Latest / UWM Chancellor's Report / Exploring UWM: Award-Winning Alumni
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- This is the Chancellor's Report from 89.7 WUWM Milwaukee's NPR, featuring Thomas Gibson, Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. And here's your host, WUWM General Manager, David Lee. David Lee: Hello, and thank you for joining the UWM Chancellor's Report here on 89.7 WUWM. I'm David Lee, General Manager of the station, and I'm here today with UWM Chancellor, Thomas Gibson. Hi, Tom. Thomas Gibson: Hello, David. How are you? David Lee: I'm doing great. We had a fun weekend. Thomas Gibson: It was awesome. David Lee: And I understand that we're here with some folks about that fun weekend or that fun Friday. Thomas Gibson: Yes. So, we both attended UWM's Alumni Awards event. It was my first time attending the event. But with me today are two of the honorees. The first is Deepak Arora, and also joining us is Oby Nwabuzor � David Lee: And I think you may have also maybe not buried the lead, given that you have the winners of the Alumni Oscars here, but also we have Joan Nesbitt. Thomas Gibson: Yes, we do. Joan is the Vice Chancellor for University Advancement at UWM. David Lee: I love it. This is so great to be able to have two of the award winners and also the Vice Chancellor for Advancement at the university to talk about the impact our students have had in the community. So, Joan, Let's start with you. Tell us about the Alumni Oscars. Joan Nesbitt: Well, first of all, we're going to start calling it that. I love it. David Lee: I love it. Breaking news. Joan Nesbitt: I love �Alumni Oscars�. So, these are officially known as the UWM Alumni Association Awards. David Lee: Yes. Joan Nesbitt: We have our award, two of our 12 award winners with us tonight. The Alumni Association has been honoring our distinguished and accomplished and talented alumni for longer than I've been alive. I love being able to say that. Since 1961. And we have a different number of awardees each year. It just depends on who the committee picks and how many nominations there are. But you can typically count on eight to 12 to 13 or more honorees. But despite that, the evening goes really fast. It's fun-paced, it's great, and it's one of the best evenings of the year. David Lee: So, I think I heard you say this event has been going on since 1961. Joan Nesbitt: We've been honoring alumni. David Lee: Honoring, not the event at this scale. Joan Nesbitt: Yeah, right. David Lee: Because the scale was pretty incredible, by the way. Joan Nesbitt: Isn't it? David Lee: So, but who's involved with the selection process of the awardees and how does that go? Joan Nesbitt: The Alumni Association Board of Directors nominates a committee, and that committee comes together and makes the selections. We put out a worldwide call for nominations in a full year in advance of the ceremony. We put out the call. So, probably next week, the call will go out for next year for [20]27 winners. David Lee: So, this process goes on for a full year. Joan Nesbitt: It goes on for a full year. And nominations come in. There is a deadline, and then the committee meets. They do a lot of homework in advance of the committee meeting, reading all the nominations and doing their research. And then they come together and vote. And every year, it's so difficult as you can imagine. David Lee: I think, I don't think I'm spoiling anything, but I sat next to the chair of the selection committee, and she shared with me that the packet that people get is pretty incredible about every nominee. So, just so people know, this is a very seriously. So, why is it so important to recognize our alums? Joan Nesbitt: Well, obviously, it brings prestige to the university. We, by affiliation, we are honored by our alumni. But I think for everyone who works on campus, we do everything we do for the students. And the amount of inspiration that our awardees give our students is incredible. And first and foremost, I would want them to know, you're beloved by your peers, but mostly you are a role model and an inspiration to our students who see your stories and dream that they can go on to achieve what you have. David Lee: That's so incredible. We're really excited to have a few of the awardees here with us. Let's start with Oby, who received The Graduate of the Last Decade Award or gold, incredible honor, incredible acronym, and also part of the vibe of the evening, right? It's so much gold from the evening. I understand that you earned a bachelor's in communication from UWM and then went on to get an MBA, as well as a doctorate in public health. And now you own your own real estate development company. That's incredible. People say that I've had a circuitous route in my life, but that does me one better. How did your UWM bachelor's degree set you up for this journey? Oby Nwabuzor: Absolutely. