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12 | I nsIgh t • A p r i l 2 0 14 w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m » HIgHWay 41 CORRIdOR Brown, Calumet, Outagamie, Winnebago, Fond du Lac Counties $7M gift to SNC to start business school, MBA st. norbert college plans to establish the Donald J. schneider school of Business and Economics and launch a new master of business administration program with a donation from the family of one of northeast Wisconsin's business leaders and entrepreneurs. Pat schneider, wife of Don schneider, who died in 2012, recently donated $7 million to the college. "We are humbled and honored by Pat schneider's extraordinary generosity; this is the largest gi to endow an academic program in the history of the college," said st. norbert college President omas Kunkel. a portion of the gi will allow the college to launch the MBa program, which is expected to start in the fall of 2015, Kunkel said. e great majority of the gi will be used to endow the business school and its operation. e new school will be composed of the college's existing business administration and economics departments, as well as new faculty and staff who will be hired, including a dean who will oversee the operation of the schneider school. an advisory board to the school will be made up of area business leaders. Business classes have been offered at st. norbert almost from the time it opened in 1898. But Kunkel said the creation of the schneider school and the MBa program will allow the college's strong business and economics programs to reach an even higher level of excellence, as well as better serve the northeast Wisconsin region. Donald schneider graduated from st. norbert with a degree in business in 1957. he was president, cEo and chairman of schneider national, the now-global transportation, intermodal and logistics provider headquartered in ashwaubenon. he also served as a st. norbert trustee and longtime adjunct instructor in the area of finance and business administration. Oshkosh chamber partners with school district e oshkosh chamber of commerce lent support to the oshkosh area school District to develop work- based education programs to include youth apprenticeships. is program is part of a statewide school-to-Work initiative designed for high school juniors or seniors who want hands-on learning in an occupational area at a worksite along with classroom instruction. e elective program lasts one to two years, combining academic and technical instruction with mentored on-the-job learning. e oshkosh chamber and school district partnered with oshkosh Bergstrom divisions for two automotive technician apprenticeships. Bergstrom also offers scholarships through FVtc for the apprentices. e oshkosh chamber will partner with area businesses to offer opportunities in several fields, including engineering, technology, manufacturing, information technology, health science and finance. Lawrence University receives $1M gift for faculty research Lawrence University received an anonymous gi of $1 million for the Richard and Margot Warch Fund for scholarly Research. Provost and Dean of the Faculty David Burrows will administer the funds for faculty scholarship, travel expenses, student research support and the purchase of research materials, including instrumentation and books. "one of the great strengths of a Lawrence education is the opportunity for students to work closely with faculty who are engaged in scholarly or creative projects," Burrows says. "our faculty are outstanding scholars and creative artists as well as excellent teachers. ese funds will enhance the support available to faculty. all faculty will be eligible to apply for small grants that will help them complete such projects." e endowed fund honors Richard "Rik" Warch, the second-longest serving president in Lawrence history, who led the college from 1979 to 2004, and his wife, Margot. President Warch passed away in september at 74. "Rik felt interactions between faculty and students were the essence of the Lawrence experience," Margot Warch says. "he celebrated the work and achievements of each faculty member as dean of the faculty and, as president, was always looking for dollars to encourage scholarship and development projects. he would be thrilled to know that a fund bearing our names now exists to support faculty research." Funds to support faculty research will become available beginning with the 2014-15 academic year. regional roundup U P F R O N T For links to economic development groups in the New North, visit www.thenewnorth.com/partners. Development in the New North B y F e l i c i a C l a r k