards Association serves to:

• Create a statewide voice in support of technical, vocational, and adult education in Wisconsin;
• Provide a forum for board member education and development;
• Share best practices and new ideas between board members and college districts;
• Promote and realize state and federal legislative agendas in the best interest of the technical colleges and their students.

The association is a forum for trustees of locally governed, community-based technical colleges to come together from around the state to learn, share, promote, and create together. It is a private, non-profit organization comprised of the 144 district board members of Wisconsin’s technical college districts. Each district board member is automatically an association member.

Bolstad is excited to be an active member of the association and to learn from other technical college leaders in Wisconsin, as well as show what sets Southwest Tech apart. “It is not by accident that we are the highest rated technical college in Wisconsin and among the leaders in the entire nation,” he said. “We are so lucky to have the leadership we have, not only in our president, Jason Wood, but in terms of the entire leadership team and every member of the staff. They are all top quality, and it shows. It permeates the entire college.”

The interest for Bolstad in the District Boards Association came from Russell Moyer, a current member of the Southwest Tech board. Moyer is the longest serving board member in the entire technical school system. He has served as president and other leadership roles for the Southwest Tech college board, and he is a past president of the District Boards Association. He and others encouraged Bolstad to run for the position.

Bolstad is proud of the work that the Southwest Tech board does as a locally-governed entity, overseeing the college. It’s a unique relationship between the two. “I, as Southwest board chair, and the entire board, share the goal of being good stewards of the taxpayers’ money,” he said. “Our job is to try to give the college the vision, direction, and goals to strive for, and then stand back and watch the very excellent team implement that.”

“Chuck is a seasoned educator with an extensive background serving rural communities in a variety of capacities,” said Wood. “As a leader for our board, he is kind, creative, and inclusive as he strives to always improve the college.”

| Southwest Wisconsin Technical College is one of 16 institutions that comprise the Wisconsin Technical College System. Southwest Tech offers more than 60 programs in a wide variety of disciplines. Courses are offered on campus, online and in a blended format. The college provides apprenticeship, certificate, technical diploma, and associate degree programs that respond to district workforce needs and prepare student for family-sustaining jobs and career advancement. |