ACTE Announces North Dakota Retired Director as National Award Finalist

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 23, 2019

Contact: Jarrod Nagurka
jnagurka@acteonline.org, 703-683-9312

ACTE Announces North Dakota Retired Director as National Award Finalist

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Today, the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) announced Wayne Kutzer, retired Director, North Dakota Department of Career and Technical Education in Bismarck, North Dakota, as the recipient of the 2019 ACTE Region V Lifetime Achievement Award. This award recognizes career and technical education (CTE) professionals for their leadership on behalf of ACTE, their innovations in CTE and their contributions to the field over an extended period of time. For the first time ever at the Awards Gala, ACTE will be inducting all five Lifetime Achievement national finalists into the new ACTE Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame honors the leadership of CTE professionals who have made enduring contributions to CTE throughout their career.

Kutzer was the Director of the Department of CTE for the State of North Dakota for 18 years, from 2000 to 2018. The Department provides funding and technical assistance for CTE programming to schools across the state. During his tenure, the Department worked to expand access to CTE across the state to all students in all schools through the use of technology that distance delivered CTE programs.

In 1984 Kutzer started teaching at the Southeast Area Career and Technology Center in Oakes, ND. He became Director of the Area CTE Center in 1992 until 2000 when he became State CTE Director. Prior to that he spent eight years in the private sector in business management. Kutzer has been involved in numerous organizations at national level including ACTE, on the national board at SkillsUSA, DECA, AdvanceCTE as well as on the board of many state organizations including NDACTE, Local CTE Administrators, SkillsUSA, and many Governor-appointed positions such as the Workforce Development, the Commission on Community Service, and the Education Planning Committee.

Kutzer is one of five finalists for the 2020 national title. The national winner will be announced at the ACTE Awards Gala, a dinner and award presentation recognizing the best CTE educators in the country. The event will take place on Wednesday evening, December 4, during ACTE’s CareerTech VISION 2019 in Anaheim, CA. The Awards Gala is sponsored by Express Employment Professionals, Goodheart-Willcox, CareerSafe, and Stratasys. For more information about the ACTE Excellence Awards, visit our webpage.

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About ACTE
The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) is the nation’s largest not-for-profit association committed to the advancement of education that prepares youth and adults for successful careers. ACTE represents the community of CTE professionals, including educators, administrators, researchers, school counselors, guidance and career development professionals and others at all levels of education. ACTE is committed to excellence in providing advocacy, public awareness and access to resources, professional development and leadership opportunities.