Christopher Reber and Veronique Tran (Bottom Row)
KENOSHA, Wis. — One of Gateway Technical College’s most controversial presidential finalists has withdrawn from consideration just days after concerns surfaced about the ideological direction of the search and the judgment of the board overseeing it.
Gateway announced this week that Hudson County Community College President Christopher Reber is no longer seeking the position. According to the college, Reber told Gateway officials he had accepted another university presidency after negotiations elsewhere recently concluded.
That leaves three finalists remaining in Gateway’s search for a permanent president: Caron Daugherty, president of Flint Hills Technical College; Phillip King, executive vice president and provost at Milwaukee Area Technical College; and Veronique Tran, vice provost at Dallas College.
Reber had quickly become one of the more controversial names in the search because of his public emphasis on diversity, equity, inclusion, and identity politics.
Several Gateway residents and taxpayers told Kenosha County Eye they were concerned Reber’s leadership style appeared more focused on social issues than traditional educational priorities like workforce development, classroom quality, trades, and fiscal accountability.
Reber has publicly emphasized diversity, equity, and inclusion as one of his institution’s “overarching priorities” and has served multiple terms on the American Association of Community Colleges’ Commission on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
In a June 2023 post highlighted by the National Council for Marketing & Public Relations, Reber said he “vividly” remembered seeing “a large gay pride flag” when he interviewed for his current position and said he “instantly knew that I was home.”
In the same post, Reber was quoted as saying, “I firmly believe that education is the greatest antidote to hatred and bigotry.”
Reber’s withdrawal comes as scrutiny continues to build around the Gateway Board of Trustees itself.
At the center of that controversy is Gateway Board Treasurer Nicole Oberlin, formerly Nicole Russo, whose prior employment with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services ended in 2019 after an internal investigation concluded she submitted false travel reimbursement claims and falsified records.
According to records obtained by Kenosha County Eye from DHS through a public records request, Oberlin was accused of submitting false reimbursement requests on five separate dates between June and December 2018. State investigators concluded the questionable reimbursements totaled approximately $451.12.
The records show DHS accused Oberlin of falsifying records, violating attendance policies, and receiving reimbursement funds to which she was not entitled. DHS prepared a termination letter dated Aug. 6, 2019, but Oberlin resigned effective the same day before the termination could take effect.
Despite those findings, Oberlin continues to serve as treasurer of the Gateway College Board, helping oversee the finances of a publicly funded technical college supported by taxpayers in Kenosha, Racine, and Walworth counties.
Gateway Board President Jason Tadlock defended Oberlin when contacted by Kenosha County Eye, even though the records show her state employment ended amid allegations that she defrauded taxpayers through false reimbursement claims.
“I do not know anything of the circumstances to which you are referring,” Tadlock wrote in an email. “I will say that technical college board governance works differently than K-12 school boards.”
Tadlock later said he had worked with Oberlin for years and that she had “served honorably,” despite also saying he was unfamiliar with the underlying allegations. Tadlock also misspelled Oberlin’s first name in his response.
More alarming to some critics is the fact that Tadlock is also the superintendent of the Elkhorn Area School District, meaning a sitting school district leader publicly defended a Gateway trustee whose state employment ended amid allegations of falsified records and improper reimbursements.
Racine County officials have said Oberlin was selected by a multi-county appointment committee made up of representatives from Kenosha, Racine, and Walworth counties. Racine County officials said Racine County Board Vice-Chair Scott Maier participated in the process that selected Oberlin, though all trustee appointments are ultimately reviewed and confirmed by the Wisconsin Technical College System Board.
Kenosha County Eye contacted Gateway trustees and administrators seeking comment about Oberlin’s continued role on the board and whether anyone intends to ask her to resign. No trustees responded to requests for comment, including Kenosha County Clerk of Court Rebecca Matoska-Mentink.
With Reber now out of the running, critics say Gateway still faces a broader problem: whether the board itself has the judgment necessary to choose the right leader for a college still trying to recover from the unpopular tenure of former President Ritu Raju.
One Response
Now if we can just drop the whole of Gateway. Just formulate in your mind all the useless pay checks and pensions.