Notable Women in Education: Vicki Martin

Dr. Vicki J. Martin is the 10th president of Milwaukee Area Technical College. She has served in higher education for four decades and has been at MATC for three of them, leading the college since 2014. 

In 2015, she launched the MATC Promise, a public-private partnership that provides free tuition for eligible new high school graduates. The first-in-Wisconsin program drew the attention of current First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, who addressed MATC’s graduates in spring 2017. In spring 2018, Martin announced a major expansion of the program – the MATC Promise for Adults – which provides free tuition for eligible adults to finish their degree.

She led MATC through its implementation of the American Association of Community Colleges’ Guided Pathways framework to improve student success and partnered with leaders of Carthage College, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and UW-Parkside to form the country’s first regional consortium participating in EAB’s Moon Shot for Equity to eliminate equity gaps in higher education. 

Martin has attracted growing private-sector and foundation support to the MATC Foundation Inc., serves on the steering committee of the Higher Education Regional Alliance, and is a founding leader of the M³ (M-cubed) initiative, which brings together MATC, Milwaukee Public Schools and UW-Milwaukee to work to transform the future of Milwaukee through education.