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Photo by Pete Amland
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Jill Pelisek, who describes herself as a “UWM double alum,” chairs the Board of Directors of the UWM Foundation.
Although she has been honored extensively for professional and volunteer accomplishments, she was typical of many students at UWM when she first enrolled during the 1970s. Jill, recently divorced, was working in banking. Her previous studies at Southern Methodist University and the University of Michigan had been in commercial art, so she felt the need to go back to school.
Although she had worked as a substitute art teacher, Jill was now back in the classroom as a student. “I was scared to death, but loved it,” she says. Jill describes the excitement of being intellectually challenged. “I remember thinking, ‘I DO have a mind!’”
She went on to earn her B.B.A. in Finance (1980) and an M.A. in Economics–Monetary Theory (1983).
In the meantime, Frank J. (Jack) Pelisek (her future husband) and others were founding the UWM Foundation. He served on the foundation’s Board of Directors from 1974 through 1991, when he was elected a distinguished director.
“Although Jack had attended UW–Madison himself, he had spent a lot of time on all the UW System campuses as chair of the Board of Regents. He knew all of the UWM chancellors, beginning with J. Martin Klotsche, and stayed involved with the university even after his term as a regent expired.”
After the couple married, they shared their dedication to UWM. Because of their work in the business world, the Peliseks knew the vital role the university needed to play in terms of the city and state’s economic and cultural life.
When she retired from Firstar Bank, Jill was contacted by V. Kanti Prasad (now dean of the School of Business Administration), who was directing the Executives-in-Residence Program. He asked if she would be interested in teaching a “Women and Men in Corporate Management” course. She accepted the challenge and used her own observations as part of the curriculum.
As the program’s Lawrence G. Regner Executive-in-Residence, she recently has taught several courses at the Helen Bader Institute for Nonprofit Management. Jill has tapped guest speakers and newspaper articles to keep her coursework relevant, and stresses the importance of problem-solving.
In 1994, Jill was asked by Chancellor John Schroeder to join the board of the UWM Foundation, and found she enjoyed her work with the foundation “tremendously.”
Jill describes the foundation’s Board of Directors as “very diverse, just like the university.” She feels fortunate that the board varies not only in gender and race, but also geographically. “More and more, UWM serves not only the metropolitan Milwaukee area, but the entire state.” She points to the College Connection program, which gives students at UW System two-year campuses the opportunity to earn a UWM degree in their own backyard.
The board also is diverse in the ages of its members – “After all, those attending classes at UWM range from little kids to over-60 auditors, and every age in between,” says Jill.
How does this diversity impact the foundation? Jill believes that the upcoming capital campaign for UWM will directly benefit from the different backgrounds and viewpoints represented by the foundation’s Board of Directors.
“We need creative approaches to succeed,” she says. “If we all came from the same place, we’d come up with the same ideas.” Jill adds that Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher has created an environment that nurtures new tactics. “The Chancellor’s willingness to take risks and entrepreneurial approach are two of her many strengths.”
Jill acknowledges that the makeup of UWM’s student body presents challenges to the foundation. “For example, our first-generation college students don’t have that parental example of giving to your alma mater.” UWM also has many graduates who started their studies elsewhere, since the campus leads all other UW System schools in the number of transfer students.
She’s convinced, however, that when people know their gifts are vital, generosity follows. “It’s incredibly important for small donors to realize the difference their gifts can make.” When the foundation’s board members made their own donations this year, the amounts were not the critical factor for Jill.
“I was very gratified that every single one of our 22 board members pledged,” she says.
— Beth Stafford