Bio

With over 25 years of experience in higher education, Dr. Marcus Garstecki joined the Barton Community College family as the sixth president in July 2024. As an inclusive and collaborative leader, he believes deeply in the value of rural community and technical education. And has a proven passion and commitment to student success and relationship-building with community stakeholders, students, faculty, and staff.

Joining the College’s already rich history of student success, Garstecki plans to guide and expand the student experience across Barton’s many campuses, focusing on enrollment management, student recruitment, and student resources. With a renewed focus on a strategic vision for the future of the College, he looks forward to a collaborative effort from the College community, as well as community stakeholders, to increase student success, grow enrollments, and academic program development.

His passion for connection marks a commitment to the communities the College serves, and will be at the forefront of his leadership. With an eagerness to build strong ties with the local communities and regional and state leadership, he looks forward to working with local leaders and existing partners and fostering new relationships to build new partnerships to help guide the College into the future.

Garstecki has experienced numerous accomplishments in varied roles and settings during his career. Prior to Barton, he served as the chief enrollment management officer at Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D., where he led enhancements in student recruitment efforts, implemented a comprehensive enrollment plan, and helped develop strategies for leveraging scholarship dollars, all of which led to increased enrollment. He served as vice president for student affairs and dean of students at Dakota State University-Madison, where he led enrollment efforts that resulted in significant increases in freshmen, transfer, and re-entry students and increased retention percentages. Before that, he was vice president for the Mid-Plains Community College-North Platte campus, where he led strategic planning initiatives, including improvements in the arts, workforce training, and high school partnerships.

Garstecki returns to Kansas, where his higher education experience started in 2001, with his wife, Kacie, and son, Jackson.

Educational Background:

• Doctor of Philosophy in Education and Human Resource Studies from Colorado State University
• Master of Science in Physical Education from University of Nebraska-Omaha
• Bachelor of Science in Physical Education from University of Wisconsin-Whitewater