CVTC President Barker Announces Retirement chippewa.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from chippewa.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
EAU CLAIRE â The U.S. was on the cusp of the Great Recession when Bruce Barker became president of Chippewa Valley Technical College in 2008.
Retraining workers who had lost their old jobs occupied the first few years that heâd led the local two-year college.
âDuring the recession we had waiting lists for most of our programs,â Barker recalled. âWe had all we could handle for a few years.â
Enrollment hit a high-water mark in 2011, then declined for a few years before the college bucked the normal trend of lower student numbers during economic good times.
Marketing through social media, updating its selection of programs and other efforts helped the college grow its student body while peers saw their enrollments fall.