UW Board of Regents presents Regents Business Partnership Award to Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce, UW-Eau Claire

Regent Karen Walsh, whose idea created the award in 2023, presented the award to UW-Eau Claire Chancellor James Schmidt and Eau Claire Chamber President and CEO David Minor at the 110th annual Chamber meeting attended by more than 400 people and employees representing hundreds of businesses.

Regent President Amy B. Bogost and UW President Jay Rothman also were in attendance.

“This award recognizes the deep and lasting relationship between UW-Eau Claire and the Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce,” Walsh said. “Businesses in the Chippewa Valley are hungry for talent and UW-Eau Claire is producing more than 2,000 career-ready graduates every year.”

“The collaboration between UW-Eau Claire and the Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce is just one of many critical partnerships between our universities and businesses across Wisconsin,” Rothman said.

Chancellor Schmidt said the great working relationship between UW-Eau Claire and the Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce is critical to the success of many initiatives in the region.

“UW-Eau Claire is so fortunate and grateful to have a trusted partner in the Chamber, and the strength of our collaboration with their team has helped the community move forward,” Schmidt said. “Dave Minor’s vision and support over the past decade has been invaluable to our community’s success.”

Minor said the Chamber’s work with UW-Eau Claire is meaningful on many levels, and added the two entities have a long, storied history of working together.

“The Chamber is proud to be a community convener that helps the stakeholders in our region collaborate to envision a brighter future for our world, and UW-Eau Claire is an invaluable partner in that work,” Minor said. “From our founding to the present day, strong higher educational opportunities have been central to developing our community and workforce. We are honored by this recognition from the Board of Regents.”

Since the award was first created, dozens of the most prominent businesses across Wisconsin have received it, including Mayo Clinic Health System, Kwik Trip, Haribo, Sentry and 3M. The Board of Regents will present Business Partnership awards at other universities throughout the year.