For Jim Berbee, a University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health assistant professor and recipient of the Wisconsin Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni Award, the university has always been a special place.
The WAA Distinguished Alumni Award is the organization’s highest distinction, according to a UW news release. Along with Berbee, three others were named honorees.
According to the Wisconsin Alumni Association, there have been 145 recipients of this award since 1986.
Susan Teskey, senior director of alumni and donor recognition programs, said while the only requirement for this award is that the nominee be an alumnus or alumna of UW, the awards are bestowed upon graduates who have achieved prominence in their fields and made contributions of enduring impact that are national or global in scope.
Berbee was originally a systems engineer for IBM and founded Berbee Information Networks Corporation in his basement. His clients included IBM, Microsoft and Cisco.
He remained in the field until a biking accident. After the bike crash and trip to the emergency room, the care Berbee received pushed him to go back to school for medicine, he said. He sold his business, attended Stanford University’s School of Medicine and returned to UW for his residency and career.
“UW has been in my life for as long as I can remember,” Berbee said. “My father, John Berbee, was a professor of forestry, my mother, Flora Berbee, was a UW researcher and I met my wife and partner, Karen Walsh, in the basement of the Engineering Research Building.”
Like Berbee, Danae Davis has attributed her success to her time at UW.
Davis, the executive director of Milwaukee Succeeds, a part of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, said her primary focus is to unite communities across all sectors of education.
It is the goal of Milwaukee Succeeds to provide children with a quality education, Davis said. In addition to education, she has focused her efforts on at-risk girls.
“Being an African American woman, I know how important it is to help girls recognize personal power, build self-confidence and develop skills regardless of where they come from,” Davis said.
Davis also serves as board chair for 88Nine Radio Milwaukee, a station that works to make Milwaukee a more inclusive city and StriveTogether, a nonprofit organization that seeks to ensure every child is given a proper education.
Davis said she utilized the skills she learned at UW and looks back at her experience with “fond remembrance.”
The awards will be presented by Chancellor Rebecca Blank, and chief alumni officer and executive director of WAA Sarah Schutt to the honorees at the annual Chancellor’s Board of Visitor’s Luncheon Oct. 19.
