Updates

Check out what our alumni and friends are up to!

1970's

Stuart Bass ('78) is working as a freelance film editor mostly in television, mostly for the major studios. Credits are available at IMDB. Most recently cutting The Office.

Mike Klein ('78) recently returned to madison after a very successful career in publishing for over 20 years. Has a new media company called The Wisconsin Technology Network.

Warren Lada is currently Senior Vice President for Saga Communications, Inc., owner of 79 radio and television stations and three state networks. Saga Communications is a publicly held corporation on the American Stock Exchange. Their stations are located across the United States. Warren holds Chief Operating Officer responsibilities.

Norman E. Lorenz ('76) still loves working in his chosen field. He's spent 32 years in broadcast television...the best 15 years of his life. In television, nothing is easy. The people he's met along the way have shaped and changed his life, but his father was his biggest influence. Three years before his death, Fred Rogers (Mister Roger's Neighborhood) said it best, "What's really important is rarely center stage in life." He tries to remember that as he mentors new people just starting out their careers. He tells them when they are in the middle of something that feels great - a once in a lifetime interview, a spectacular vista they are shooting, the presence of a musician creating a piece of music that lifts their soul, or an edit that is becoming better than the raw parts - "take your eye away from the camera, step back, breathe in the experience, let it fill you for that split second, then go back to work. You'll be glad you did - 30 years later."

Ted Nielsen (PhD '71) has retired as a professor of communication at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. He and his recently retired wife Joyce are currently working as docents for the Holland Museum. Ted was with Hope College for 25 years as a professor of radio and television production.

Bob Wendt ('75) let us know what life was like after his graduation from the UW. Two years after graduation, he began full-time work as a staff television commercial producer at a local Madison advertising agency. "It was a good place to learn the practical side of production from the ground up. I was fortunate to work with production and post companies in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles," he reports.

Several years later, he moved to Chicago where he produced for Leo Burnett. It was also a good place to learn. Most of his time was spent producing and finishing in Los Angeles and New York. He began concentrating on visual effects and in-house line production. In 1989 he resigned from Leo Burnett and moved to Los Angeles as a freelance producer. And he's still at it. "My work is an interesting mix of producing for various advertising agencies as well as visual effects and post supervision. My web site is a good source for my recent work and a more background detail."

Kevin K. Ruppert ('76) likes Madison so much he and his wife have lived there since graduation (except for a short stint in Baraboo). He is involved with a group of alums that were in student radio at the UW and he is looking for others around the country who might be interested in joining. For more information, see http://www.lakeshore64.com.