Howard Marklein BBA ‘76

Senator Howard Marklein named UW-Whitewater 202 Outstanding Alumnus for Community/Regional Service

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is proud to announce that Sen. Howard Marklein, who earned a bachelor's degree in accounting in 1976, has been selected as the university's Distinguished Alumnus for Community/Regional Service for 2022. Sen. Marklein, formerly a partner with the accounting firm Virchow Krause/Baker Tilly, represents Senate District 17 in the Wisconsin State Senate and is co-chair of the Joint Committee on Finance.

The award recognizes Sen. Marklein’s service to the university, to the region and to the State of Wisconsin, as evidenced by his long history of public service that includes advisory positions in the public school system, the Whitewater Community Development Authority, the Fort Atkinson and Whitewater Area Chambers of Commerce, the UW-Whitewater Foundation Board and the Alumni Board. He has also served on the board of Fort Health Care, Fort Atkinson Rotary Club, and the Dodgeville Chamber of Commerce.

When asked to reflect on his legacy of deep involvement and professional success, Marklein credits a combination of hard work and good fortune.

“I was blessed with opportunities, to be sure, and that I had the fortitude and ability to respond to them,” he said. “I was able to take the opportunities that came up — whether in public service and or in business — and make the most of them.”

The Spring Green native, who was raised on a dairy farm in Wilson Creek, was no stranger to hard work. A high school accounting teacher who was a UW-Whitewater alumnus suggested he apply for college at the university, and he found its size to be the perfect fit. 

“I also worked throughout my time on campus,” he said. “First on campus and then worked at (the former) Alpha Cast Foundry in town, working 40 hours a week, second shift. That work convinced me that getting a college degree was worthwhile!” 

By his unior year, he was able to begin working for Virchow Krause/Baker Tilly, the CPA firm in which he would eventually become an owner. He also joined Lambda Chi Alpha. 

After graduating, he was hired full time with the First Wisconsin National Bank of Milwaukee, now US Bank. In 1978, he was recruited by Virchow Krause and began his public accounting career in the Dodgeville office, purchasing his first house in Dodgeville at age 23. After passing the CPA exam and completing the experience requirement, he obtained his CPA certificate in 1979. He got involved with an economic development group in town, and was involved in convincing Gary Comer, the owner of Land’s End, to move his operations from Chicago to Dodgeville. At the time, Comer anticipated bringing up to 52 jobs to the area. 

Marklein accepted a promotion and transfer to the Whitewater and Fort Atkinson offices of Virchow Krause in 1980. He was promoted to partner in the firm in 1984. In later years, his practice focused on forensic accounting and white collar crime investigations, including lecturing at colleges on forensic accounting. He became credentialed as a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE).

In Whitewater, he became involved in an initiative to form a Community Development Authority together with, among others, Jim Caldwell, president of the First Citizens State Bank, who served as its first chair. Marklein chaired the Economic Development Committee. In the summer of 1986,Marklein met with Perlman Rocque, which became the first business to be established in the park. He also met with the adjutant general of the National Guard to help them get a new facility built in the park. 

As the industrial park grew, Marklein and others noticed that many employees were working elsewhere and commuting into town. As a result, a group including Marklein put together a plan for Mound View Acres. He was also critically involved in the development of Cravath Lakefront Park, which replaced a former light manufacturing and warehouse site, and became involved in the Chamber of Commerce in both Whitewater and Fort Atkinson. He also served as chairman of the board of Fort Health Care. 

In 1987 he was named the UW-Whitewater Outstanding Recent Alumnus, and he endowed and continues to support the Howard L. Marklein Accounting Scholarship at UW-Whitewater. 

In the mid-80s, after his father passed away, the family farm in Spring Green was sold. The land had always been a place where Marklein went and hunted. Over time, he started to look for land near his former home farm, thinking he’d move back. He sold out as a partner with Virchow Krause, now Baker Tilly, in 2008, and built a house on the property he’d purchased. From the kitchen window of that house he can see the home farm. Shortly after moving in, he ran for state office for the first time.

Marklein was first elected to the State Assembly in 2010. While in the Assembly, he served as the chairman of the Assembly Committee on Ways & Means and the vice-chair of the Joint Audit Committee. During his time as a state representative, he authored multiple bills to reduce regulatory burden on businesses and promote honest budgeting. Along with his colleagues in the State Assembly, he authored a constitutional amendment to require the state budget be prepared on the basis of generally accepted accounting principles.

He was then elected to the Wisconsin State Senate in 2014 and re-elected in 2018. He has served as president pro tempore of the State Senate and currently serves as co-chair of the Joint Committee on Finance. 

Many of the values that Marklein relies on in his public service roles are rooted in the family farm in Spring Green, where he learned the value of hard work. He understands that an individual can compensate for a lack of certain skills by exerting extra effort and treasures the quality of the education he received at UW-Whitewater, as well as the opportunities that his education presented to him. 

Marklein is married to Peggy, a registered nurse, and is the father of Nicole and William, and three stepchildren. He and Peggy have six grandchildren.