Max Bronsema to Take Over WebTech After Marie Raney Retires in September

Max Bronsema has been hired as director of Web Communication Technologies at Western Washington University effective Sept. 21.  Bronsema, who is currently Western’s Drupal developer in WebTech, will replace current director Marie Raney, who is retiring after 10 years of service to Western.

“We’re very happy to have Max moving into this position,” said Steve Swan, vice president for University Relations and Community Development at Western. “With his extensive background in Drupal, strong overall technological skill set, proven track record in project production, and ability to work well with clients, I am confident that he is the right person to continue and build on Marie’s notable accomplishments in leading WebTech.”

Bronsema, a Whatcom County native, has been at Western for three years, coming to the university from a similar position at the University of Oregon. He has a bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems with a minor in Computer Science from The College of Idaho and a master’s degree in Education from Western.

“I’m excited to continue the work that Marie has started, to build on the foundation that she put in place, and to continue to collaborate with our campus partners,” Bronsema said. “We get great support from the Western community for the work we do, and we have a fabulous staff and incredibly talented student employees, so I’m really looking forward to the challenge.”

Raney came to Western in 2005. During her tenure, she oversaw a number of major web-related efforts at Western, including bringing the Drupal platform to campus; the redesign of Western’s home page and ancillary pages using that system; the splitting off of her office to form a smaller group focused solely on the web; and the impending implementation of the new Wordpress system for campus users.

Swan said Raney’s leadership, especially in regards to Western’s home-page redesign, cannot be understated.

“Marie has done great work for Western and her highly inclusive approach to her work is the reason she is such an effective leader.  The home-page redesign is a prime example as the process she used allowed students and employees to provide their best thoughts and feedback and empowered the WebTech team to develop product that has proven to be highly impactful for Western,” he said.

Raney said that while she is excited for adventures after retiring, she loved her time at Western.

“I know everybody says this, but I’ll really miss the people I work with, and the beautiful campus. It’s such a great place to work,” she said. “And there’s a real regard for personal integrity and a respect for the individual at Western that is unusual and rare. Our management feeds into that, and so does the whole culture of Bellingham as well, to an extent.”

As for her plans in retirement, she and her husband Jon will literally sail off into the sunset, as they plan to explore the South Pacific aboard their 41-foot sloop, the Phoenix, with the first leg from Bellingham to Hawaii set for next spring. Friends and well-wishers can follow their progress on Rainey’s blog, www.sailingphoenix.com.

As Raney makes her way to tropical climes, Bronsema will be wading knee-deep into a pile of projects, including a revamped Western home page system that is mobile-phone friendly, a revamped and updated Western Today site, and hiring his replacement to keep the progress moving on Drupal conversions across campus.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do, no doubt,” he said. “It should be fun.”