MPTC Names Interim President

 

The
Moraine Park Technical College District Board announced that Bonnie Baerwald,
who is presently the vice president of finance and administrative services at
the college, has been selected to serve as interim president and will begin in
this new role immediately.

Moraine Park has been fortunate to have so many
skilled leaders within our ranks,” said District Board President Vernon Jung.
“Bonnie Baerwald has provided a steady hand and exceptional financial acumen to
her work at Moraine
Park
over the years, and
we are excited to have her varied skills as interim president. Her work style
is highly collaborative and her dedication to Moraine Park
is second to none, so I am certain that our students, faculty, and staff, as
well as the external community, will be energized by her leadership. Bonnie will
continue to carry our vision and mission forward, moving Moraine Park
in a positive direction.”

Baerwald
has been with Moraine
Park
since 1993, joining
the college as senior accountant. Over the years, she has also served as
financial services manager and vice president of financial management before
being named to her most recent position as vice president of finance and
administrative services in 2007.

Baerwald
has provided vision and expertise in leading Moraine Park’s
finance and facility operations, including fiscal reporting, budgeting,
financial operations, procurement, risk management, auxiliary services,
facility operations, design and construction. Over the years, she has provided
direction to the administration regarding fiscal and facility-related
operations, including a comprehensive budget totaling $83 million in
expenditures. Prior to joining Moraine
Park, she served as staff auditor and
then senior auditor at Grant Thornton, LLP, in Fond du Lac.

“I
am both honored and humbled to have been asked to take on the role of interim
president,” said Baerwald. “Moraine
Park
has been my
professional home for the majority of my career, and I am endlessly excited
about the outstanding education that the college provides to the region and the
state. I look forward to working with the District Board as well as our
talented faculty and staff to provide the highest quality education to our
outstanding students.”

Baerwald
has an associate degree from Wisconsin
Lutheran College,
a bachelor’s degree in business administration– accounting from the University of Wisconsin
– Whitewater, and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Wisconsin
Oshkosh.  She has been a certified public accountant in Wisconsin since 1981.

Baerwald
has been recognized with a 2013 Professional Excellence Award – Community
Involvement and a 2004 Professional Excellence Award – Administrator from the
Wisconsin Association of Career and Technical Education. She is a member of the
Wisconsin Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Government Finance
Officers Association, is a member and past president of the Moraine Park
Vocational Association and the Wisconsin Technical College System Business
Officers Committee. In addition, she has served as a board member with District
Mutual Insurance Company since 2013.

Baerwald’s selection as interim
president follows the recently announced departure of Dr. Sheila Ruhland, who accepted
the presidency position at Tacoma Community College in Tacoma, Wash.
and will begin in that role in March. Dr. Ruhland joined Moraine Park
in July 2011, and during her tenure helped the college achieve its mission of
innovative education for an evolving workforce and community.