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Business school awards alumni
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by Carl Jaeger
Monday, November 6, 2006
The University of Wisconsin School of Business has honored two of its alumni with the prestigious Distinguished Business Alumnus Award, a prize that has only been handed out fewer than 75 times in the school's entire history.
The two recipients, Paul Leff and Phill Gross, were recognized by the school for their outstanding civic and business achievements. After graduating, both later became co-founders of money-management firms.
The Distinguished Business Alumnus Award is given to UW Business School alumni who have not only excelled in their careers, but have also made a significant impact on their communities.
Michael Knetter, dean of the UW School of Business, said the award is given based on both professional success and civic engagement.
"Any institution likes to recognize the most successful and accomplished people and also honor people who do a lot of good in their community — and who have done a lot to help the university," Knetter said.
According to Alisa Robertson, director of alumni relations for the business school, recipients of the awards have reached out to their communities in various ways, such as being involved with the university, mentoring, providing financial support and being involved in local school districts.
Many recipients are also involved in community organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters and United Way.
"The award provides a terrific opportunity to recognize alumni who we hope can be examples for current students in terms of people who have reached a level of high success in their career and value contributing to their community," Robertson said.
Gross is the co-founder and managing director of Adage Capital Management, a money-management firm based in Boston that handles assets for numerous foundations such as Harvard University, Dartmouth College, Northwestern University, the Getty Foundation and the American Red Cross.
Gross is also still active in the UW community, serving on the Chancellor's Board of Advisors and as a member of the UW Foundation Investment Committee. He additionally serves on the Applied Security Analysis and the Applied Corporate Finance advisory boards for the School of Business.
Leff co-founded Perry Partners Ltd. in 1988 and is currently the firm's chief investment officer. Based in New York City, Perry Partners Ltd. is a money-management firm with additional offices in London and Hong Kong.
Leff also remains active in the UW community, serving on the board of the UW Foundation, the business school dean's advisory board and the Applied Security Analysis Board.
Both Gross and Leff earned bachelor of business administration degrees in economics and finance and master of science degrees in finance from the UW School of Business.
Any business school alumni can nominate candidates for the award, and a panel including the dean of the business school and the director of alumni relations for the business school decides the recipients.
