Fox Valley Technical College (Fox Valley Tech or FVTC) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

technical college An institute of technology (also referred to as technological university, technical university, university of technology, polytechnic university) is an institution of tertiary education that specializes in engineering, technology, applied science ...

Grand Chute, Wisconsin Grand Chute (French: ''great fall'' or "large rapids") is a town in Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States. It is a part of the Appleton, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 23,831 at the 2020 census. The unincorpor ...

. It is a member of the Wisconsin Technical College System and serves people in the

Appleton, Wisconsin Appleton () is the county seat of Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States, with small portions extending into Calumet County, Wisconsin, Calumet and Winnebago County, Wisconsin, Winnebago counties. Located on the Fox River (Green Bay tributary ...

Fox Cities The Fox Cities of Northeastern Wisconsin are the cities, towns and villages along the Fox River as it flows from Lake Winnebago northward into Green Bay. The Fox Cities communities, as defined by its Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visit ...

area. It serves about 50,000 people each year and offers more than 200 associate degree, technical diploma, and certificate programs as well as instruction related to 20 apprenticeship trades. It has credit transfer agreements with more than 30 four-year colleges and universities. The main campus is in Grand Chute with a second campus in Oshkosh. FVTC has smaller regional centers in Chilton, Clintonville, Waupaca, and Wautoma. It also operates a Public Safety Training Center in Greenville.

History

Starting in 1912, city vocational schools were formed at six locations ( Appleton, Brillion, Kaukauna, Menasha,

Neenah Neenah ( ) is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States. It is situated on the banks of Lake Winnebago, Little Lake Butte des Morts, and the Fox River approximately northeast of Oshkosh and southwest of Green Bay. Neenah's popul ...

, and Oshkosh) in the current district. In 1967, the

Wisconsin Legislature The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house, Wisconsin State Senate, and the lower Wisconsin State Assembly, both of which have had Republ ...

divided the state into sixteen districts, which led to the formation of Fox Valley Technical Institute (FVTI). In 1987, the college (along with all of the state technical colleges) was renamed and it became known as Fox Valley Technical College.

Key dates in FVTC history

Presidents

*William M. Sirek, college's inception in 1967 – June 30, 1982 *Dr. Stanley J. Spanbauer, July 1, 1982 – June 30, 1993 *Dr. H. Victor Baldi, July 1, 1993 – December 31, 1999 *Dr. Laurence F. Johnson, July 1, 2000 – June 22, 2001 *James Milslagle, June 25, 2001 – December 31, 2001 *Dr. David L. Buettner, January 7, 2002 – August 15, 2008 *Dr. Susan A. May, July 1, 2008 – July 31, 2021 *Dr. Chris Matheny, August 1, 2021 – Present

Accreditation

FVTC is accredited by the

Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

. FVTC has been accredited by this accreditor since 1970.

Special programs and facilities

Public Safety Training Center

In 2015, FVTC opened their Public Safety Training Center in Greenville on the south end of

Appleton International Airport Appleton International Airport , formerly Outagamie County Regional Airport, is an airport located in Greenville, Wisconsin, Greenville, Wisconsin, United States, west of Appleton, Wisconsin, Appleton. It is included in the Federal Aviation Ad ...

. The center contains multiple state of the art simulators as well as a mock town to train students enrolled in the school's public safety programs. The center has a

Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is an American Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavier Boeing 707, 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter ...

which was donated by

FedEx Express FedEx Express is a major American cargo airline based in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. As of 2023, it is the world's List of largest airlines, largest cargo airline in terms of fleet size and freight tons flown. It is the namesake and leadi ...

. The facility is also used frequently by public safety agencies all over the United States for their regular training. Pierce Manufacturing also uses the center to test out their new fire apparatus. In October 2018, FVTC started work on a $10.4 million expansion of the center which is being funded by the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

. The expansion will add facilities for aircraft firefighting training which will be used by

aircraft rescue and firefighting Aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) is a type of firefighting that involves the emergency response, mitigation, evacuation, and rescue of passengers and crew of aircraft involved in aviation accidents and incidents. Airports with schedul ...

personal from airports across the United States.

Flight school

FVTC has an FAA certified flight school offering pilot training,

Aircraft maintenance technician An aircraft mechanic, aviation mechanic or aircraft maintenance technician (AMT) is a tradesperson who carries out aircraft maintenance and repairs. AMTs inspect and perform or supervise maintenance, repairs and alteration of aircraft and aircr ...

(A&P), and aircraft electronics programs. The school is located in Oshkosh on the eastern edge of

Wittman Regional Airport Wittman Regional Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) south of the central business district of Oshkosh, a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States. A large portion at the south e ...

Ione's Dining Room

FVTC's Appleton campus houses ''Ione's'', a student-operated "full-service fine dining room and a premier learning lab fo
Culinary Arts
students." The department of Culinary, Hotel and Restaurant Management had wanted to remodel the dining room and a 2002 gift from Ione Berg helped bring the goal to fruition. "Restaurant Operations, the course that is housed in Ione's Dining Room, is the capstone course of the College's Culinary Arts program. Students are expected to bring their skills together there, including all the cooking components, as well as management and leadership."

Images

Image:FoxValleyTechSign.jpg, Road sign (Now replaced with a new sign) Image:FoxValleyTechnicalCollegeAppletonNorthEntrance.jpg, Appleton campus north entrance File:Fox Valley Technical College Oshkosh Entrance.jpg, Oshkosh campus Image:FoxValleyTechnicalCollegeChilton.jpg, Chilton regional center Image:FoxValleyTechnicalCollegeClintonville.jpg, Clintonville regional center Image:FoxValleyTechWaupacaWisconsin.jpg, Waupaca regional center

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Wisconsin technical colleges Buildings and structures in Appleton, Wisconsin Buildings and structures in Oshkosh, Wisconsin Universities and colleges established in 1912 Educational institutions established in 1968 Education in Calumet County, Wisconsin Education in Outagamie County, Wisconsin Education in Winnebago County, Wisconsin Education in Waupaca County, Wisconsin 1912 establishments in Wisconsin Aviation schools in the United States Two-year colleges in the United States