Greater Milwaukee Foundation Richard and Barbara Weiss Fund
Richard and Barbara met as teens attending Washington High School in Milwaukee. Dick moved away to earn his bachelor?s degree and started his career in New York. After they both returned to Milwaukee to raise their family, Dick earned his MBA at UWM in 1975 and spent his career in information technology.
Dick, who majored in the History and Philosophy of The Physical Sciences, was introduced to computer programming in a part-time college job in a physics laboratory. He was hooked and went on to spend his career in information technology. He earned an MBA at UW-Milwaukee in 1975, which gave him the skills he would need when he and a close friend started a business, “Computer People Unlimited,” in 1984. The business, an INC 500 Company, was a success; they sold it in 1994 and within a few years Dick retired to pursue his desire to become involved in the community through philanthropy and volunteer work focused on poverty, race and education.
Impact
Mr. Weiss says UWM’s MBA program gave him the skills needed to start a computer business with a close friend. After selling the business, he retired to pursue community service through philanthropy and volunteer work focused on poverty, race, and education. The Weiss Family Scholarship supports underrepresented students, in terms of race/ethnicity, who are economically disadvantaged. The Weiss family wants students to be open to unexpected possibilities in their careers and where they choose to live … ideas that may not occur to them as undergraduates.