In the 1950s and 1960s, when Herb Riebe, Joanne Salm Bauer and Becky Gralow Cranston were attending University of Wisconsin-Stout, the university catchphrase Stout Proud hadn’t been coined.
“Our young people are our future, and the future is going to be designed by educated people,”
Their Stout pride was alive and well, however, when they graduated and launched successful careers. Sixty years later, their love for and lifelong bond with their alma mater is front and center with three new, major donations.
The gifts, totaling $3.1 million, have been made to Stout University Foundation either in honor of them by their spouse or by them. Their goals are to help the university continue to produce graduates who are ready to impact the world through scholarships and support of the Fab Lab and Heritage Hall renovation.
Herbert and Viola Riebe Fab Lab Endowment and scholarship
Viola Riebe, in honor of her late husband Herbert “Herb” Riebe, a 1957 graduate,has committed $2.53 million to endow the UW-Stout Fab Lab, which will be renamed the Herbert and Viola Riebe Fab Lab.
The gift also will establish the Herbert and Viola Riebe Endowed Scholarship Fund for full-time students majoring in engineering technology, manufacturing engineering or mechanical engineering.
“Our young people are our future, and the future is going to be designed by educated people,” Viola said.
