Date: October 22, 2012
Release: Immediately
Contact:
Karl Easttorp, Director of Communications, Mid-State Technical College
(715) 422-5326
karl.easttorp@mstc.edu
WISCONSIN DELLS – Scott Glinski, president of Skyward, Inc. and Mid-State Technical College (MSTC) graduate, was honored Friday with the Wisconsin Technical College District Boards Association 2012 Distinguished Alumni Award. The award recognizes one person each year for their demonstrated value of a technical college education through career advancement, community service, continued personal and educational growth, and support of the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS).
Glinski earned a Computer Electronics Associate Degree in 1986 and an Instrumentation Associate Degree in 1987, both from MSTC. He is now a 25-year veteran of Skyward, a premier provider of K-12 administrative software. Born and raised in Stevens Point (WI), Glinski is engaged in numerous local activities, leaving an indelible positive mark on the area. He is an active member of the Portage County Business Council’s Board of Directors and also serves on the Stevens Point Area YMCA Board of Directors.
Glinski regularly praises the quality of a technical college education, substantiated by the company’s steady employment of MSTC and other WTCS graduates. Skyward’s corporate office in Stevens Point employs more than 50 WTCS alumni, 60% of them from MSTC. To date, 26 MSTC students have received Skyward, Inc. and Skyward Employees scholarships, established in 2002 and awarded to central Wisconsin information technology students demonstrating financial need and high academic standing. The company also helps keep the MSTC Information Technology-Programmer/Analyst program current by providing a representative for the program’s Advisory Committee.
“Widely known for his successful business acumen, Scott Glinski represents the ideal of a committed, industrious, and caring individual to whom Mid-State Technical College looks to as a distinguished alumni,” said MSTC President Dr. Sue Budjac in nominating Glinski for the award. “Scott’s endorsement of a Wisconsin technical college education is second to none.”
With Glinski as president, Skyward has experienced annual double-digit growth, has grown to more than 350 employees, and is now serving more than 1,500 school districts in 17 states and eight countries. The company serves over 80% of Wisconsin’s K-12 school districts and its 98% business retention rate is a standard seldom matched among software product companies.
Earlier this year, the Wisconsin Technical College System Board presented Skyward with the Futuremakers Partner Award for significant contributions to technical college programming and workforce development. The company has also been recognized as the 2008 Wisconsin Family Business of the Year, a Top 100 product by District Administration magazine in 2010, “head of the class” in the field of school district software by Corporate Report Magazine, and one of the top 50 products for 2012 through a eSchoolNews Readers Choice award. Skyward was touted by industry journals in 2006 as “One of the Most Influential Technology Leaders” and honored by Corporate Report Wisconsin as a Small Business Success Story for the State of Wisconsin based on its combination of growth and stability.
Under Glinski’ s leadership, Skyward also received the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) Patriot Award in 2009 for its leadership practices and personnel policies that support employee participation in the Guard and Reserve. The Portage County Business Council Decree of Excellence was awarded to Skyward in 2010 for the company’s contribution to the area’s economic vitality and community service.
“Scott is an exceptional and deserving winner of this Distinguished Alumni Award,” said Budjac. “Mid-State Technical College is proud to be the higher education institution of choice for Scott and others throughout Central Wisconsin.”
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