Kenosha, Wis. — Gateway Technical College President and CEO Dr. Ritu Raju is departing the school after just over two years on the job. The news comes on the heels of her being named a finalist for the presidency at Minnesota’s SouthCentral College—but sources tell Kenosha County Eye that Raju’s exit was imminent, regardless of whether she is offered the new position.
While Raju has cited personal reasons for the move, including the loss of her mother last year and a desire to be closer to her child and grandchild, multiple Gateway insiders allege she is being pushed out over poor leadership performance and a divisive administrative agenda.
“Serving as Gateway’s president and CEO is an honor and a lot has been accomplished in the short time I’ve been here,” Raju said in a statement. “The position in Minnesota is much closer to my family, and I am ready to see what that opportunity holds because of that.”
The timing of her announcement coincides with a shift in college leadership. Last night, two Democrats were appointed to Gateway’s Board of Trustees, solidifying a fully Democratic panel. That board will be responsible for selecting Raju’s successor in the coming months.
Contract Terms and Financial Impact
According to Raju’s most recent employment agreement, signed on September 30, 2024, she was earning a base salary of $267,800 annually, plus a $22,200 contribution to a tax-sheltered annuity and a $20,000 annual vehicle allowance. Her contract required that she provide at least three months’ notice before resigning. If she fails to meet that threshold, she is required to pay the college $20,000 for each full month of notice not given, unless the board waives the penalty for personal hardship or other reasons.
It remains unclear whether Raju will meet the full notice requirement. As of publication, the college has not confirmed her final day.
A Presidency Marked by Low Morale and Leadership Turnover
Raju’s tenure has been characterized by internal unrest and significant turnover among the college’s top leadership. Since she took office, multiple high-level executives—including vice presidents and senior directors—have resigned or retired, creating instability at the administrative level. Some of those departures, sources say, were voluntary; others were the result of mounting tensions with the president’s office.
In November 2023, Gateway Technical College (GTC) conducted an employee survey through the third-party firm Energage. Out of 601 faculty and staff invited, 445 responded—a 74% participation rate, notably higher than the average 61% for similar institutions. The results revealed significant dissatisfaction:
• Low Departmental Rankings: Most departments placed GTC’s leadership in the bottom 5% nationally.
• Job Search Considerations: 62% of employees contemplated seeking new employment in the preceding month, 16% higher than average.
• Recommendation Reluctance: Only 48% would highly recommend working at GTC, 24% below the norm.
Further, the survey indicated that longer tenured employees reported decreased job satisfaction.
Despite these findings, Board then-Chairperson Rebecca Matoska-Mentink and the other eight trustees publicly stood by Raju. However, records obtained by KCE show that GTC delayed the release of the full survey results, only making them public after legal pressure was applied.
This situation raises questions about the college’s commitment to transparency and responsiveness to employee concerns. As GTC navigates these challenges, the broader community will be watching closely to see how leadership addresses the evident discontent among its staff and faculty.
Quiet Dissent
Raju’s contract was renewed at a special board meeting on September 20, 2024, with all present members voting in favor—except for Trustee Scott Pierce, who opposed the renewal. Neither Pierce nor any other board members responded to requests for comment regarding Raju’s departure.
While Raju insists her exit is driven by family considerations, those close to Gateway’s internal operations suggest otherwise. “This was coming for a while,” said one faculty member who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Morale’s been at an all-time low, and people feel like they haven’t been heard.”
30 Responses
Thank God!! Ritu is useless
Ritu made a mess of Gateway time to move onto another college to destroy.
Ritu chased 2 good white female VPs out yet favored 3 women of color VPs. Ritu & those 3 had to be DEI or nepotism hires. ALL 4 are incompetent. Hopefully new CEO will clean house of DEI & nepotism hires. Time for management who earns it.
Anyone in any position of authority at Gateway is either a liberal or DEI hire. Usually they are both.
