After 25 years of service to University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire alumni, Jane Larson, alumni engagement coordinator, will retire on Oct. 23, leaving behind a remarkable legacy of connection and Blugold pride.
For generations of alumni, Larson, who received the Honorary Alumnus Award from the Alumni Association last spring, has been one of the first people they met after graduation and one of the familiar faces they continued to see throughout their lives as Blugold graduates. Since joining the Alumni Association in 2001, she has helped bring alumni together through Homecoming celebrations, alumni award programs, Golden Blugold events and countless gatherings across the U.S.
But Larson’s impact extends far beyond organizing events. Over the past quarter century, she has built friendships with alumni from every era, celebrating their accomplishments, sharing their milestones and helping them stay connected to the university they call home. Along the way, she has had the unique privilege of watching students grow into successful adults, welcoming them back to campus as alumni, and later watching their own children become Blugolds.
Colleagues describe Larson as the heart of alumni engagement, someone whose warmth, reliability and attention to detail have helped create a lifelong sense of belonging for thousands of alumni.
“Jane truly is a Blugold at heart,” says Michele Olson, director of stewardship and planned giving for the UW-Eau Claire Foundation. “Her dedication to building meaningful relationships with alumni has strengthened the Blugold community for decades.”
Gary Berg, a 1979 graduate and past Alumni Association president, says, “Jane naturally leads and works with kindness, professionalism and a very strong desire to do what is best for all Blugolds. She is a genuinely great person and a hard worker. Working with her and becoming friends with Jane over the years is a true honor. She will certainly be missed.”
As Larson looks ahead to retirement, she reflects with gratitude on the relationships she has nurtured, the traditions she has helped sustain and the countless alumni she has made feel at home, no matter where life has taken them.
‘Who knew 25 years could go by so quickly?’
“As I look back on my 25 years at UW-Eau Claire, I am filled with so many emotions: gratitude, pride, happiness, and, yes, a little sadness. It’s hard to put into words what this university and the people I have met along the way have meant to me,” Larson says. “I have been incredibly fortunate to work alongside so many wonderful people, including John Bachmeier, whom I had the privilege of working with in the Alumni Office for more than 20 years before his retirement. I’ve had the opportunity to work with four outstanding chancellors and three interim chancellors, along with countless amazing faculty and staff. I am especially grateful for the many wonderful people I have worked with in the UW-Eau Claire Foundation office. They have made the work meaningful, memorable, and, most of all, fun.
“Over the years, I have had the opportunity to meet countless UW-Eau Claire alumni —many of whom started as alumni I was helping connect with the university — and somehow became friends along the way. Through it all, I have always felt incredibly lucky to be part of the Blugold family. Thank you for the memories, the friendships, the laughter and the incredible journey. Here’s to the next chapter!”
