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January 20, 1999 - Swanson Chosen President of Northwest Technical
College
The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees has named
Ronald A. Swanson president of Northwest Technical College with campuses
in Bemidji, Detroit Lakes, East Grand Forks, Moorhead and Wadena.
Swanson is currently a special assistant for strategy development and
instructional research with the Georgia Department of Technical and Adult
Education in Atlanta, Ga., where he has worked since 1997. Prior to this
he was president of Coosa Valley Technical Institute in Rome, Georgia.
He has 25 years of community and technical college experience.
"Dr. Swanson is known as a leader who values team building,"
said Michael Vekich, chair of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
Board of Trustees. "He also has a fine reputation for strategic planning
and developing educational programs that meet the changing needs of business
and industry."
Swanson received his doctorate in vocational/technical and industrial
education from Penn State University with a general studies minor in community
college administration. He received his masters in education degree and
his bachelor of science degree from the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh.
Swanson began his teaching career in the Green Bay Public Schools in
Green Bay Wis., in 1968. His first college administrative position was
from 1980 to 1986 when he was chief campus officer for Northeast Wisconsin
Technical College in Marinette, Wis.
Swanson served as president of Coosa Valley Technical Institute in Rome,
Ga., for over two years, beginning in 1994. At Coosa Valley, Swanson implemented
a Malcolm Baldrige continuous quality improvement program and developed
a five-year strategic plan.
Swanson's background in instructional design and classroom technology
lead to his present position in the Georgia Department of Technical and
Adult Education, a system of 33 technical institutions.
Swanson was selected by Chancellor Morris J. Anderson and recommended
to the Board of Trustees from a list of four finalists. The finalists
were chosen by a national screening committee composed of college and
community representatives and chaired by Larry Shellito, president of
Alexandria Technical College.
Northwest Technical serves approximately 6,371 students annually with
a full-time fall enrollment of 3,961. It has been designed a ThinkPad
Tech by IBM.
Swanson will replace former president Ray Cross, who resigned last year
to take a state university presidency in New York. Dennis Hopman served
as interim president from March to November, 1998, and Gene Biever then
served as interim until a permanent president could be found.
The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system consists of 36 state
universities, community and technical colleges and a campus in Japan.
The system serves approximately 230,000 students a year with a fall 1998
enrollment of about 140,000.
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