Green Bay, Wis. — The UW-Sheboygan County Foundation, a philanthropic society of individuals dedicated to supporting public higher education in Sheboygan County, is combining forces with the UW-Green Bay Foundation to create efficiencies and eliminate duplication of fiduciary duties. The two groups determined that the focus needs to be on growing the number of college degree earners in the region to retain and attract employers in today’s fast-paced changing economy. The college degree attainment rate in the region is 26% compared to 33% nationally.
“The missions of the two entities overlap and it makes sense to work collaboratively with the University’s affiliated Foundation for fiduciary purposes,” says Tom Ries, board chair of the UW-Sheboygan Foundation. “The local UW College campus was integrated with UW-Green Bay in 2018 and now the campus offers a growing number of four-year degree options which is very exciting for our community. Seventy percent of UW-Green Bay graduates remain living and working in the region following graduation, so having a local option for associates and undergraduate degrees is vital to our economic future in Sheboygan County.”
“The Sheboygan Campus is one of four access points and is critical to our mission to reach students who seek educational opportunities close to home,” says University Chancellor Michael Alexander. “Today’s students seek a combination of learning modalities, and with several years of annual growth at the Sheboygan Campus we are building momentum for expanded educational opportunities for the region.”
Donors to the UW-Sheboygan Foundation will see little change in how their support benefits public higher education.
“Donors can still support important programs offered by the University, the only difference is that gifts will flow through the UW-Green Bay Foundation,” according to UW-Green Bay Foundation President Tony Werner. “Gifts can be restricted for use at the UW-Green Bay, Sheboygan Campus and donor intent on existing endowed funds will be honored. Philanthropic support impacts student success in important ways, like funding capital improvements to create high impact learning spaces.”
