Bartanus Recognized with Innovator of the Year Award

Lisa Bartanus, corporate training director in Continuing Education at Piedmont Technical College, has been awarded the A. Wade Martin Innovator of the Year Award from the South Carolina Technical Education Association (SCTEA).

“Receiving this award was probably one of the most humbling experiences of my life,” she said. “One of the most meaningful pieces of this award is that I received it mainly for the work we do here at the college with continuous improvement. And yet, I would not have been able to receive this award without every faculty and staff member here at Piedmont Tech.”

“The A. Wade Martin Award was designed to recognize system employees with the drive, ambition and creativity of college leaders like Lisa Bartanus,” said Rusty Denning, associate vice president for Continuing Education and Economic Development. “Lisa is an exceptional employee with great vision, drive and leadership.”

The A. Wade Martin Innovator of the Year Award was established in 1980 to pay tribute to Wade Martin, the first executive director of the technical and industrial training program in South Carolina. Martin was recognized as one of the best industrial developers and occupational educators in the country and the award reflects the foresight and ambitious standards of excellence exemplified by him.

Bartanus has been a corporate trainer for Continuing Education at Piedmont Tech since 2002. She earned her bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from West Virginia University. She is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt and an ASQ Certified Quality Engineer.

Bartanus took the skills honed during successful careers in health care and manufacturing to lead a wide variety of transformative change management and quality improvement projects internally at PTC. Because of her proven track record of success in creating custom training programs tailored to meet company needs, Bartanus was instrumental in creating and initiating the college’s Lean in Higher Education program, a methodology that was awarded the prestigious 2013 Bellwether Award, which recognizes outstanding and innovative programs in community college education.

Bartanus was also a part of the team recognized for work with the businesses in Laurens County through the Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CAM) that won the 2014 National Exemplary Program Award from the National Council for Continuing Education & Training (NCCET), the 2013 International Economic Development Council (IEDC) Excellence in Economic Development Award in conjunction with the South Carolina Technical College System and was nominated for the 2015 Bellwether Award.

“I’m so proud of Piedmont Tech and I feel so blessed and honored to represent the college and all we stand for,” Bartanus said. “I am honored to be the 2015 recipient of the A. Wade Martin Award, but that means that what we did as a college was noted, was recognized and was rewarded.”

Photo Caption: Lisa Bartanus, corporate training director in Continuing Education at Piedmont Technical College, has been awarded the A. Wade Martin Innovator of the Year Award from the South Carolina Technical Education Association (SCTEA). Pictured are, from left, Dr. Jack Bagwell, vice president for academic affairs; Bartanus; and Rusty Denning, associate vice president for Continuing Education and Economic Development.