Turnover of the President would be expected.Filling the shoes of Bryan Albrecht would be extremely difficult. Declining enrollment, diverse campuses makes it a difficult institution to manage well. Bryan, overall had a leadership team that supported him. Hopefully, there will be less turmoil with the next President, but expect one more before more permanence happens. WTCS lost a good potential candidate in James Lemerond from Lakeshore Techincal College.
We’re continually told enrollment is up, but we’re told so many lies it’s to the point what do you believe. The VP-CFO & VP-HR are two of the biggest liars.
Why did they hire Ritu? We all so the writing on the wall, there was enough bad stuff about her on the internet from her time in Texas. Weren’t there a couple WTCS candidates? Were they not DEI?
Gateways lies & says they don’t do DEI hires which is one of the biggest lies. Next is nepotism hires. They could cut the administrative staff in half if they got rid of DEI & nepotism hires.
Glad she’s going what’s going on with wgtd
whats happening with wgtd?
The state-sponsored liberal media? It will remain.
Yes but with an all dem panel who knows what you will get. Probably no better
Not all Dem. Can assure you. I was at the Public Hearing.
Can you elaborate on that? I don’t know the political persuasion of most of the people on that board.
It doesn’t matter who the president is, toxic faculty and staff will never be satisfied.
Toxic management that treats employees differently. Brown nose and you’ll do good. Don’t & the work gets dumped on you. They know brown nosers do it because they’re in competent.
Kevin, who are the three candidates that were appointed to the Gateway board?
Who is forcing all of these unhappy people to work there and be paid well?
What sources do you have as to the selection of the Board of Trustee appointments? I can assure you one is not a democrat.
Who is that?
The board should be an even mix of Democrats & Republicans.
We as taxpayers should be outraged at the waste at GTC. One example is the Talent & Culture, which is so overstaffed each with high salaries. Salaries for this one department costs taxpayers a million a year plus benefits (from state wages). They’re using consultants for studies. This year, they’ve spent over $36,000 in 3 months. Then they’ll get the reports & ignore it just like the Energage Survey (not sure how much that costs). They are really good at spinning the results to make you think they’re good.
When are they getting rid of DEI? Mandate was February 28th. All they’ve done is rename the DEI department.
DEI written all over this hire, maybe KUSD will hire her.
It was a setup from the inside, insiders knew it was a failure from the start. They’ve always wanted (the unqualified but schmoozer) Matt Janisin to fill Albrecht’s position, now he’ll look even better by saving the campus. He was groomed by Albrecht (who was a narcissistic thief, along with his chronies Bill White, sfefanie Sklba, Jackie Morris and the rest of the HR idiots). Hopefully the board goes external & new president cleans house, starting with the top heavy VPs.
Bill Whyte was a smoozer but he was amazing and competent. That man was a vice president and snap-on before coming to Gateway and he brought his no-nonsense business acumen to the college. The college was actually a much better shape when people from the outside, mainly those from snap-on, ran the show. He was close to 80 when he finally retired for good.
So much insider toxicity, and Albrecht and his squad, with their complete lack of morals and ethics, pretty much killed the college. Too much time spent worshiping the leadership.
Raise your Slurpees to her exit!
Matt Janisin isn’t even competent for his current job.
Tammi Summers isn’t competent for Stacey Raley’s job but had to put her somewhere to make it look like they attempted to end DEI.
They do need someone to clean house, HR would be a good place to start & save taxpayers alot of money.
They need to get rid of Matt Janisin, Jacqueline Morris, Sharon Johnson & Tammi Summers along with the numerous directors.
Since you are such an expert, maybe you should go for the job.
No thank you, it’s a disaster. They need someone with common sense who’s ready for a challenge and will keep existing management accountable. No accountability college wide. Hopefully the swamp will clean itself since DEI hires lost their protector. DEI = didn’t earn it.
Hope Ritu goes very soon, don’t let the door hit you in the a$$.
Word is that the GTC staff is throwing a going away celebration party in her honor — and she’s not invited.
Kevin for Gateway president