Over a year ago I wrote an open letter to several faculty members of the University of Wisconsin – Madison. In the letter I voiced my concerns over the broken admissions process and broken academic protocols within the school and within other universities. I also discussed the importance of building a network and more importantly, maintaining the health of that network.

Well, this past weekend I attended my younger brother’s graduation at UW-Madison and I couldn’t help but think about how broken the system still is.

This is another open letter to the faculty members of UW-Madison.

(Before reading this letter, please note that I will be making this letter publicly available on my blog. Also, kindly take note of the recipients).
To: Chancellor Carolyn Martin – chancellor@news.wisc.edu
To: Provost Paul M. DeLuca, Jr. – provost@provost.wisc.edu
To: Director of Admissions, Steve Amundson – samundson@uwmad.wisc.edu
To: Dean of Students, Lori Berquam – lberquam@odos.wisc.edu
To: Vice Chancellor for Administration, Darrell Bazzell – dbazzell@vc.wisc.edu
To: Vice Chancellor for University Relations, Vince Sweeney – vsweeney@bascom.wisc.edu
CC: Executive Director, Youth Speaks – james@youthspeaks.org

5/20/2010
Dear Ambassadors and Respected Representatives of UW-Madison and Education,

It’s been over a year since my first letter to some of you regarding my concerns over the current admissions process, concerns over the current state of affairs within various academic departments, and concerns with the overall reverence (or lack there of) for the alumni network. This past weekend, I sat in the Kohl center watching my brother and his peers graduate in the same exact 2:30 pm “Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the School of Business and College of Engineering” ceremony I did two years ago. In attendance from my family was, in addition to myself, my parents, grandparents and sister. Simply being back in Madison and sitting in the Kohl center brought back all of the feelings I had when I was attending school. A sense of pride, distinction, loyalty, success, and belonging. All of these feelings came back full circle, and then I watched James Kass’s charge to the graduates and his words hit me like a ton of bricks.

In his closing remarks, he said:

“So I’m going to ask you to do something starting next week after you revel in this weekend celebrating all that you’ve done and all that you are. And when you wake up next week, always and forever celebrating all that you are and all that you’ve done, I want you to ask yourself if you’re satisfied. And I don’t care where you come down on the political spectrum, even if you passionately disagree with everything I believe in. I just want to know if you’re satisfied, and if you’re not, what it is you’re going to do about it, because the system has been designed perfectly to achieve the results it achieves.”

Almost a week later, I’m still asking this question, “am I satisfied?” And the answer is most certainly and emphatically “NO.”

I’m not satisfied because over a year ago I wrote some of you a letter voicing my concerns for your methods and system. How the university showed either a lack of interest, lack of means, or incompetency when evaluating and rejecting a potential UW candidate, my younger sister (and probably others). A person that would have most certainly strengthened the UW network and its legacies, which was a theme that was addressed in one of the speeches during the commencement ceremony (so much so that the alumni present in the ceremony were asked to stand among the crowd, I among those). Well, a year later I can report that my sister, a could-have been future UW-Alumni, has just finished her first year at Penn State with a 3.8 GPA making dean’s list both semesters. In addition, she was 1 of about 30 freshmen selected among an application pool of about 250 for the nursing program. Although I’m proud of my sister, I’m disappointed with UW because she could have been an asset and member of the badger network in years to come. Perhaps if the system hadn’t been “designed perfectly to achieve the results it achieves” she would have been accepted to UW and could have been sitting next to me in the Kohl center as a badger, your peer and ambassador, and not as an outsider. So I ask, what have you changed since last year? What steps have you taken to improve?

