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.