Grainger VIP Impact Report

GRAINGER CENTER FOR SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

In 2023, the Grainger Center for Supply Chain Management took lessons learned during and after the pandemic to reach new heights of success in student recognition and support. Multiple case competitions, site visits, and celebratory events increased our external visibility and provided forums in which to come together as a community. The center’s bachelor of business administration (BBA) program has long been our largest, and it has emerged as our most celebrated as well. Seventy students graduated in 2023, and virtually all of them were recruited into sought after jobs across the country. The Corporate Donations Fund allows the center to provide a differentiated level of service that is now being replicated across other undergraduate majors at the Wisconsin School of Business. Eighteen lucky undergraduate students received scholarships in 2023, including BBA senior Isabelle Fawcett, who won the sixth annual Wisconsin Supply Chain Distinguished Student award. All of these awards were paid by the Opportunity Endowment Fund. The center is a recognized leader in attracting women into the field of supply chain management — 60 percent of our BBA majors are women, which is higher than average. Leveraging that, we participated in WISE (Women Impacting Supply Chain Excellence) events both locally and nationally and launched a UW–Madison WISE chapter. Travel and other expenses for these events were paid by the Corporate Donations Fund. It was also a banner year for case competition success. Graduate students placed third at the TCU Graduate Supply Chain Case Competition, and undergraduate students placed second at the National Case Competition hosted by the University of Minnesota. Participation in these competitions involves travel costs, which are paid from the Corporate Donations Fund. We are fortunate to have designated funds for marketing the center’s programs, especially now that there are three of them. We invested significantly in marketing the one-year master’s program supported in part by the Grainger Center

Photo by: Paul L. Newby II

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