Carroll University president
Cindy Gnadinger has been named chair of the
Higher Education Regional Alliance of Wisconsin, the organization announced Monday.
Gnadinger replaces chairwoman and former
Milwaukee Area Technical College president
Vicki Martin. Martin retired from her role at MATC at the end of June.
HERA is comprised of 17 colleges or universities throughout southeastern Wisconsin. The organization works to “increase student success, narrow achievement gaps, enhance institutional programs and better connect higher education institutions to employers to develop the region’s future workforce,” according to the Monday news release.
“Our higher education institutions are central to the success of southeastern Wisconsin, and HERA provides the platform for all of us to accomplish even more together,” Gnadinger said in the news release. “When we give our students the resources they need to achieve more, and better connect education to industry, we are well positioned to develop our future workforce and reduce disparities that hold our region and its residents back from reaching our full potential.”
Gnadinger also thanked Martin for her leadership and congratulated her “on an outstanding and impactful career.”
Gnadinger has served as Carroll University’s president since 2017. She is a former executive consultant to the office the president at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky, as well as the former president and provost of St. Catharine College in St. Catharine, Kentucky. Gnadinger earned her bachelor’s degree from Western Kentucky University. She graduated with her master’s and doctorate in education from the University of Louisville.
“To reinforce the value of a college degree, it is more important than ever that we remain agile and forge even stronger connections with employers in southeastern Wisconsin,” Gnadinger said in the news release. “By collaborating through HERA, we will help our students achieve success and continue to build a skilled workforce — something only our higher education institutions can do at the scale required to drive our economy forward.”