Approaching a decade, NEW ERA sees a need for leadership position

Northeast Wisconsin’s publically-supported 13 higher educational institutions all provide distinct career pathways for a broad, diverse pool of learners. Their respective offerings and strategies also include nearly a decade of structured collaboration.

In 2001, the Northeast Wisconsin Educational Resource Alliance, or NEW ERA, was formed as a partnership between the region’s four technical colleges, five two-year UW-colleges, the College of the Menominee Nation, UW-Extension, and the UW four-year comprehensive universities in Green Bay and Oshkosh. The ongoing collaboration has generated a need to recruit the organization’s first-ever executive director.

The new director will serve as a needed liaison between the 13 institutions and provide leadership for NEW ERA’s short- and long-term initiatives. “NEW ERA is committed to advancing the progress it’s made in collaboratively serving the educational needs of our constituents,” says Dr. Susan May, current chairperson for NEW ERA and president of Fox Valley Technical College.

Some of the organization’s accomplishments include developing broader and coordinated access to a number of career pathways, establishing a Faculty Dialogue Group supporting meaningful interaction among the institutions’ faculty, creating a regional library card allowing universal access to its libraries, and developing Bachelor of Applied Studies degree completion programs for technical college graduates.

NEW ERA’s current initiatives focus on collaborative programming and institutional practices in the areas of sustainability and engineering, as well as regional economic development efforts in conjunction with New North, Inc. May adds that an executive director will bring continuity, leadership, and a consistent presence in the region by advancing and representing NEW ERA’s objectives. “Our collective goal is for higher education to become an ever greater contributor to attracting, developing, and retaining highly-skilled workers for the New North region by working together more closely,” she notes.

To learn more about NEW ERA and the executive director position, visit www.neweraonline.org, or call (920) 735-5742.