“Maintaining Our Momentum”

Steve Bennett, BBA ’76,
Chair, Dean’s Advisory Board

It’s my pleasure to be the chair the Dean’s Advisory Board of the Wisconsin School of Business. Our board consists of alumni and friends from many different backgrounds, locations, and industries. What we share is a commitment to helping the school succeed in delivering more and better business education and producing the next generation of outstanding leaders.

Serving on the board has offered me the opportunity to get an inside look at the remarkable strides the school is making. Much of our recent progress is documented in this report. But our work is far from finished.

Resting on laurels is not the Wisconsin way, and, frankly, the school also faces challenges: increased competition and expense in recruiting and retaining top faculty, a financial model that limits the school’s ability to generate revenue at a time when state tax support is in decline, and an uncertain economy that awaits our graduates.

Even with all the advances the school has made in expanding knowledge, building alumni connections, and providing transformational experiences for students, there is much more to do.

In the past several years, we’ve seen how the right strategy and smart investments can lead to remarkable progress. As with any successful organization, the challenge is to continue to adjust our strategy and priorities so we adapt to a different environment in order to maintain our momentum.

I am confident that — working together — we are more than up to the task.

Steve Bennett served eight years as president and CEO of Intuit before stepping down at the end of 2007. He continues to serve on the Intuit board as well as on the boards of Sun Microsystems and Qualcomm. Bennett earned his BBA in Finance and Real Estate. He has been a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board since 2006.