MILWAUKEE (July 29, 2024) – Carroll University President Dr. Cindy Gnadinger has been named the next Chair of the Higher Education Regional Alliance of Wisconsin (HERA), the organization announced today. She succeeds Dr. Vicki Martin, who recently retired from her position as president of Milwaukee Area Technical College.
HERA is a collective force of 17 southeastern Wisconsin public and private, two- and four-year colleges and universities and a network of partner organizations. Launched in 2019, HERA is a collaborative effort 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.
“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. “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. I am proud to serve as the next Chair of HERA and look forward to advancing all these efforts. I thank Dr. Martin for her leadership of HERA, congratulate her on an outstanding and impactful career and wish her all the best in her well-deserved retirement.”
Gnadinger became Carroll University’s 15th president on July 1, 2017. Previously, she was an executive consultant to the office of the president at Bellarmine University, president of St. Catharine College and served in various roles at William Peace University, Bellarmine University and the University of Louisville. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from Western Kentucky University, and a Master’s and Doctorate in Education from the University of Louisville.
HERA initiatives include:
- Creating an online portal for all fast-track courses offered by HERA institutions, serving as a one-stop-shop for users who want to increase their skills and grow their careers through microcredentials, badges and other non-degree programs. HERA recently secured $1.5 million in federal funding to create additional programming in this area.
- Supporting adults who wish to continue their education by allowing students to transfer more of their credits, awarding credit for prior learning in non-academic settings, providing microgrants to offset tuition or other costs.
- Implementing Transferology, a tool that provides information on how previously earned college credits can transfer to different institutions across HERA and nationwide, allowing students to continue their education without any additional barriers.
- Connecting HERA institutions’ students with the region’s employers through Handshake, a tool that quickly matches students with internships, career fairs and job opportunities based on their majors and interests.
“A college education remains one of the best investments you can make in your future, and the data backs this up,” Gnadinger said. “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. 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.”
HERA’s higher education institutions include: Alverno College, Bryant & Stratton College, Carroll University, Carthage College, Concordia University, Gateway Technical College, Herzing University, Marquette University, Milwaukee Area Technical College, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Mount Mary University, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin-Parkside, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Waukesha County Technical College and Wisconsin Lutheran College.
The alliance’s partner organizations and employer consortiums include ElevAsian, Employ Milwaukee, the Greater Milwaukee Committee, Higher Expectations of Racine, the Milwaukee Hispanic Collaborative, Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee, HumanSkills.AI, Milwaukee 7 Partnership for Regional Economic Development, the Greater Milwaukee Urban League and Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.
For more information about HERA and its collaborative, please visit herawisconsin.org.
About Higher Education Regional Alliance
The Higher Education Regional Alliance (HERA) is a talent producing collaboration with 17 southeastern Wisconsin public and private, two- and four-year colleges and universities and a network of partner organizations. We are dedicated to closing achievement gaps and educating students today to become an innovative and nimble workforce that meets the needs of the region’s industries tomorrow. This challenge is too large for any one university or college to solve alone, so we are working together. We know that education impacts more than individual lives; it can change the trajectory of our entire region. For more information, please visit www.herawisconsin.org.
