Royal Credit Union, UW-Eau Claire receive Board of Regents Business Partnership Award

Regent Amy Traynor presented Royal Credit Union President and CEO Brandon Riechers and UW-Eau Claire Chancellor Edwin Martini with the prestigious award, which was created in 2023 to recognize the critical partnerships that have formed between businesses and the Universities of Wisconsin.

Universities of Wisconsin Senior Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs Johannes Britz was in attendance for the presentation at Royal Credit Union headquarters in downtown Eau Claire.

“It’s a pleasure to continue this tradition by honoring Royal Credit Union and its partnership with UW-Eau Claire,” Traynor says. “It’s truly an impressive partnership. There is no doubt the relationship between UW-Eau Claire and Royal Credit Union will be amplified further in the coming years, and as regents we look forward to seeing it flourish.”

Riechers, a graduate of UW-Eau Claire, says he is proud to accept the award on behalf of the Royal team, which has worked closely with UW-Eau Claire faculty, staff and students over the years. That collaboration included student internship programs, community event co-sponsorships and a recent summer internship program in artificial intelligence, which brought together three UW campuses — UW-Eau Claire, UW-River Falls and UW-Stout.

“It is an honor to accept this recognition on behalf of Royal Credit Union and to celebrate a partnership that means so much to our organization, our team members and the community we call home,” Riechers says.

Riechers says the groundbreaking 2025 AI internship program is a great example of the Royal team tapping into and leveraging the creative thinking and expertise of Blugolds to benefit the credit union and its members.

“UW-Eau Claire’s impact reaches well beyond the classroom. The university brings people and organizations together, contributes expertise and new ideas, and serves as a catalyst for innovation, entrepreneurship and community well-being,” Riechers says.

Royal Credit Union has more than 100 employees who are UW-Eau Claire alumni, including full-time hires who have come through an internship at Eau Claire or regional branch offices. These individuals were proud to attend the presentation and recognize the vital connection their alma mater maintains with Royal Credit Union and the ways in which these interactions advance initiatives and opportunities for the benefit of the community and Royal members.

“Such visionary thinking, combined with Royal’s continual support for the programs, events, communities and institutions its members rely on, make Royal Credit Union a truly indispensable partner to UW-Eau Claire and to our region,” Martini says. “I can’t think of a better example of a community pillar than Royal Credit Union. Visionary leadership at Royal and the Royal Credit Union Foundation have helped spur downtown Eau Claire’s resurgence on numerous occasions, including as key donors to Pablo Center at the Confluence and through their perennial support of Downtown Eau Claire Inc.”