Blackhawk Technical College's Faculty of the Year award goes to Criminal Justice Instructor Mitch Ziolkowski, known to students as Mr. Z. 

Ziolkowski, who grew up in Wisconsin Rapids, is the lead faculty member for the Criminal Justice Studies program and the advisor for the Criminal Justice Association student group. 

He holds a master’s degree in criminal justice theory from University of Wisconsin-Platteville. He has a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a criminal justice emphasis and a minor in psychology from Winona State University. He also graduated from the Basic Law Enforcement Recruit Academy at Western Technical College in Sparta.

He joined the Viroqua Police Department in 2006. In 2011, Ziolkowski took a position at the Verona Police Department. He began working part-time at Blackhawk in 2017 and became full-time in 2018. In 2021, he joined the Evansville Police Department as a part-time officer.

Ziolkowski and his family live in Evansville. The family enjoys camping, kayaking, fishing and hunting.