I’m not satisfied because over a year ago I voiced my concerns about a University that is trying “to compete in a rapidly changing world using obsolete methods and practices.” As this world becomes more complex, it will be less relevant for a student to earn a 4 year degree and some are already beginning to question its purpose. In addition, as technology becomes more advanced, it will become even easier to obtain the same level of education for a fraction of the cost. And with a fragile economy, unpredictable global markets, and diminishing job openings, what does the University do? It raises tuition for students and claims that it will benefit everyone. I ask how? How could this possibly benefit everyone or anyone? By increasing tuition for students and families, who are already struggling under current circumstances, we are supporting a system that was designed for a 9-5 industrial revolution. How can the University (or all universities for that matter) possibly expect to maintain its clout among other academic institutions when the best students either can’t afford tuition or aren’t accepted in the first place? Furthermore, why do you use broken metrics to evaluate these candidates? Metrics that look at grades from standardized tests (tests that might not be conducive to some of the brightest and most creative minds), metrics that look at grades from high school systems that were also designed for the 19th century, or worst off, metrics that do matter but are greatly overlooked – like leadership, entrepreneurship. Every aspect of our world is changing, some quicker than others, and if the academic institutions can’t adapt at least at a “satisfactory” speed, then “satisfaction” will be the least of our concerns because at that moment, we will be concerned most with survival as a society and as individuals.

At the end of the day, I respectfully ask that you take the same advice that was delivered to your students at their commencement ceremony. Like James, I’m here “to tell you that I’m not satisfied, but that I am one of many trying to do my work, knowing that it’s in your hands now and hoping that you’re willing to do yours.”

Please don’t be complacent. Please don’t raise tuition because it’s the only way. Please don’t reject exceptional students because they don’t fit your admissions template. Please don’t support a broken system.

But most of all, please challenge the status quo among other academic institutions because tomorrow is very different from today, and if you do this, you will secure a bright future for our university, its legacy, and indirectly, our society.

My Very Best Regards,

Dan Reich

Class of 2008′

Dear Ambassadors and Respected Representatives of UW-Madison and Education – A Year in Review is a post from... Dan Reich - A Student - Learning, Living at the Intersection of Business + Technolog + Innovation + Culture.
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When it comes to Hip Hop, there are those artists that stack up on the top of my list. Guys like Nas, Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, Common, The Roots, Notorious B.I.G, but one of my favorite hip hop artists is someone that most people have never heard of. His name is Yolks. A guy from Madison, Wisconsin who could freestyle and write lyrics with the best of them.

Check out some of his tracks below. My favorites are I’m Yolks, Trappin, Chop It Up, and Dem Boyz. 

Yolks – Drive Wise Volume 1 by danreich

Exclusive Music: Yolks – Drive Wise Volume 1 is a post from... Dan Reich - A Student - Learning, Living at the Intersection of Business + Technolog + Innovation + Culture.
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During my sophomore year of college my fraternity was shut down. As a result, all of our events were canceled and to make matters worse we couldn’t even participate in other organized events within the Greek system.

This sucked. It was a huge problem especially for my group of friends who enjoyed going out and doing the social thing.

But where there was a problem, there was also a solution.

At this point in time, my friend and I decided to build a college marketing company that would encompass three themes: (i) host events in a safe and secure environment (ii) be honest and upfront with our partners and vendors (iii) create recognizable and memorable marketing events that would promote the company brand in a positive and unique light.

In the short aftermath of my fraternity’s suspension, we hosted our first event. The first was all it took. It gave us some confidence, experience, and most importantly, momentum. From that point on we were able to grow the business, form new partnerships, hire more help, and keep the ball moving forward.

We were beginning to be featured in the local newspapers and magazines and were starting to become a focal point of the local community’s social scene:

“Yet another alternative to Freakfest is Runaway Productions Halloween 2006, the first event of its kind to be held at Madison Avenue. Runaway Productions, a company run by UW students, organized this 18-and-up event with Sony/BMG Music Records and CO-ED Magazine to provide an alternative environment for those in search of a riot-free good time. According to Managing Partner Daniel Reich, the Halloween 2006 event was created as a “legitimate venue so people can party in a safe, controlled environment.” Instead of wandering around aimlessly amid the drunken antics of State Street, students will have the opportunity to dance to their favorite artists at the dance club on University Avenue.

Runaway Productions intends to appeal to all sorts of listeners with a variety of musical acts. Hip-hop, reggae and rock fill the bill with artists including Golden, Collie Buddz, Fahrenheit and Displace. Also performing is special guest Sa-Ra from Kanye West’s record label GOOD. The event runs tonight and tomorrow, and attendees can purchase tickets from ExchangeHut.com.”

