In 1988, the School of Business Learning Center (BLC) first opened its doors. The program was located on the top floor of Bascom Hall. Brenda Pfaehler, the program’s first director, and four staff members served 202 students.

The BLC was established to increase the participation of underrepresented students in the business school programs as part of then UW-Madison Chancellor Donna Shalala’s Madison Plan to increase campus diversity. It was determined that quantitative courses, such as business statistics, accounting and economics, were significant barriers to students’ success in the business school. The Learning Center was established to break down these barriers.

Since its founding 20 years ago, more than 23,000 students have been served by the BLC. While underrepresented students are the targeted population, the BLC is open to all students on a space-available basis. Since the opening of Grainger Hall in 1993, the program has been based on the second floor of Grainger Hall, next to the Business Library. BLC teaching assistants work with students and also interact closely with professors and teaching assistants to support their quantitative-based courses.

Since 2003, the business academic component of the PEOPLE Program has operated out of the Business Learning Center. This program introduces accounting, management, marketing, economics and finance concepts to 20 to 30 Wisconsin high school students who attend classes in the morning and participate in internships in the afternoon at Madison businesses.

According to current Director Judy Cary, the mission of the BLC has not really changed over the past two decades, “We still aim to help students excel by providing ancillary academic support in quantitatively based business-related courses,” she said. “We are proud to play a role in the success of our students.”

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