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is very critical to, I would say, the ecosystem of Milwaukee as a whole, right? The location of the UW-Milwaukee, its mass, its size, the diversity of students that come to the university, I think that's a big piece. I think another thing is the means to be able to stay local and be at an affordable institution. The price and the cost of education is skyrocketing. And I think it actually detracts individuals from wanting to pursue a higher education. So, that's the other piece that I think set the foundation of not having a ton of debt, even undergrad knowing that I would eventually want to pursue another level of education down the line. And then the third piece is really being able to explore and learn more about myself. I was heavily engaged as a student, so that also then set another layer within that foundation. David lee: You know, I think something you just shared, you sort of locked in a feeling that I've had about this, the access mission, is that not only are we opening the doors to the community, but also because of its cost, it opens up other opportunities later on down the line because you're not leaving with a ton of debt. Oby Nwabuzor: Absolutely. And I think early on as a young individual, people may not think of that right away. And then you're realizing like, �Wait a minute, I want a master's degree. But I've acquired all this debt. Can I really truly afford it?� Right? So that's something that UWM provides as an institution. I'm grateful for that. David Lee: That's really incredible. Tell us a little bit about your company that brings together real estate and public health. Oby Nwabuzor: Absolutely. So, I founded Envision Growth back in 2019. So, a little bit after I finished my undergraduate degree to build healthy people and communities through the instrument of real estate development. And through that, I've been able to look at real estate development, not just as the built environment, but how to improve life, how to improve health outcomes. Essentially, how do we bridge that life expectancy gap from one zip code to another? And that's how my doctoral program came to be a big instrument in that space. David Lee: And remind us, how many millions of dollars of development have you all been able to? Oby Nwabuzor: So thus far, over 4 million. David Lee: That's incredible. That's so great. I also understand you've had some volunteer roles. This list just keeps going on at the local and state level. Tell us what you're involved in. Oby Nwabuzor: Yeah, so in 2022, Governor Evers appointed me to the Wisconsin State Public Health Council. And initially prior to that, I served on the State Health Assessment Steering Committee, which positioned me to be recommended to be on the State Health Council. So, that has been a great opportunity with being with other public health leaders across the state, with moving forward the state public health improvement plan, and as well as emergency issues of the state. And then likewise, on the city level, I serve on the Neighborhood Improvement Development Corporation with the City of Milwaukee, in which a lot of that work is around revitalization and reinvigoration of neighborhood vitality. So, a lot of dollars are invested back into the community through that work. We see a lot of projects around parks and green spaces, and we're able to help oversee that. David Lee: So, you heard us just talk a little bit about the year-long nomination process and what you had to submit and all of the stuff to actually get this award. Do you know who nominated you for the award? Oby Nwabuzor: I knew afterwards. And when I found out I actually shed a tear, it was actually, I was very honored. So Funny thing, Mayor Cavalier, Chevy Johnson. He actually used to be my alder, so shout out to him. David Lee: Now he's all of our mayor. Oby Nwabuzor: Now he's all of our mayor, but shout out to the second district when I was in that district. And then Brian Sonderman, who is the president and CEO of Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity. T. Welly Smith, president, chief alliance officer for the Community Development Alliance. And then Tamara Johnson, who's the president and CEO of Malaika Early Learning Center. David Lee: So, a pretty impressive group of folks coming together to support you. Oby Nwabuzor: Yeah. And I work with them in so many ways. So, when UWM reached out to me and they told me who nominated me, I was like, �okay, it's good to see it all come together.� David Lee: So, let's bring you in here, Chancellor. As the leader of the university and as the person who is, you know, sort of front of room on Friday, helping to honor all of these alums, what do you think about when you hear Oby talk about all of this? Thomas Gibson: Oby's story is one of inspiration. She grew up here in the city of Milwaukee on the north side and was just driven. I believe she was compelled by wanting to do good, not only for her family, but for the community in which she resides. And it's clearly evident when you hear about all of the things in which she was engaged in. She is an example of all we hope our alumni would be. She embodies the mission of our institution, and I'm so proud. Oby Nwabuzor: Thank you. Thank you. David Lee: There was a very sweet moment earlier when they came in and had a fraternity, sorority