Dan Mincheff, '95, stands in the EAA Airframe and Powerplant Room, currently configured as EAA's Flight Simulator Lab in the Youth Education Center. The space supports immersive aviation training and hands-on learning experiences. The UW-Oshkosh alumnus recently returned to EAA as vice president of information technology and education, helping guide technology and youth aviation programming at the organization headquartered just minutes from campus.

When the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) named Dan Mincheff, '95, its new vice president of information technology and education, it marked more than a leadership appointment. For Mincheff, it was a return to Oshkosh and to an aviation community that has been part of his story since his UW-Oshkosh days.

Founded in 1953 and headquartered in Oshkosh, EAA is an international nonprofit organization with more than 300,000 members and over 1,000 chapters worldwide. The organization promotes recreational flying, aircraft building and aviation education, and its signature annual event, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, draws hundreds of thousands of attendees and more than 10,000 aircraft each summer, making it one of the largest aviation gatherings in the world.

Long before he joined EAA's senior leadership team, Mincheff was a UW-Oshkosh student working summers in the organization's warehouse and mail room, supporting AirVenture conventions and experiencing the spirit of aviation up close. Decades later, he now helps lead the very institution that once gave him his start.

A first-generation college student from Menasha, Mincheff grew up in a family built on hard work and sacrifice. His parents married young and left Michigan's Upper Peninsula for opportunities in the Fox Valley. His father worked in the paper mills before becoming a police officer, then a truck driver and eventually launching his own trucking company. His mother studied at Fox Valley Tech and later helped run the family business.

"They didn't have degrees," Mincheff said. "So going to college wasn't really presented as a choice. They wanted to make sure I started off on the right foot."

Arriving at UW-Oshkosh after graduating in a high school class of just 54 students, Mincheff quickly felt the scale of change. Nearly 100 students lived on his floor in North Scott residence hall alone. He explored multiple majors before earning his Bachelor of Science in Applied Computer Science with an emphasis in geology, discovering along the way how classroom learning, field experiences and student life together shape growth.

Now, more than 30 years after first stepping onto campus, Mincheff brings more than three decades of experience spanning aviation and higher education leadership to his role at EAA. He previously served in senior technology leadership positions within the technical college system, including as a chief information officer, where he focused on innovation, workforce development and guided educational pathways.

Today, he oversees EAA's enterprise IT infrastructure and its educational programming, guiding systems that support a global membership organization and shaping STEM pathways that inspire future aviators. He is also working toward earning his pilot's license, bringing his lifelong interest in aviation full circle.

In the Q and A below, Mincheff reflects on being a first-generation student, finding his path at UW-Oshkosh and how those experiences continue to shape his leadership today.

What first brought you to UW-Oshkosh, and what stands out most when you think back on your time here?
UW-Oshkosh first appealed to me because of the recording technology program. I have always had a love of music and computers. I played saxophone, and at the time synthesizers and recording production were becoming more accessible. I was more interested in the recording tech than performing, so that is what initially drew me in.

Like many students, I bounced around. I started as a music major, spent a semester in business when my dad launched his trucking company, and I thought I might follow that path, then moved into radio TV film major. I hosted a jazz show on WRST and had an absolute blast. Eventually, I realized computer science was the stronger long-term fit and graduated in Applied Computer Science with an emphasis in geology, partly inspired by my grandfather, who worked in the copper mines in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

I came from a very small parochial school, St. Mary's, in Menasha. There were more people living on my floor in North Scott than I had graduated with four months earlier. It was a big shock. College was just as much about learning independence, balancing priorities and growing up as it was about academics.

UWO was big enough to experience a wide variety both in and out of the classroom, yet small enough to be a safe environment.

Was there a class, professor or hands-on learning experience that helped shape how you approach leadership or technology today?

There are three faculty and staff members who immediately come to mind: Wayne Wallace, Gene LaBerge and Jan Scoville. Each of them had a unique way of teaching, leading and holding us to high standards, while still making UW-Oshkosh an experience worth remembering.

During my last year in the computer science program, I served as a TA (teaching assistant) for Dr. Wallace. I was helping students who were just beginning their programming journey with their first coding examples of logic and how to write code. He helped me understand that if you can teach somebody else, then you know you know the material. In doing so, he showed me that teaching others is often the best way to deepen your own understanding.

Dr. LaBerge's passion for learning beyond the classroom made a lasting impression. His insistence on getting out into the field and experiencing the geology of the region firsthand taught me that education is far more impactful when it is connected to the real world, not just textbooks and lectures.

Jan Scoville was my residence hall director in North Scott Hall. We had a lot of fun in North Scott. Years later, when I joined the leadership team at NWTC (Northeast Wisconsin Technical College), she was also working there and immediately recognized me and greeted me with, "Oh, I remember you, Mr. Mincheff." Her dedication to student success and her ability to help us balance academics with the realities of student life had an unexpected but profound impact on how I approached my own work in higher education in the years that followed.

Looking back, how did UW-Oshkosh prepare you for a career that blends technology, education and people-centered leadership?
I've used the People, Process and Technology model most of my professional life. Understanding the importance of all three is something I share with my younger employees on a regular basis. A lot of IT folks focus on the technology and the processes. They inherently start to forget about the people.

I've had this conversation with young IT professionals starting their careers several times. You don't work for the computer. You work for the person using the computer.

Learning about the technology and how it could be applied to different areas of study like geology and music showed me early on that application of technology is just as important as the theoretical understanding of technology. The people part of the model really came from outside of the classroom, navigating different relationships and learning about who I was as a young adult. It was understanding what worked well, how to acknowledge my mistakes early and make any needed corrections sooner rather than later.

UWO was that launch pad and helped with the transition into independence.

In your current role at EAA, what does your work involve, and how does education factor into it?
I am the vice president of IT and education. On one half of the house, I lead all of the software and infrastructure teams. We have a very small full-time group here, but we serve a ton of different constituents, our members, the folks that come through the museum and the convention. That is no small endeavor.

On the education side, there are some things we want to do about reframing EAA's role in education. We might have third or fourth graders coming into the museum or participating in a Young Eagles flight. The question becomes, what is next?

We have an AeroEducate program that is LMS (learning management system)-based, and our chapters all over the world are teaching young kids. I come from a guided pathways school of thought in higher ed. It is about getting kids on the path and keeping them on the path and making them successful. We are trying to bring some of that more intentional education process into what we do here.

What advice would you give today's UW-Oshkosh students?
I'd encourage students to take advantage of opportunities beyond the classroom: internships, student life and campus involvement, mentorship and real-world projects. Ask questions, build relationships and don't be afraid to explore paths that aren't perfectly linear. Some of the most meaningful moments come from unexpected connections or when things don't go as planned.

Lastly, it may not feel like it now, but your time in college will fly by, so make as many memories as you can while you are on campus.

Learn more:

Study computer science at UWO
Study information technology management at UWO