Gwen Oster, electrical construction faculty at Northwest Technical College, has been recognized with 2026 Outstanding Educator honors by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees for her service to the NTC campus community and its students.

Oster has spent 21 years on NTC’s Electrical Construction and Maintenance faculty, and in that time has established herself as an innovative instructor who instills excellence in her students.

When she saw that students in NTC’s basic electrical circuit theory course were unable to access trainers for commercial electrical circuits due to their high cost, she designed and built her own. NTC students now have access to stations that can be quickly reconfigured to support lessons from the college’s lab manual, which was also developed in-house. Her innovations have both increased student access to high-quality, hands on training, and reduced cost and material waste for the college.

She also designed and conceptualized “The Sandbox,” an indoor space that allows NTC students to practice running underground electrical lines year-round and avoid challenges created by frozen ground during Minnesota winters. She conceptualized, implemented and secured grant funding to make that project a reality for NTC students.

This year, she has helped lead the establishment of a new Women in Trades Scholarship in partnership with the NTC Foundation, and is faculty advisory for a new Women in Trades Club for students in all trade programs at the college.

Oster is one of 27 teaching faculty system-wide to receive 2026 Outstanding Educators recognition from the Board of Trustees.

Jason Cussler, a business management instructor at Minneapolis College, Anita Gaul, a history instructor at Minnesota West Community & Technical College, and Dr. Cheng Thao, assistant professor of computer science and cybersecurity at Metro State University, were named 2026 Educators of the Year.

Bemidji State University Registrar Bev Hodgson will receive 2026 Outstanding Service Faculty honors from the Board of Trustees, as well.

Board of Trustees Award Luncheon

Winners of this year’s Board of Trustees Awards for Excellence and all who received Outstanding Service Faculty and Outstanding Educator honors will be recognized by the Board of Trustees at an April 22 luncheon in St. Paul.

History of the Board of Trustees Awards

The Board of Trustees began the Educator of the Year awards in 2007, and the Service Faculty of the Year award was added in 2015.