-The Badger Herald, State Street not only show in town this Halloween

(Disclosure: Sa-Ra never came and the headliner was Collie Buddz. It was his first live US show. One of his songs here)

At the end of the day, “the first” was all it took. Although we did many events and functions thereafter, “the first” is what really put us over the top. It is probably the hardest thing to do when starting a business or doing sales, but once one is knocked down, the rest just kind of fall into place.

Sidenote: It’s been three years since we parted with Runaway Productions and three years later it is still going strong.

(Posters from other events below)

(Pictures from other events below: Collie Buddz and Golden performing)

Loosing Your Virginity – Getting Your First Piece of…Business is a post from... Dan Reich - A Student - Learning, Living at the Intersection of Business + Technolog + Innovation + Culture.
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You can teach someone how to pick an apple from a tree or you can teach someone how to plant an apple tree.

I planted an apple tree about 3 years ago, when I started a college marketing company called Runaway Productions. Although my personal and direct involvement was extensive, educational and rewarding, the greatest reward came thereafter. I had recent conversations with its new owners, and they are now generating more revenue, breaking new ground, and expanding the original business model.

It may be easy to build something for the short term and for self serving purposes. That in itself may be rewarding. But when you can build something and watch it grow even after you’ve left, you can really experience a much deeper sense of gratification and accomplishment.

Try it. What’s the worst that can happen?

Building a farm, planting a tree. is a post from... Dan Reich - A Student - Learning, Living at the Intersection of Business + Technolog + Innovation + Culture.
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Two years ago I co-founded a website specifically designed for college students. The site:

(Check out my site before continuing to read the rest of the post…or look below. You will understand why)

CampusAtlas

CampusLive

Today, I see the following article in :

2008 Finalists: America’s Best Young Entrepreneurs

 

CampusLIVE

Jeff Cassidy, 23; Boris Revsin, 22; Jared Stenquist, 23
www.campuslive.com
Amherst, Mass.

Will college students use a Web site devoted to helping them find campus services and local businesses? CampusLIVE cofounder Jared Stenquist thinks so. About a year and a half ago, the self-taught Web developer started the site as a hobby in his University of Massachusetts Amherst dorm room. When advertisers started to contact him, he took a leave of absence to develop the business.

The site can now be customized for 18 campuses around the country, including the University of Vermont, University of Connecticut, and George Mason University. Stenquist, who isn’t planning on going back to school, says the business, which employs five full-timers as well as interns, had just over $100,000 in revenues in 2007 and is negotiating a $1.25 million seed round with a group of angel investors. He expects it to be profitable by January.

Besides the fact that their site looks exactly like TheCampusAtlas, and besides the fact that they started after TheCampusAtlas did, the fact that BusinessWeek considers the idea worthy, is validation. 

Validation that our insight into a market need actually existed, and validation that the need could be executed in a successful manner.

While I congratulate the Campus Live team, I also congratulate the other founders of The Campus Atlas. 

Stay tuned for the future of The Campus Atlas.

Something Called Validation is a post from... Dan Reich - A Student - Learning, Living at the Intersection of Business + Technolog + Innovation + Culture.
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This is the question my friend Mark Korshak is looking to answer in “Project Youthanized.”

But how do we truly compare generations?

Let’s consider a student in college 30 years ago, to the student today (The generation Y student). How would these students engage activism?

Years Ago: pass out fliers   Today:  send out emails

Years Ago: organize a rally  Today: create a Facebook group

Years Ago: collect donations (change in a cup)  Today: collect donations (PayPal)

Years Ago: attend a rally   Today: watch a speech on YouTube

Years Ago: start a magazine  Today: start a Blog

Technology must be considered in any cross generational comparison.

Although it may seem as if students today are indeed “apathetic”, I can’t help but wonder, is that really the case? If you’ve ever joined a facebook group, if you’ve ever commented on an article, if you’ve ever published ANYTHING to the web, then you have engaged some form of activism.  You have made your voice heard. The extent of that activism however, is still unknown.

I wish Mark the best of luck in determining, how, if at all, “uniquely apathetic” our generation is, and how he goes about measuring the extent of this apathy.