situation. Oby Nwabuzor: What we call dove love. David Lee: Yeah, dove lovely. Dove love. I love it. Let's shift over to Deepak, the winner of the Impact Award, not the Gold Award, but the Impact Award. Similarly important. You have a lot to follow after talking to Oby. You graduated from UWM with an executive master's in business administration, and now you have your own company. Tell us a little bit about how your UWM experience has helped you step out as an entrepreneur. Deepak Arora: Yeah, so obviously I'm a first generation immigrant, so didn't have any education here to start with. I did my undergrad and my engineering back in India. But coming to US and starting my own business, I had all the traits of a leadership. But I did not have the actual finance, accounting major, all that in the background. So, I wanted to go back to school. And when I was doing my research, I was this close to going to Chicago, Booth, and almost applied for it. But my ex-friends, or my friends that graduated from UWM, they say, back to Oby�s point, �This is the most cost-effective way to get your MBA done locally.� And the diversity and the vibrant community that UWM has put together. And I would still love to go back again if I can. So, that connection and relationship and the diversity, like I said, I really enjoyed going to. complete my master's there. David Lee: We need to say that again. By the way, Deepak was thinking about going to Booth, but decided to come to UWM. That's incredible. Thomas Gibson: I just wanted, Deepak, I want you to hear it directly from me. You made the best decision possible. Deepak Arora: Thanks. I could see that. I mean, like I said, I've learned and grown so much working with the Lubar group here, not just the School of Business, but I was fortunate enough to work with the LEC, which was shut down during the COVID, but they reopened the first year that I started MBA. And their I-Corps program was just tremendously driven. And Brian and others who drive that program was a tremendous instrument for our success. David Lee:That's incredible. I went through I-Corps, too. Deepak Arora: Oh, you did, okay. David Lee: Just so you know. I didn't end up doing the things that you did, so outcomes may vary. You might be able to run a radio station, though. Your company is called Wearable Technologies. Deepak Arora: Correct. David Lee: Can you explain what that is and tell us a little bit about that story, if you don't mind? Deepak Arora: Sure. So, I was working for IBM Watson Health. I was reporting to the Chief Operating Officer at the time. So, my life was a pretty decent path when we moved here from Canada 10 years ago exactly to the day today. So, I was working in Canada. IBM acquired our company, moved us here. So, like I said, I was pretty sad. We built a brand-new home in the safest cul-de-sac you can imagine. And life has a path of its own. Ended up becoming that safest neighborhood, the worst neighborhood for us, where we lost our toddler daughter about 200 meters off of our yard, where there is a detention pond. And we were 5 minutes too late to find out how she went there. I mean, my background in science and technology, that thought never went away for weeks and months. And ended up coming together. That's something of this magnitude. How often does this happen? And it was a... sad tale to tell. Over five million young kids and 5 million over 85 do lose their lives to preventable accidents. They're called preventable. There was nothing to prevent them. So that took me to this journey where I took the leap of faith, and it was my calling at that time. Left my job three years ago and then been on this full-time journey now and have saved 2 lives. David Lee: That's incredible. Oby Nwabuzor: Oh my goodness. David Lee: Wow. Can you just talk a little bit more about what the wearable does? Deepak Arora: Yeah, so the technology is driven by a patented AI-generated algorithms that basically track your daily movements, your daily habits, learns over time. And everything is run locally. You don't have to be connected anywhere. So, every single algorithm is AI-driven. It runs locally, learns locally. It does transmit data only when there is an anomaly detected. So, you remember the old saying, �I've fallen, I can't get up,� and you have to press a button? But this technology, that goes away. About four out of five elderly don't even press a button if they are given a button. So, this removes that barrier as well, that your loved ones are always notified. The other challenge, and I love to talk to Oby at some point, is that as a public health mission, there's a big number that are coming out for dementia and Alzheimer's cases. And next 15 years, the numbers just in Milwaukee County alone, based on our research, is going to be three to five times what they are today. Along with the fall. So that's the sort of the tragedy that we are looking to avoid in the future. Without technology, where it can track fall, it can track your whereabouts, it has built-in GPS, cellular. So, wherever you go, it knows about you. And then you can create your virtual fences around