WAA Chapters Host Chancellor on the Road

Chancellor Rebecca Blank met with alumni in Green Bay in September. From left are Jamie Stockwell Schnurer ’04, Nathaniel Jones ’03, Sarah Higgins ’03, Blank, and WAA President and CEO Paula Bonner. John Von Dorn.

Building ties with alumni is key for Rebecca Blank.

UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank has a message for alumni: for her to be successful, she needs their help. Brown County and Fox Valley alumni heard those words at a special reception at Lambeau Field in September, and the chancellor will have the chance to reinforce that call as she continues to visit other cities around the state and the nation during her inaugural year. A top priority for Blank is strengthening relationships with UW System colleagues, the governor and state legislators, community leaders, and alumni.

“Alumni are a vital part of that vision, so WAA was delighted to bring alumni together with the chancellor,” says Paula Bonner MS’78, WAA president and CEO. Blank’s Green Bay visit continued a theme kicked off by the WAA: Washington, D.C., Chapter when it hosted a sendoff party for Blank in August.

“I was really impressed with the energy the chancellor has,” says Ryan Kuehn ’06, president of the WAA: Brown County Chapter. “She’s got a phenomenal background. The fact that, with all the chaos of starting a new job, she took the time to come up to Green Bay really showed that outreach is going to be important in embracing the alumni. Just having an in-person appearance was important to the members of my group.”

How can alumni support the chancellor and the university’s mission? Through volunteering, legislative advocacy, financial gifts, and student recruitment. Longtime Brown County chapter member Pat Finder-Stone MS’75, who attended the event at Lambeau Field, had a reaction to that message that any leader could love: “You can count on me. Absolutely. … I will continue my support.”

Published in the Winter 2013 issue