Two Inducted into Weinert Center’s Entrepreneur Hall of Fame

Jim Weinert, a prominent entrepreneur and philanthropist, and Bob Pricer, a longtime teacher of entrepreneurship, were honored at the eighth annual celebration of the Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship in May. Both were inducted into the school's Entrepreneur Hall of Fame.

Pricer retired in 2002 after a successful career teaching entrepreneurship. Popular with students and alumni, he was selected by BusinessWeek in 1996 as one of the nation's top entrepreneurship professors and received numerous honors for his teaching and public service.

Jim Weinert, MBA ‘69, became a successful entrepreneur in the Minneapolis area. He encouraged the idea of teaching entrepreneurship at UW-Madison before it became a national phenomenon. He gave the School of Business support to enable students in the WAVE (Weinert Applied Ventures in Entrepreneurship) program to invest in promising business ventures and provided funds to endow the Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship. Weinert remains active in the program by mentoring student entrepreneurs and serving on the board of several businesses run by former Weinert students. He is also chairman of Tri Pro in Minneapolis.

Previously inducted into the UW-Madison Entrepreneur Hall of Fame were Aaron Kennedy, chairman, founder, and CEO of Noodles & Company; and Carol Bartz, CEO of Autodesk.

Accounting Professor Named to Two Important Posts

Assistant Professor Hollis (Holly) Ashbaugh-Skaife, Accounting and Information Systems, will have an enhanced national role, thanks to her recent appointment to two positions.

Ashbaugh-Skaife has been asked to serve on the editorial board of The Accounting Review, one of the top three journals in accounting. She also will chair the Financial Accounting Standards Committee of the American Accounting Association, which coordinates association activities regarding financial accounting standard setting. Duties include evaluating discussion memoranda and exposure drafts related to financial accounting and reporting in the private sector as they are released by the FASB, IASB and other accounting standard-setting groups, and respond to those groups in

writing and by appearing at selected public hearings. The committee also considers and promotes ways to increase quantity and quality of academic input to the standard-setting process.

FACULTY-STAFF NEWS

Assistant Professor Kenneth Wathne was given the Mu Kappa Tau (MKT) "Outstanding Educator Award" for the second year in a row. The award was announced at the MKT banquet in April.

Joseph Boucher, senior lecturer in business law, received the 2005 Wisconsin Small Business Legal Assistance Award at the Wisconsin Small Business Awards event in May in Waukesha for providing quality legal assistance to would-be entrepreneurs in many ways for more than 20 years. Boucher is a regular spokesman at Small Business Development Center classes and seminars, counsels three to five small businesses a month and provides legal assistance to SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) volunteers. 

James Hickman, emeritus dean and professor of the School of Business, was honored in May by the UW-Madison Speakers Bureau Hickman has given several talks on the topic of Social Security. His efforts were described by the Speakers Bureau as “a testament to the invaluable contributions to our outreach efforts by our UW emeriti.”

The Divisional Committee voted to recommend promotion to associate professor with tenure for Elizabeth Odders-White of the Department of Finance, Investment and Banking.  

Professor Antonio Mello's appointment as the Frank Graner Chair in Finance has been approved
effective July 1.

Toni Whited 's appointment as the Kuechenmeister-Bascom Professor in Business was approved
effective July 1.

Bolz Center for Arts Administration Director Andrew Taylor was named consulting editor of The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society, an academic journal for arts policymakers and analysts and others concerned with the performing, visual and media arts and with cultural affairs.

The Executive MBA program’s director of admissions and operations, Connie Rieben, will be at Wellesley College in June, as the board representative directing the college’s annual symposium. She just finished a four-year term on the Wellesley Alumnae Board.

Chad Margenau was promoted to vice president of finance and administration for CASB (the Center for Advanced Studies in Business), which operates the Fluno Center. In his new role, he is responsible for the CASB day-to-day relationship with Aramark, financial operations of CASB, target marketing of potential CASB clients (along with Tammy Thayer-Ali), and process and systems enhancements. He has been working for CASB since December 2003.

Beth Wiebusch , director of computing services, is the newly elected chair of the School of Business Committee on Academic Staff Issues (CASI).

John Surdyk has assumed full-time duties as director for the Initiative for Studies in Technology Entrepreneurship (INSITE) a cross-campus faculty cluster group spearheaded in the School of Business involving technology and entrepreneurship.