you. So, if somebody does go out, you get alerted, your caregivers get alerted. We're targeting mostly in senior communities right now and hospital systems. We did partner up with Froedert South for their safety and health monitoring program. So, we're looking to expand into communities as we grow. David Lee: That's super exciting. Oby Nwabuzor: Wow. David Lee: How is it, if you don't mind me asking, how is it different from something like Life 360 or something like that? Deepak Arora: Right, so Life 360 is, I would call it more targeted towards teenager and you and us who can use technology, us and the kids. Our technology is, even for Apple Watch for that matter, our technology is just 360-degree opposite. You don't have to learn anything. You don't have to worry about anything at an 85-year-old mom who's living alone or in a community. We don't want her to worry about pressing a button or learning a new technology, what app I need to download, what I need to run. All they have to do is just like they wear their clothes, they wear our screen feed variables, and then they go about their day. Everything else is done very autonomously in the background, and caregivers do have an app where they get alerted. So, that makes it very different. It's not that it's similar, but in a way, the adoption is completely opposite. David Lee: One thing that I-Core taught me, or at least in my group, was be very specific about your customer. Deepak Arora: Customer, right. David Lee: And I think that's the insight for you, right? Is that you're targeting young kids and the elderly? Deepak Arora: The reason I-Core was very successful for us was it actually made us pivot. So, because of my story in the background, It was children first and everybody else after because of my own tragedy in life. But I-Corp taught us a pretty good lesson that even though you're very hard motivated to do this, the need of the hour is in the elderly space and the developmental disability, autism space. So, we started with where the most impact would be. And I'm fortunate to say that impact award actually matches with that notion as well. David Lee: That's incredible. So, same question to Oby to you. Who nominated you and what was your reaction? Deepak Arora: To be honest, I still don't know. They don't know who formally nominated me, but I did informally heard that Dean Kaushal Cherry, who was the Lubar School of Business Dean, he nominated and UWM Research Foundation's president, Jessica, she nominated or wrote about, the nomination, but otherwise I'm not aware of who all nominated, but I'm thankful to all who did. David Lee: Well, if you're out there, send us a note so we can solve this mystery for Deepak. What was your reaction though? Deepak Arora: I was just very, very thrilled. I did not even imagine in my wildest dream that three years graduate would achieve something like this. All I've seen was six, 10, 80 years down the road. People do get nominated, sometime 20, 40 years even takes time. So, at least one of my team members said I'm the youngest graduate from the day to receive this award. So, it goes in history, I guess. Oby Nwabuzor: I love that. David Lee: I love that. So, I understand that you had your MBA after a 20-year break in your educational journey. What advice would you give to others who are maybe considering going back to school? Deepak Arora: Yeah, I think the biggest hurdle for me was family and running a business, full-time job and a new baby coming in. We were blessed to get another child coming in the same year of graduation. So, all that going on in life, this was the fourth thing that I would take, which became, even though it was considered Executive MBA, it still took its own time to do it. David Lee: Yeah, for sure. Deepak Arora: So it was, anybody coming new to the stream is, don't assume if you're thinking you're 100% done, you're still 40% only. Oby Nwabuzor: I like that. David Lee: Life is a journey. Deepak Arora: Life is a journey. And if you're on it straight ahead, you'll get through it. But this is the best decision I took of my life, going back. David Lee: Chancellor, same question to you. What is your reaction when you hear Deepak's story? Thomas Gibson: So, I believe Deepak's story is one of courage. After 20 years from being in the classroom and having the courage to re-enter is something that I do not take lightly. On a personal note, I've always wanted to study film. And I've just been so nervous, if you will, about pursuing that, life interferes, as they say. Schedules are full. But you are giving me inspiration to find a pathway to do some things that fill one's cup. And I would say that also Deepak's story is one of purpose. Your company is built around being purpose-driven to ensure that a tragedy doesn't remain that for you, your family, and others. You've leveraged that moment in time to help society's most vulnerable people. Kids and the elderly. And it gets no more noble than that. And I'm proud of you. Deepak Arora: Thank you. David Lee: It's one of the disappointments that I have that this isn't a video podcast because if you were able to see that