School of Business > UPDATE > Summer 2002 > Article

Bob Pricer: Professor, Mentor and Friend Retires

When Management and Human Resources Professor Bob Pricer retired in May after 14 years with the School of Business he gave strict orders: No fuss, no good-bye parties. Old professors, like old soldiers, should just fade away.

Unfortunately, his entire career had sabotaged his wishes. Former colleagues and former students demanded the opportunity to tell him just how he had changed their lives. And so, an end-of-the-year dinner for the Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship turned into a surprise celebration of his career and many contributions.

His key role in establishing an entrepreneurship program, the creation of the Weinert Center and its applied venture program were examined. His accomplishments in establishing an international presence for the School of Business were explored. However, it was the personal interest he took in individuals that was the focus of most of the comments.

There are all kinds of tangible proof of Pricer's impact. In 1999, he was one of eight UW-Madison professors to receive the campus' Distinguished Teaching Award. In 1996, a Business Week survey listed him among the 10 best entrepreneurship teachers in the United States.

And it wasn't just students who benefited from his efforts. The business community gained from Pricer's involvement as well. "Many entrepreneurs and small business owners in the Madison community will tell you that part of their success can be attributed to the sound business advice offered by Bob Pricer," said former Dean Andrew J. Policano. "Bob has been a key figure in the state's economy for many years-helping entrepreneurs initiate a business, advising on the issues of managing growth and helping companies through reorganizations."

It is Pricer's willingness to make time for people, to listen to their problem and try to come up with solutions that people seemed to most remember- whether it was locating scholarships, sharing news of job openings or introducing a key contact that shaped the lives of scores of students over the years, despite the toll it often took on his time for teaching and research.

As former student Adam J. Bock recalled, "He left his door open while desperately trying to catch up on his email and voice mails - always willing to fall a few more messages behind to help someone."

Robert Pricer

• W.T. Bill Graham Wisconsin Distinguished Professor of Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship
• Co-director, Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship
• Joined School of Business in 1988

Career Highlights: Taught courses in entrepreneurship, small business management, business planning, venture management and financing. Involved in creation of Enterprise Center, which became the Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship in 1999. The center provides assistance to more than 100 Wisconsin businesses annually. Published three books and more than 100 articles. Did extensive international teaching and consulting, led many School of Business overseas trips and other international initiatives.

Awards: Van Hise Distinguished Teaching Award from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Mabel W. Chipman Excellence in Teaching Award and Robert A. Jerred Distinguished Service Award from the School of Business, Graduate Business Association Professor of the Year and Dr. W. Robert Marshall Technology Transfer Achievement Award.