Susan Sauer joins the School of Business on June 13 as a program assistant 3, working with the Executive MBA program. Previously, she was with the UW-Madison Division of Housing, where she was an assignment coordinator. Sauer is no stranger to Grainger Hall. From 2001 to 2003, she worked in Conference Services for the School of Business. She has a B.S. from UW-Madison in art education.

Richard D. Lee joins Alumni Relations on June 20 as an associate outreach specialist. Since 2000, he has been a unit manager with Wisconsin Public Television, responsible for project event and administrative oversight. He has a bachelor’s in business administration from UW-Oshkosh and is working toward a master’s of public administration, also from UW-Oshkosh. Lee will join Alumni Relations Director Alisa Robertson and Associate Director Rebeccca Smith, who will be returning from maternity leave this month.

Executive Education Named Among World’s Best

The University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business has made the Financial Times' annual list  of the world's top executive education providers for the fourth consecutive year. In its May 16 business education section, the London-based Times ranked executive education programs throughout the world. UW-Madison was ranked 15th in the U.S. (26th in the world) in the publication's overall ranking.

For open enrollment programs, UW-Madison was ranked 15th among the top providers in the U.S. and 27th in the world. For custom executive education programs, UW-Madison was ranked 19th among the U.S. schools and 42nd in the world. UW-Madison’s custom programs were also ranked 10th in the world for “value for money.”

The Fluno Center, where most UW-Madison executive education training is held, was ranked first in the world for food and accommodations in custom programs for the second year in a row. In open enrollment programs, Fluno was ranked first in the world for accommodations and third in the world for food. General Manager Jeff Butler said, “Our employees are incredibly dedicated to making the Fluno Center the best experience possible for our guests, and we’re honored to see our efforts reflected in the rankings.”

Ted Beck, associate dean for executive education and corporate relations, said, “We continue to work hard to deliver quality and value in our corporate programs. Ranking in the top 15 of U.S. schools speaks to our success in both public and custom programs.”

Dean Michael M. Knetter said, “Our advancement in the executive education arena worldwide demonstrates our commitment to business education and the Wisconsin Idea. We’re training leaders at all points in their careers, from undergraduate to MBAs, Ph.D.s, and working professionals from entry-level to executives.”

IN THE NEWS

News of the school’s higher Executive Education ranking was carried in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Capital Times, Wisconsin State Journal, and other publications.
 
The school’s Women in Business Council’s LEAP program was the lead feature item for the university Office of Corporate Relations Business Newswire in May.
 
François Ortalo-Magné was quoted in an Economist publication, Intelligent Life, in an article on whether to rent or buy real estate.
 
UW’s CIBER program, housed at the School of Business, was a special feature in the May In Business magazine.
 
Neil Lerner, director of the school’s Small Business Development Center, was quoted in an article on the Midwest region’s identity in the Wisconsin State Journal.

Applied Security Analysis Program graduate Matthew Smith was a featured analyst in Kathleen Gallagher’s column in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
 
Real Estate Chair Stephen Malpezzi was quoted in an extensive Wisconsin State Journal article on Tax Incremental Finance districts.
 
Finance Professor James Seward was quoted in the Wisconsin State Journal in an article relating to Genzyme buying Madison-based Bone Care International.
 
Real Estate Professor Tim Riddiough was featured in an article on home equity lending in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
 
News that Professor Emeritus Bob Pricer and alumnus Jim Weinert were inducted into the school’s Entrepreneur Hall of Fame was carried in The Capital Times and Wisconsin State Journal.

Teaching Professor Sandra Stark, Business Communication, was the featured guest in an article on business communications in the April issue of Corporate Report Wisconsin.  

Retiring School of Business Faculty and Staff Honored

In May, the Dean Michael Knetter hosted a School of Business Retirement Celebration honoring School of Business faculty and staff who have retired or will be retiring shortly.

The following individuals, the units they most recently worked in, and their years of service to the state and to the School of Business are listed below:

Kay Henes
Real Estate Department
26 years to the state; 14 years to the School of Business

Ed Marien
Executive Education
19 years to the state and the School of Business

Robert Miller
Actuarial Science
37 years to the state and the School of Business

Maria Ritacca
Executive MBA
24 years to the state; 20 years to the School of Business

Karen Schluter
Business Career Center
31 years to the state; 22 years to the School of Business

Karen Stauffacher
30 years to the state; 27 years to the School of Business

Carole Volk
31 years to the state; 12 years to the School of Business,

SBDC Is Integral Part of New Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Network

The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) of the School of Business will play a key role when the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Network (WEN) debuts on June 1. WEN is envisioned as a gateway to delivering statewide entrepreneurial services. It will integrate and link existing programs, services, opportunities and connections for small business.

