New acting vice president of enrollment and retention takes over at Milwaukee Area Technical College for Eva Martinez Powless

Cleo Krejci, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·1 min read

Eva Martinez Powless, an administrator with Milwaukee Area Technical College who formerly held the role of its first chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, is "no longer with the college."

That's according to an April 17 email sent to campus that announced Yan Wang on April 22 will take over Martinez Powless' more recent job responsibilities as acting vice president of enrollment and retention.

"Dr. Wang will be fulfilling responsibilities previously held by Dr. Eva Martinez Powless, who is no longer with the college," the email states. Wang has been with MATC since 2004, including as the director of institutional research since 2013. Before coming to MATC she served as director of student services in the Department of Technical Physics at Peking University.

An MATC spokesperson declined to answer further questions about the circumstances around Martinez Powless' departure. There is no recent information about Powless' status with the college on its external communications webpage.

Martinez Powless, who had been serving as DEI officer, gave up those duties when she was named interim vice president of enrollment and retention in September 2023. Michael Rogers took over as interim vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion in January 2024.

The change in leadership comes as MATC is soon to name a new president with the departure of Vicki Martin, who has been with the insitution in various roles for more than three decades.

Powless joined the college in March 2021, taking on MATC's inaUgural diversity, equity and inclusion officer position. She came with more than 18 years of experience, including in various leadership roles with Marquette University.

Cleo Krejci covers higher education, vocational training and retraining as a Report For America corps member based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact her at CKrejci@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @_CleoKrejci.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: MATC administrator Martinez Powless replaced