Notable graduates: Stacy Knuth — Paving way for future Wisconsin entrepreneurs

As marketing and supply chain management graduate Stacy Knuth heads
for a promising future at Proctor & Gamble, her campus commitment
to service will be cherished by UW–Madison students for generations to
come.

In 2007, Knuth’s business idea for a non-traditional marketing
company targeting campuses nationwide took first place in the
prestigious G. Stephen Burrill Business Plan Competition. In order to
help other students with business venture ideas of their own, Stacy
developed the Student Business Incubator, a
new 2,400-square-foot center housed in the University Square building,
set to open in 2009.

The Incubator will give UW–Madison students the opportunity to
develop, test and grow their business ideas in a dedicated space rich
with campus resources and support. The Incubator is just one of 33
community outreach projects this enterprising graduate has spearheaded
as a student in the Wisconsin School of Business and a member of Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), a group whose membership grew from
seven to 135 students in a single semester under Knuth’s direction.

Among her many other undertakings is Reality Check, a simulation
led by SIFE members to help area high school students gain an
understanding of budgeting and saving once they are financially
independent adults.