WEN incorporates the services and resources of four leading partner organizations:

• University of Wisconsin-Extension
• WiSys Technology Foundation
• Wisconsin Technical College System
• Agricultural Innovation Center

Additional WEN partners include many community-based economic development and small business assistance organizations . A major goal is to use the pool of statewide talent and resources to provide the best services available to meet an entrepreneur’s needs, regardless of where the customer is located. Assistance is offered in: starting a business, finance and accounting, marketing, product development, business plans, intellectual property and competitive research.

SBDC Director Neil Lerner said, “With the formation of WEN, Wisconsin recognizes that entrepreneurial activity is the most important job growth engine of the economy. We want to help more companies start; more existing small firms grow and create more quality, higher paying jobs. The Madison SBDC looks forward to playing a key role in this initiative.”

The Madison SBDC will be the southwest regional service center for WEN. A WEN southwest regional director will work in collaboration with the Madison SBDC to provide technology transfer, SBIR and other specialized services to potential high-impact businesses in the region.

New services will include:

• WEN Resource Navigator www.wenportal.org - Wisconsin will be the first state to launch a newly developed resource navigator tool sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Through the WEN Resource Navigator and at local access points, entrepreneurs can get linked to an appropriate local resource partner.
• WEN Network - A dynamic network where members can search for clients, alliances, peers and new sales opportunities.
• Entrepreneur@work , an HTML newsletter of entrepreneurial-based content from select writers active in the entrepreneurial field.
• Wisconsin Success Stories searchable by region and industry.
• Events Calendar of training opportunities and conferences around the state searchable by city, industry sector and keyword.

For more information, contact SBDC Director Neil Lerner nslerner@wisc.edu at 263-0221.

In Memoriam: Bill Stevenson 

The School of Business has learned that professor emeritus Willis C. (Bill) Stevenson passed away on March 11 at Attic Angels in Madison. Stevenson retired in 1997 after 30 years with the School of Business.

He authored numerous refereed articles in accounting and taxation in academic and professional journals and co-authored five widely adopted textbooks in taxation.

Before joining our faculty, Professor Stevenson taught for four years at the University of Missouri-Columbia and two years at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. He was also on leave for one year at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. His work experience includes four years of public accounting with KPMG Peat Marwick (formerly Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co.). During the Korean War he served two years in the Army Signal Corp.

While at Madison, Professor Stevenson served on a substantial number of national, state, and local academic and professional committees, chairing several. He was a past vice-president of the American Taxation Association (ATA). Professor Stevenson coached several accounting teams from the school who competed in the Arthur Andersen National Tax Challenges. He was the recipient of the 1996 WICPA Lifetime Achievement in Education Award.

Professor Stevenson earned BS and MBA degrees at The Ohio State University, and a PhD degree at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

On Professor Stevenson’s retirement, Professor Larry Rittenberg, who then chaired the Department of Accounting and Information Systems, credited him with “providing leadership in our program for over 30 years. In the 1980’s, he was architect of the very successful master’s of tax emphasis. His students found him to be demanding, but in the end were always thankful, because they learned the material and established a foundation for a successful career.”

Business Career Center Placement Statistics

As of May, the Business Career Center (BCC) of the School of Business had heard from 80 percent of the May 2005 graduating class of 341 undergraduate students. At that point:

• 17 percent are continuing their education and 5 percent are postponing their job search
• Of the students seeking employment, 80 percent had accepted positions (compared to 60 to 70 percent the past three years) and another 5 percent have offers
• BBA starting salaries are up 11 percent over last year, to $45,742
• Signing bonuses average $3,978, an increase of 21 percent. The percentage of students receiving signing bonuses increased from 35 percent to 43 percent

Final information on the August/December 2004 graduates and May 2005 graduates will be available mid-October.

Pro Comm Class Receives Thanks from Rec Sports

A Pro Comm class taught by Teaching Assistant Shifra Sharlin has won kudos from the Division of Recreational Sports for an assessment project of its facilities and programs. John A. Horn, director of recreational programs in the Division of Recreational Sports wrote to express his thanks for a “tremendous effort in the execution of this extremely valuable project … The students in the class went above and beyond any expectations that we had going into the project and we feel as though the information they are providing us is going to be key to the future success of the Division of Recreational Sports.”

About the Gazette

The next issue of the Gazette will be published July 1. Please send articles for the next issue by June 24 to Lari Fanlund lfanlund@bus.wisc.edu.