UPDATE | Create The Future
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Campaign Marks a Big Step
Forward for the School of Business
In 2004, the UW-Madison School of Business launched the most ambitious capital campaign in its history. The objective: to provide the resources to establish the School of Business as one of the world’s truly distinguished business schools. As part of the university’s Create the Future: The Wisconsin Campaign, the business school’s Dean’s Advisory Board set a goal of raising $120 million by the end of 2007. To date, just over $86 million has been raised.
Leading the business school’s campaign as co-chairs are two prominent alumni. Curt Culver, BBA ‘74, MS ‘75, is the president/CEO and chairman of MGIC Investment Corporation in Milwaukee. John Oros, BBA ‘71, is the president/COO of The Enstar Group, Inc. in New York. Both have been actively involved in advancing the School of Business over the years.
“We have set an ambitious goal for our campaign, as the funds raised are necessary to compete at the international level,” said Culver. “The University of Wisconsin-Madison has a tremendous reputation. We want the School of Business to be held in that same high regard.”
Campaign gifts already have had a significant impact on the School of Business. At the MBA level, two new endowed centers of expertise have been created – one in applied corporate finance and one in brand and product management. These types of centers are at the core of a strategy for improving the national standing of the Wisconsin MBA program.
Gifts are helping to support initiatives to recruit and retain faculty who are top intellectual leaders in their fields. Gifts made during the campaign also have helped create more opportunities for undergraduate students to be exposed to leadership and applied business opportunities.
In addition to the goal of raising $120 million, the campaign aims to achieve a higher percentage of alumni participating in annual giving. “Only about 12 percent of our alumni make a gift to the School of Business each year,” said Oros. “To be an elite business school we need to do better than that. And, I know we can.”
Albert “Ab” Nicholas, chair and chief executive officer of the Milwaukee-based mutual fund firm of Nicholas Co., Inc., has long-standing ties to the university and the School of Business. Nicholas earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from UW-Madison in 1952 and his MBA in 1955. A former president and board member of the National W Club, he has served on the board of the UW Foundation, is a past member of the UW System Board of Regents and has served on School of Business advisory boards. In 2004, his major gift established the Nicholas Center for Applied Corporate Finance. ACFIN is the only applied program in the country that focuses exclusively on practical training in corporate finance by combining real-world experience with innovative teaching of financial methods and techniques.
“I am pleased and proud to be part of helping revitalize the Wisconsin MBA and, in particular, its Applied Corporate Finance program. I feel it is important to give back to a school that has done so much for me.”
— Ab Nicholas
Suzanne Wessels was a graduate of the first graduating class of the five-year Master of Accountancy (MAcc) program in 1999. Her tradition of “giving back” to the School of Business began the following year, when she made a gift to the School of Business Annual fund. She began directing her annual gifts to the MAcc Program in 2001 and has gradually increased her gift each year. In 2004, she joined the Accounting Department’s Advisory Board as one of its youngest members. She currently works as a finance manager for Best Buy in Minneapolis.
“The education, professional networks, friendships and wonderful memories I gained at the university have enriched my career and my life. I cannot put a value on my years at Madison, nor the impact it has had. University funding through private contributors, business support, scholarship sponsors and taxpayers made that possible for me. I feel the least I can do is to contribute back to the school with my time and financial contributions so that future generations will be able to share these experiences.”
— Suzanne Wessels
Paul Gilbert is a native Bostonian who came to Madison in 1972 to pursue his master’s degree in real estate under the tutelage of the late Professor James Graaskamp. Upon graduation, he returned to Boston to become the fourth generation to join his family’s real estate firm, Joy Realty. Gilbert began his annual support of the Real Estate program shortly after his graduation. In the fall of 2000, he established the Paul B. Gilbert Real Estate Department Fund, an endowment that supports students, faculty and special projects within the department. Inspired by the revised, career-focused MBA program strategy, in spring 2005, he established the Paul B. Gilbert Fellowship in Real Estate Fund to enable the department to recruit an outstanding student to the MBA program each year.
“I’m very proud to support the program that gave me the education I needed to move forward in my career. The Real Estate Program and the School of Business have an incredibly strong, loyal base of alumni. We all need to do our part to ensure future students have access to the incredible education the University of Wisconsin-Madison is known for.”
—Paul Gilbert
Photo by Bruce Fritz
Neil and Jessica Peters-Michaud developed a business plan and launched Cascade Asset Management, LLC, a company offering environmentally responsible services for reusing and recycling obsolete and damaged computer hardware. Today, the company not only accomplishes an impressive social mission, it employs 35 people, has triple-digit sales growth and operates at a substantial profit. Neil Peters-Michaud earned his MBA in Entrepreneurial Management in 1999. This year, Neil and Jessica established the Grace Michaud Fellowship in honor of Neil’s great-grandmother who built her own business distributing home heating oil. The couple established the fellowship to provide support for women who want to explore the opportunities of entrepreneurship.
“The support I received from the School of Business during my MBA coursework was invaluable and extremely generous. From the financial contributions of a fellowship opportunity, to the Weinert Applied Ventures in Entrepreneurship investment in my start-up company, to the educational experience and networking opportunities, the School of Business outfitted me for success in my own business venture. It’s only fitting to give back and provide resources to help other students leverage the same opportunities for themselves.”
—Neil Peters-Michaud