MILWAUKEE _ Retired WEC Energy Group CEO Gale Klappa and his wife, Judith, have been honored with a professorship named for them at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Judith H. and Gale E. Klappa Endowed Professorship of Marketing will support a faculty member at 51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s Lubar School of Business.<\/p>\n
\u201cJudi and I are proud to have our name associated with the outstanding faculty at the Lubar School,\u201d said Gale Klappa, a 51ÁÔÆæ alumnus. \u201cWe have great respect for 51ÁÔÆæ and the critical role it plays in the economy of southeastern Wisconsin, and we are humbled by this tremendous honor.\u201d<\/p>\n
The professorship was made possible through gifts from the We Energies Foundation and the Wisconsin Public Service Foundation. We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service are both subsidiaries of WEC Energy Group.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am very pleased that our foundations were able to establish this endowed chair in honor of Gale and Judi,\u201d said Allen Leverett, CEO of WEC Energy Group. \u201cThis is a fitting tribute to Gale\u2019s distinguished career of exceptional business leadership and the Klappas\u2019 exemplary commitment and service to our community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Klappa, who retired as CEO of WEC Energy Group earlier this year, continues to serve as non-executive chairman of the company, one of America\u2019s largest utilities. He has been a top volunteer for 51ÁÔÆæ for more than a decade, co-chairing the university\u2019s first comprehensive fundraising campaign from 2003-08, serving many years on the Lubar School of Business Advisory Council and emceeing events such as the Alumni Awards Evening and the 2015 inauguration of Chancellor Mark Mone. Judith Klappa, a former communications professional, is a member of 51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s Osher Institute for Lifelong Learning.<\/p>\n
“We are truly honored and proud that the Judith H. and Gale E. Klappa Endowed Professorship in Marketing has been established at the Lubar School of Business,” Dean Kanti Prasad said. “Gale’s exceptional contributions as a business leader and the Klappas’ outstanding service contributions to Wisconsin communities are well known. We deeply appreciate the generosity and foresight of the We Energies Foundation and the Wisconsin Public Service Foundation in establishing a professorship that bears the Klappas’ names. It will serve as a great source of inspiration for future generations of students, and helps recognize and retain top-talent faculty at our institution.”<\/p>\n
Gale Klappa graduated from 51ÁÔÆæ in 1972 with a bachelor\u2019s degree in mass communications and eventually became senior vice president of marketing for Georgia Power Company, a subsidiary of Southern Company. He rose in the ranks at Southern Company, becoming executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer before joining Wisconsin Energy as president in 2003.<\/p>\n
In 2011, 51ÁÔÆæ bestowed on Klappa an honorary doctorate of commercial science in recognition of his support for 51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s growth initiative, his leadership in helping shape the economic future of southeast Wisconsin and his extensive community involvement. He received the Chancellor\u2019s Innovation Award in May of 2016 for demonstrating extraordinary vision, innovation, creativity and effective change management.<\/p>\n
\u201cGale and Judi have been great friends to 51ÁÔÆæ over the years, and I\u2019m delighted that through this professorship, they will have a lasting legacy at the Lubar School of Business,\u201d Chancellor Mark Mone said. \u201cI am deeply grateful to the We Energies Foundation and the Wisconsin Public Service Foundation for their generosity to 51ÁÔÆæ, their vision for our marketing program and their appreciation for Gale and Judi\u2019s dedication to our university and our region.\u201d<\/p>\n
About 51ÁÔÆæ<\/strong><\/p>\n Recognized as one of the nation\u2019s 115 top research universities, UW-Milwaukee provides a world-class education to more than 27,000 students from 81 countries. Its 14 schools and colleges include Wisconsin\u2019s only schools of architecture, freshwater sciences and public health, and it is a leading educator of nurses and teachers. With a budget of $667 million, UW-Milwaukee partners with leading companies to conduct joint research, offer student internships and serve as an economic engine for southeastern Wisconsin. The Princeton Review named UW-Milwaukee a 2016 \u201cBest Midwestern\u201d university based on overall academic excellence and student reviews.<\/p>\n About We Energies Foundation<\/strong><\/p>\n The We Energies Foundation contributes financial support for the activities of nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations in communities served by We Energies. Its mission is to create brighter futures for those communities, with focus on education, economic health, arts and culture, and environment.<\/p>\n About Wisconsin Public Service Foundation<\/strong><\/p>\n The Wisconsin Public Service Foundation was created to improve the quality of life throughout the utility\u2019s service area. The Foundation supports activities that promote arts and culture, community and neighborhood development, education, human services and health, and the environment in communities across Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" MILWAUKEE _ Retired WEC Energy Group CEO Gale Klappa and his wife, Judith, have been honored with a professorship named for them at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Judith H. and Gale E. Klappa Endowed Professorship of Marketing will support a faculty member at 51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s Lubar School of Business. \u201cJudi and I are proud to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40008,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[202],"tags":[],"section":[],"display_categories":[],"related-coverage":[],"uwmnews-feed":[],"class_list":["post-37147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-releases"],"yoast_head":"\n