The Influence of Teachers

For Ken Ciriacks ’58, education was never meant to end at graduation. The geologist and longtime oil executive knows that learning is a lifelong adventure, and so he and his wife, Linda, use their contacts with the UW and WAA as a means of gaining a little more access to university experts.

“It’s such an enriching experience to have a faculty member come outside of campus,” says Ken, a member of the WAA board of directors. “It brings the university closer to people.” This year, he and Linda offered some support to those faculty and staff members who spread the Wisconsin Idea when they designated a $50,000 gift to the WAA Endowment to fund an award to recognize their service.

The first Ken and Linda Ciriacks Alumni Outreach Excellence Award went to James Baughman, director of the School of Journalism and a popular speaker at alumni events — he’s made some 18 appearances at WAA-sponsored programs since 2000.

The Ciriacks Award is just one of the ways that WAA is striving to achieve its fiscal mission — to multiply the impact of alumni and their financial and personal contributions.

During the 2004–2005 fiscal year, WAA saw an increase in revenue in every major area, with gross assets rising from $7.67 million to $7.84 million. At the same time, liabilities rose less than 6.5 percent, or $150,000, resulting in a $15,000 increase in net assets.

One of the primary reasons for this continuing improvement is that WAA has again been able to reduce its administrative costs, which dropped from 19 percent of the budget last year, or $837,000, to 16 percent, or $776,000, this year. As a result, WAA has been able to offer a greater variety of alumni and student programming.