Shelly Mondeik followed a nontraditional path to becoming a college president – a path that ran through UW-Stout and led her to be named one of Wisconsin’s top female leaders.
Mondeik earned an associate’s degree after graduating from high school and immediately went to work in the medical field. Over time, she developed her natural affinity as an instructor and mentor and ultimately began to teach at a technical college. As her career progressed, she realized she needed to further her own education.
“When I had my checklist, UW-Stout hit all the boxes,” Mondeik said. “They were able to provide the balance that I needed, not only for my family at home but also my work family – all the people that I was supervising.”
Mondeik said she was drawn by UW-Stout’s strong reputation, as well as a delivery mode that allowed her to take classes on weekends while still having time to fulfill her roles as a mother and spouse with a full-time job. As a student, Mondeik said she benefited from both UW-Stout’s experienced faculty as well as the cohort model, which helped create synergy among her fellow students. She earned her bachelor's degree in career and technical education in 2006, then forged ahead to earn her master’s in the same field two years later. “I was so happy with my bachelor education, I thought ‘Why would I go anywhere else?’”
The back-to-back UW-Stout degrees helped propel Mondeik to become dean of public safety and then vice president for learning at Northcentral Technical College in Wausau before she was named president of Mid-State Technical College in 2017.
The technical college has more than 10,000 students on campuses in Wisconsin Rapids, Stevens Point, Marshfield and Adams.
“I very much believe that becoming president was because of the education I received at UW-Stout,” Mondeik said. “They prepared me well.” In particular, through case studies and role-playing, UW-Stout instilled the skills necessary to provide consistent leadership, she said. Furthermore, her experience as an adult learner returning to college in her 30s contributes to the decisions she makes as leader of an institution where many students have also followed nontraditional routes.
Mondeik’s leadership has attracted attention far beyond Mid-State’s four central Wisconsin campuses. She was named Central Region 2024 Chief Executive Officer by the Association of Community College Trustees, and for both 2023 and 2024 was listed among the Top 50 Women Leaders of Wisconsin by Women We Admire. The most recent list included a range of female business, education and nonprofit leaders, including fellow UW-Stout alum Krista Hoglund, health insurance company executive.
“When I got that recognition,” Mondeik said, “it did make me reflect and I did smile, because it was some validation that I have had a positive impact and people have noticed.”
