Biz News

Milwaukee joins National Innovation Network
Five academic institutions in Milwaukee are joining forces to form a local site of the National Innovation Network that will recruit and train 90 entrepreneurial teams over the next three years. With training, the teams will conduct deep research into their chances of starting a viable business or find new pathways to market.

The effort, funded by a $300,000 National Science Foundation Innovation-Corps grant, brings together academic researchers, graduate students and business networks to grow the local economy through research-generated ideas that are honed in collaboration with industry.

Led by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the site’s partners are Marquette University, the Medical College of Wisconsin, the Milwaukee School of Engineering and Concordia University of Wisconsin.

Accepted teams will be guided through a Lean LaunchPad program, which will lead them in customer discovery, find them mentors and link them to sources of early stage funding. The teams will make a decision about whether to proceed to market within six months of completing the program.

Ziemers donate $1 million to UWM College of Nursing
Former Harley-Davidson chief executive officer and president James Ziemer and his wife, Yvonne, have donated $1 million to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee College of Nursing. Intended to strengthen UWM’s ability to fill a growing nursing shortage in Wisconsin, the gift will fund a clinical simulation center on the university’s Kenwood Campus, which is home to Wisconsin’s largest nursing program.

The James and Yvonne Ziemer Clinical Simulation Center will enable the college to increase its in-demand training programs by up to 30 percent, providing UWM nursing students with state-of-the-art experiential learning in simulated clinical settings.

UWM chancellor Mark Mone called the Ziemers’ gift “transformational.”

New director of Mitchell International resigns
Terry Slaybaugh, who recently became the new director of General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, has resigned less than three months after getting the job.

Slaybaugh came to Milwaukee after working as the director of Dayton International Airport in Dayton, Ohio.

“(Slaybaugh) stated that the transition for his family has been a very difficult one, and he will be returning to Dayton, Ohio, where his family is located,” said Nate Holton, spokesman for Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele. “Spencer Stuart, the recruitment firm that Milwaukee County worked with in the last hiring process, will be assisting in finding a replacement for Slaybaugh.”

In late January, Slaybaugh was named the new director of Mitchell International to replace Barry Bateman, who retired last year.

In the interim period, Milwaukee County Director of Transportation Brian Dranzik will be physically located at the airport, working directly with staff to provide ongoing administrative oversight until a permanent airport director can be found, Holton said. James Martin, the Transportation Department’s director of administration, will handle day-to-day oversight of other transportation divisions during this period.

Quad awarded $500 million, 20-title contract from Hearst Magazines
Sussex-based Quad/Graphics Inc. announced recently that it will continue to be the primary printer for Hearst Magazines through 2020 under a new agreement valued at more than $500 million.

Quad produces 20 of Hearst’s 21 U.S. magazine titles, including Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, O, The Oprah Magazine, Popular Mechanics and Car and Driver, as well as inserts and custom print products.

Quad/Graphics has been Hearst Magazines’ largest print supplier since 2011, when it began printing Good Housekeeping, Harper’s BAZAAR, House Beautiful, O, The Oprah Magazine, Woman’s Day, ELLE, ELLEDECOR, Car and Driver and Road & Track in addition to Veranda, which the company has printed since 2007. With the acquisition of Brown Printing Company in 2014, Quad/Graphics began printing 10 additional Hearst titles: Country Living, Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Food Network Magazine, HGTV Magazine, Marie Claire, Redbook, Seventeen, Town & Country and Popular Mechanics.