Is M”y” Generation Uniquely Apathetic? is a post from... Dan Reich - A Student - Learning, Living at the Intersection of Business + Technolog + Innovation + Culture.
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Academia Series: Post 2

My freshman year of college, I was required to take a class called Engineering Professional Design (EPD 160). I was among a group of 35 other undergraduate engineering students (whose majors were undeclared at the time), and we were required to design and construct something for a real client.

Our client was the Department of Agriculture of the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and we were to design and fabricate something that could carry at least 300 lbs of material and soil all over the campus.

Of the 35 students, we all broke up into teams to design a potential solution. My small group came up with a hybrid model of a tandem bicycle with an extended bay and motor. This design was chosen, and I was elected project manager to supervise the construction.

Early into construction, our client decided to give us additional funds that surpassed the required minimum. We had a budget of around $3,000.

In the end, we developed the “Badger Bike”, under our budget, and provided a unique and environmentally friendly device, to some environmentally friendly people.

Pictures and our final presentation below:

Academia: Badger Bike is a post from... Dan Reich - A Student - Learning, Living at the Intersection of Business + Technolog + Innovation + Culture.
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The amount of countless hours I’ve spent in UW-Madison’s Engineering Hall, should earn me the “GAL” or “Get a Life” award. Instead I will receive a degree in Electrical Engineering from UW-Madison. And perhaps the same reasons I decided to attend this University, are now being considered by Google, as they too plan on setting up shop in Madison, Wisconsin.

In a statement to The Badger Herald, Google representatives said, “We are opening an office in Madison because the city offers an excellent quality of life, a deep local talent pool and commitment to education at all levels, including the University of Wisconsin.”

Photo © UW-Madison University Communications

And anyone that has ever stepped foot in Madison could agree with that statement. But being that Google is a worldwide leader in software and computer architecture, its main focus will be within the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Leading this Madison/Google operation will be “retired professor emeritus of Electrical and Computer Engineering James Smith and 1980s computer engineering graduate James Laudon.”

Add a new Biomedical research to the list as well, and Madison will continue to lead the way as one of the premier research facilities in the world.

Some other great programs within my department, that I have been lucky to be a part of.

• WEMPEC – Wisconsin Electrical Machines and Power Electronics Consortium
• WCAM – Wisconsin Center for Applied Microelectronic Devices

It is extremely rewarding to see that my department, its students, and faculty members, have yet another great achievement to add to the list. 

Google, Microsoft head to MadTown is a post from... Dan Reich - A Student - Learning, Living at the Intersection of Business + Technolog + Innovation + Culture.
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With my college career coming to an end, I decided to start a series of posts entitled “Academia”. In each post, I will discuss a project or research I have been involved in.

In this first post of the series, I will briefly discuss my research in terahertz generation. In the spring of 2007, I had the distinct honor of working under Professor Leon McCaughan, a professor in the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Under his supervision, I studied the properties of:

• Guided wave photonic devices and circuits
• Quantum optics
• Far infrared (terahertz) generation and spectrocopy
• Waveguide and photonic crystal theory

More importantly, I had the opportunity to take part in one of his research projects and work along side of other extremely talented students and researchers . A description of the project:

“Terahertz (THz) radiation is of great current interest for imaging science and technology. Applications include time-domain spectroscopy (e.g., the dielectric response of molecules in the far infrared), medical imaging in a new radiation band, detection and imaging for homeland security and defense applications, as well as communications.”

Within the project, I spent many hours in the Wisconsin Center for Applied Microelectronic Devices developing photolithography and reactive ion etching techniques to produce a THz photonic crystal in Silicon. By creating this photonic cystal, we were attempting to create a control in order to provide tunablity to the light source. Prior to the fabrication of the 2D crystal, we also undertook some computer-based model calculations.

Pictures from the research here:

Picture of 2D photonic crystals.

Myself and two of my colleagues in the lithography bay.

Description of the project (can be found on www.nsf.gov)

Thank you to Professor Leon McCaughan for a truley invaluable experience!

Academia: Radiation in the THz range is a post from... Dan Reich - A Student - Learning, Living at the Intersection of Business + Technolog + Innovation + Culture.
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