Ducoffe leads CCA initiative in Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin-Parkside Provost and Vice Chancellor of Academic and Student Affairs Dr. Rob Ducoffe has been appointed to a statewide team charged with increasing college completion rates in Wisconsin.
Ducoffe will serve as the state lead for the Complete College America team in Wisconsin. In this role he will work to increase college completion and to close achievement gaps by race, income, age or other fragile populations.
“At UW-Parkside, we have a history of working with and helping first-generation students from diverse populations complete their college educations,” Ducoffe said. “We have witnessed the transformative power that education has brought to their lives. I am honored by this appointment and look forward to working with my fellow leaders in higher education to ensure that more students have the opportunity to realize the benefits of higher education.”
Established in 2009, Complete College America is a national nonprofit organization that works with states to significantly increase the number of Americans with quality career certificates or college degrees and to close attainment gaps for traditionally underrepresented populations.
According to the 2017 issue of A Stronger Nation, the Lumina Foundation annual report on postsecondary attainment, Wisconsin’s 2015 attainment rate was 47.2 percent, the most recent year for which data are available. While Wisconsin’s rate is above the national rate of 45.8 percent, it is short of labor economists’ estimates that 60 percent of all jobs will require a high-quality postsecondary credential. Specifically, in southeast Wisconsin, post-secondary attainment rates lag behind both the national and state rate by a substantial margin. Strengthening Wisconsin’s economy is dependent on ensuring that more talent is available for a wide range of challenging professional careers.
“Provost Ducoffe serves as a passionate advocate for that mission and is working to develop innovative solutions to help close achievement gaps among our state’s underserved populations in southeastern Wisconsin,” said Jeff Neubauer, executive director of Higher Expectations for Racine County. “I am delighted that he has accepted this leadership role and is willing to share his vision, energy and expertise to support efforts to boost college completion rates and expand educational opportunities for Wisconsin students.”
Other members of the Complete College America team in Wisconsin include
Implementation lead, two-year sector:
Dr. John Thibodeau
Assistant Provost/Vice President Institutional Success, Gateway Technical College;
Implementation lead, four-year sector:
DeAnn Possehl
Executive Director, Persistence and Completion, UW-Parkside;
Metrics, Evidence, Results lead:
David Blough
Senior Policy and Planning Analyst, University of Wisconsin System
Equity lead:
Danae Davis
Executive Director, Milwaukee Succeeds
Communication lead:
Jeff Neubauer
Executive Director, Higher Expectations for Racine County
For more information, visit www.completecollege.org