Meet the Alumni Board President

As a first-generation, small-town Catholic kid from New Prague, MN, my parents made it clear that I was going to college, and preferably a faith-based institution. I knew St. Thomas had an excellent reputation in business which was attractive. Athletics were a priority for me, so when the football and baseball coaches recruited me, it was an easy decision. 

Upon graduation, I accepted a job outside of Milwaukee. After two years in Wisconsin, I returned to MN to start business school at the Carlson School of Management. I taught Business Law my first year of grad school before starting with General Electric. After 7 jobs in 7 years at GE, I moved to Target for 3 years.  

My wife and I felt called to start our own company, so almost 15 years ago, we both left our corporate careers and started Rêve Consulting. We had a dream to combine our professional careers with our passion for impact in the community, so at the same time we also started a non-profit called Rêve Academy. We have been blessed to serve over 12,000 students (primarily low-income) by providing pathways to digital careers. 

Initially, when approached to join the board, I declined as our two teenage sons were very active in high school. Eventually, as our oldest went to college, it freed up a little time to join the board. As our other son graduated and decided to attend UST, the opportunity to serve in a leadership role was very attractive for many reasons.  

It is a perfect blend of my professional experiences and personal passions. I love being part of innovative teams working towards big, meaningful goals. Higher education is changing rapidly and the 100,000+ UST alumni have a unique opportunity to help St. Thomas build on our incredible foundation to forge a national footprint of educating the next generation, All for the Common Good. 

The new vision of the Alumni Advisory Board is to inspire lifelong engagement for every St. Thomas alumnus. We aim to do that in three primary ways: 

•  Spark connections to the university, students, and other alumni 
•  Amplify the voice of the alumni community 
•  Contribute to university and alumni priorities 

We are excited to help shape and expand the Alumni Volunteer Network, as well as the Alumni Ambassador Program. We envision a host of exciting ways to spark moments of engagement that will be easy for alumni to get involved with throughout the year.  

The St. Thomas alumni community is incredibly special, yet because 60% of the alumni live within 15 miles of the campus it is something we often take for granted. 

We have shared experiences which unite us and an opportunity to deepen authentic connections based on those experiences. President Vischer has a compelling vision of creating a culture of encounter. Imagine the role 100,000+ alumni can have in helping create that culture, how many connections and moments we can spark. We all have an important role to play. This can include the traditional ways of sharing our time, talent and treasure … but equally as important, we want to encourage alumni to enthusiastically share our ties and testimonies.

This is arguably one of the most exciting times in the history of St. Thomas.  

A new President with a bold vision, entering our third year of an unprecedented transition from D-3 to D-1, new buildings with innovative programs inspiring results in the classroom and our community.  

The world is starting to learn what we have known all along, that the University of St. Thomas is a special place.