our chancellor had kind of a real kind of authentic emotional response while kind of visiting Oby's story and also and Deepak's story and witnessing their impact is just really incredible. Thank you for sharing that, Chancellor. Thomas Gibson: Absolutely. David Lee: You know, I got to say, I was invited to the alumni awards, recognizing that the award winners would be here today. And Chancellor, you and I talk a lot about how our university is a bit of an undiscovered gem in our community and that we want to change that. And I got to tell you that my experience attending the award and also attending it with my girlfriend, we felt such an incredible amount of pride in the institution. And I'm not an alum. I didn't go to the school. And I'm just a simple employee. But I felt such an incredible connection and such an incredible amount of pride about what this university means to the community, to everybody who's getting an award, but also just to the region. And I think that That's a real testament to the evening. Joan Nesbitt: It has a real family reunion vibe, isn't it? David Lee: Yeah, old home week. That's right. Joan Nesbitt: Yeah, old home week. Everybody brings their family and friends and they sit together at tables and they cheer on the honorees like a sports team. I mean, it gets quite lively in the room. And there's so much love and warmth that it makes me incredibly joyous and proud. David Lee: Yeah. Thomas Gibson: And you know, for me, the event served as a reminder of the impact of our faculty and staff. Their commitment to our students and the things that our students are able to do post-UWM is just... It's just incredible. So, I'd like to take this moment to thank our faculty and staff for all that they do. David Lee: Yeah. Oby Nwabuzor: I'd like to add to that. I think that's very true and it resonates with my life. Even at my table at the awards, I had a faculty at my table, Dr. Kirk Harris, because he's heard on my dissertation committee, right? So UWM is still doing what it does best and that's impacting lives and continuing to be present. David Lee: I love it. What an incredible discussion. And unfortunately, our time is coming to an end. But we like to wrap up each show by sharing the coolest thing that we've all done in this past month. And I have to say, you can't say attending the Alumni Awards event. That was my thing. Unless for you, we might be able to have a special stipulation. We're going to start with you, Madam Chancellor. Thomas Gibson: Well, I'm sorry, David, but for me, attending the Alumni Awards evening event was the most exciting, energizing event that I've attended most recently. And in fact, I think that this event will now round out my top three experiences and events. at UWM, beginning with plenary, commencement, and now the UWM Alumni Awards Evening Event. David Lee: That's incredible. Like I said, you get special dispensation. Thank you. You're the boss of all of us. Deepak Arora: Well, my coolest thing is, or was, I guess, was a couple days, nights ago, spending with my four-year-old. Her birthday memories, just a month ago. She turned 4. And she wanted to play that birthday game with me. So, I played 30 minutes doing nothing else. David Lee: Oh my God. Deepak Arora: So that was the coolest memory I could say in the last month. Davod Lee: I love it. Yeah. Joan? Joan Nesbitt: Planning the event? That's fair. Listen, no, I have to tell you, part of planning is doing a tasting. And so we were remarking at our table that night about how good the food was. And it was the second time I got to eat it. That's a cool perk of the job. David lee: That was the food was incredible. The Pfister, incredible job. Oby? Oby Nwabuzor: I would say I attended an event called Flavors of Africa and the diaspora in Wisconsin. They had a pre-event in January. I mean, it brought together a lot of different people and cultures. So, it was good to be immersed in the space. David Lee: That's great. For me, you know, this is airing on the week that we have launched our civic awareness campaign about ownership and news and what it means to be a publicly owned institution. And it really is an invitation to our listeners, to a civic conversation about what that means and the impact that the station has in our community. And I think of it as separate but also related to the mission of the university, which is to bring together a lot of disparate voices and to ensure that we have trusted, fact-based news and information so that we can all kind of build a consensus. sort of picture of this world that we live in and to advance our mission here at the station, which is to connect and engage and inspire our listeners to a better understanding of each of the region and the world, which is exactly what we've all done here together today. So, thank you all so much for joining us for this episode of the UWM Chancellor's Report. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. You've been listening to the Chancellor's Report, featuring Thomas Gibson, Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. If you'd like more information, go to uwm.edu/chancellor.