Frederick Arndt B.S. ‘70
Frederick Arndt named UW-Whitewater 2022 Distinguished Alumnus for Professional Achievement
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is proud to announce that Fred Arndt, who earned a bachelor's degree in political science and English in 1970, has been selected as the university's Distinguished Alumnus for Professional Achievement for 2022. Arndt has held executive and leadership positions in human resources in Fortune 50 corporations as well as startup and early stage ventures for more than 45 years, including McKesson Corporation, SegaSoft, Capitol Records, Apple Computer, Searle Pharmaceuticals, Frito-Lay, and Baxter International.
The award recognizes Arndt’s outstanding dedication to leadership and human resource practices.
An active and enthusiastic member of the Dean’s Advisory Board for the College of Letters and Sciences since 2014, he admits it wasn’t clear he would make it to UW-Whitewater — or any college campus.
“My high school counselor said that, given my test scores, I wasn’t really college
material,” he said. “I was told to think of trade school, and it sent my mom into a frenzy.”
His mother, a high school graduate, had driven him and his older brother crazy talking about college. His brother had gone to UW-Madison, but he felt that campus was too big for him. He knew about UW-Whitewater because an uncle had graduated from Whitewater State Teachers College in the 1930s or early ’40s, and while Arndt was in high school his grandmother was a house mother in one of the fraternity houses, so he’d go to Whitewater to pick her up and bring her home for the holidays.
Once he arrived on campus as a freshman, he knew he’d found his fit. One of his high school classmates joined him there, and they roomed at Wells Hall. He participated in intramural sports. He started out as a business major, but a first-semester accounting class made him consider political science instead.
“Then I joined the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity,” he said. “I joined it for social reasons but also because I was pretty shy and reserved. I felt like it would bring me out of my shell — and it did.”
“I took my responsibilities with the fraternity very seriously — so seriously I was put on academic probation sophomore year, which caused me to buckle down.”
He took a Shakespeare course and was fascinated. He took every English class he could, so that by the time he was a junior he was 3-4 credits away from a second major in English, so he added it.
One of the classes was creative writing.
“I knew writing would be helpful. The professor was a wild-haired guy with horn-rimmed glasses. I wrote an essay, he read it, and then he said, ‘I looked at this, and you only wrote a page and a half. I read it again and it dawned on me, you wrote what needed to be written — it was an economy of writing.’ But the grade was a C+. I asked the professor why I didn’t get an A, and he answered, ‘Your grammar.’ Although I ended up with a D in the class, it was the best class I took. Throughout my career, people have complimented me on the way in which I write.”
After graduating, Arndt spent three years serving in the Army during the Vietnam War. When he returned, he began working in human resources, eventually holding executive and leadership positions with Fortune 50 corporations as well as startup and early stage ventures until he retired from corporate leadership roles and established a consulting practice dedicated to leadership and human resource practices.
He attributes much of his success, both professional and personal, to his experiences at UW-Whitewater. He especially credits his professors in liberal arts studies — in particular writing and literature.
“Looking back, there were things I came out of UW-Whitewater with. Maybe going on academic probation was the best thing — it required me to work hard. In political science, professors said you need to think differently about things. You’ll be much more valuable if you can think independently, strategic thinking. And that’s where I excelled the best in human resources — as a strategy partner.”
“I think Shakespeare was trying to tell humanity: have some fun. Try not to take myself too seriously.”
He added, “My wife, son and granddaughters wouldn’t let me anyway!”
In 2015, Arndt and his wife Barbara established the Bud and Avia Arndt Scholarship in recognition of his parents’ desire for lifelong learning. This scholarship supports a declared major in the College of Letters and Sciences with demonstrated financial need and a strong commitment to community service.
In 2020, the Arndts donated a major gift supporting the tutorial services in the Mary Poppe Chrisman Success Center. The Fred and Barbara Arndt Writing Center is an accessible space that will support tutorial services for students who need guidance in writing.
“Writing contributed 50% to my success in the corporate world,” said Arndt.
The Arndts are also strong supporters of programs across the university – including Athletics, the College of Letters and Sciences priority fund and the Alumni Mentor Program.
“I think at UW-Whitewater I developed several characteristics that have served me well and meant a great deal in my being successful,” he said. “If I stood before a class today, this would be my closing statement — and it would be a result of my time spent at Whitewater.”
"Work hard, think beyond the norm, challenge the status quo, learn continuously, have fun, don't take yourself too seriously and do all of it with integrity."
