A prominent alum and a former campus dean highlighted the 50th anniversary luncheon of the University of Wisconsin-Marathon County Foundation at the Jefferson Street Inn on Friday, May 20.
Benjamin M. Salzmann is in his 21st year with Sheboygan-based ACUITY Insurance, serving the last 13 years as its President and CEO. ACUITY is a property and casualty insurance carrier that writes business across 20 states, with $850 million in premium.
ACUITY, rated as A+ by both A.M. Best and Standard & Poor's, has been a member of Ward's 50 Best Run Insurance Companies for each of the past 11 years. ACUITY is the 76th largest insurer in the country and one of the most profitable property and casualty generalists in the nation (based on six-year average combined ratio) according to The National Underwriter magazine.
In addition, ACUITY has ranked in the top five Best Places to Work in the nation (according to the Great Place to Work Institute) for seven years in a row, ranking number one among mid-size companies in 2010, and has been named the Most Credible Employer in the nation. ACUITY has also been listed by AARP as a Best Employer for Workers Over 50 and received recognition as one of the best employers by CollegeGrad.com.
Ben is an alumnus of UW-Marathon County and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate in liberal arts from UW-Madison. He has a Computer Information Systems degree from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he taught computer and project management courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Ben also has a Masters degree in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Ben has over 29 years of experience in the insurance industry, having started his insurance career at Foremost Insurance in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and then joining ACUITY in 1990. Ben is a member of the Board of Directors for several organizations, including Westland Insurance Services and the University of Wisconsin – Sheboygan Foundation. Ben is also President of the ACUITY Charitable Foundation, with donations of over $12 million in the last seven years. ACUITY’s foundation sponsored the ACUITY Technology Center building at the University of Wisconsin – Sheboygan.
Ben’s wife Ann is also an alumnus of UW-Marathon County. She has a Bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Wisconsin as well as a Master’s degree in medical ethics from the Medical College of Wisconsin. Ben and Ann reside in Kohler, Wisconsin and have two children and two grandchildren.
Jim Veninga was CEO/dean at UW-Marathon County in Wausau from 2000 through June 2007. During that time, he helped to craft the collaborative agreements that allow students to earn baccalaureate degrees in engineering and other disciplines, while remaining in Wausau. He also initiated and laid the groundwork for the Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service (WIPPS) and the new Center for Civic Engagement building. Other capital projects included the addition of a building housing the Department of Arts and the remodeling of South Hall and the science labs. Enrollment increased 12 percent during his time as CEO/dean. After he stepped down as dean, he resumed his position as a professor of religious studies on the campus. He recently agreed to step in as Interim CEO/Dean at UW-Rock County in Janesville, beginning on July 1. While he is Interim CEO/Dean of UW-Rock County, he will remain a member of the WIPPS Advisory Board.
Before coming to Wisconsin, he directed the Texas Council for the Humanities for 23 years. Here he helped develop and coordinate programs and projects designed to enhance the humanities in secondary, post-secondary, and community settings. The Council also sponsored initiatives that encouraged scholarship on topics and issues of importance to the public The James F. Veninga Outstanding Teaching of the Humanities Award is named in his honor.
He has taught at a number of institutions, including the University of St. Thomas (Houston), the University of Texas at Austin, and, prior to his appointment as Dean of UW Marathon County, Baylor University. He holds a B.A. degree from Baylor, a M.T.S. degree from Harvard Divinity School, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Religious Studies and History from Rice University.
Jim Veninga’s early years were spent in Milwaukee, WI and Aplington, Iowa, and he completed high school in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Veninga is a nationally known author and speaker. He has authored numerous articles on education, the humanities, and the public role of scholars. He is author or editor of a number of books including, most recently, Standing with the Public: The Humanities and Democratic Practice (co-editor, 1997) and The Humanities and the Civic Imagination (1999). Other books include Education for the 21st Century, The Biographer’s Gift (ed.), and Vietnam in Remission (ed.).
