MAILED: July 19, 2001
EAU CLAIRE — Ken and Roberta
Vance of Eau Claire have pledged $100,000 as the lead gift in a
dollar-for-dollar match fundraising effort to benefit the UW-Eau Claire College
of Business’s Center for Leadership.
The Center for Leadership comprises two key programs: the
Leadership Institute, now in its eleventh year of offering weeklong summer
programs designed to enhance the leadership potential of precollegiate students,
and the collegiate program, which offers undergraduate courses that can lead to
a Leadership Certificate. The Center for Leadership also provides extension
seminars and services to public and private corporations.
“Ken and Roberta’s gift reflects their ongoing
interest in young people and their personal development,” said Thomas Dock,
dean of the UW-Eau Claire College of Business. “The gift helps ensure that the
Center for Leadership at UW-Eau Claire will be there to serve student leaders
into the 21st century.”
“We decided to do this because we’re so impressed
with UW-Eau Claire’s leadership studies program,” Ken Vance said. “This is
a unique model that cannot be found in any other state schools that I’m aware
of.”
“Owning and operating a business requires leadership
and dedication,” Vance added. “Doug Hallatt’s Leadership Institute gives
students life skills that will not only develop them personally, but will also
make them an asset to any company.”
Doug Hallatt, founder and director of the Center for
Leadership, stressed the value to society of the center’s work. “This is a
proactive approach in trying to prevent the types of tragedies of teen violence
we have seen in recent years involving middle and high school students across
the country.”
“We have 11 years of experience in helping teens learn
decision-making skills, build their self-confidence, and develop a purpose in
life,” Hallatt said.
The Vances have been supporters of the Leadership
Institute since it began in 1989, when their son attended the very first
institute.
“I’ve seen firsthand what can happen in young people
who are not necessarily goal oriented or full of self-confidence once they
attend the institute,” Vance said, adding that over the years he has
encouraged friends and business associates to enroll their middle- and
high-school-age children in the institute.
This summer, approximately 220 middle and high school
students and incoming university freshmen are participating in the weeklong
Leadership Institutes. In June, institutes were held at UW-Milwaukee, the
University of Minnesota, and UW-Eau Claire. In July, three more institutes at
UW-Eau Claire were scheduled.
“The leadership institute is an unbelievable way to
challenge one’s morals, meet new people, share common experiences, and grow as
a group,” wrote Megan Dooley, Sartell, Minn., in an evaluation after
participating in a Leadership Institute earlier this summer.
“The institute has the ability to change lives, to give
meaning to life, and provides an environment in which an amazing amount of
personal growth occurs,” wrote Mike Weber, a past institute participant from
Durand.
Vance, in addition to his support of the Leadership
Institute, has been a guest lecturer for the college-level leadership studies
classes offered by the Center for Leadership. “I’ve seen so many young
people really blossom with a couple of years of leadership studies,” he said.
Hallatt said that the Vances’ pledge and the matching
funds raised will be critical to the future of the center. “It should allow us
to really stabilize and advance what we’re doing,” he said.
Hallatt said plans for the money from the Center for
Leadership fundraising effort include expanding the number of precollegiate
leadership programs, exploring the potential for an interdisciplinary leadership
studies minor at UW-Eau Claire, and creating a more comprehensive follow-up
research plan to determine the outcomes from the Center’s precollegiate and
collegiate programs.
Anyone with questions about Center for Leadership
programs or the fundraising effort can contact Hallatt at 836-4364.
-30-
JP
[Administrative Offices]
[News Bureau]
Janice B. Wisner
UW-Eau Claire News Bureau
Schofield 201
(715) 836-4741
newsbur@uwec.edu
Updated: July 19, 2001
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