Dick & Roni Telfer
Dick and Roni Telfer receive 2025 S.A. White Award for contributions to UW-Whitewater
Written by Dave Fidlin | Photos by Craig Schreiner and Martinez Milton
Over the past four decades, longtime Whitewater residents Richard “Dick” and Roni Telfer have made an imprint on the community in numerous ways. The importance of education has been one of the common threads that has tied together their professional and personal endeavors.
In 1985, Dick Telfer began 30 years of professional service to UW-Whitewater, culminating in his role as chancellor from 2007 to 2015 before his retirement. Roni Telfer’s contributions in education included leadership roles in the community and an instructional technology position with UW-Whitewater.
“We decided nearly 40 years ago we wanted to live in this community,” the former chancellor said. “If we’re going to live in the community, we want to take part in whatever goes on.”
UW-Whitewater Chancellor Richard Telfer, right, and his wife Roni wave to spectators during the Homecoming parade on Saturday, October 25, 2014. (UW-Whitewater photo/Craig Schreiner)
Thinking back to her foundational experiences of establishing roots in Whitewater with her husband, Roni Telfer said one overarching goal was top-of-mind and carefully cultivated over the years.
“When Dick took the chancellor position, we made a conscious decision that we were going to try to pull the community and the campus closer together,” she said. “We were going to try to encourage the folks on the campus to be engaged in the community, and the community to be engaged with the campus.”
The couple’s assorted contributions on and off the UW-Whitewater campus are significant and enduring — for which they have been named the recipient of the 2025 S.A. White Award, which is presented to non-alumni for significant philanthropic contributions to the university.
The establishment of the Whitewater University Innovation Center, a multi-tenant facility within the city’s technology park, is among the milestones that took place during his oversight of UW-Whitewater and is an example of the campus-city collaborative partnerships that flourished as a result.
“It really was a joint effort between the city and the campus,” Telfer said of the center’s creation. “The idea behind the effort was, ‘Can we do this together?’ It’s difficult to do it separately. We wanted to marshal our folks. We have talented individuals on the university side who put a lot of time and effort into it. We also had equally talented individuals on the city side, with important contributions from many.”
From left, Lisa Johnson of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, UW-Whitewater Chancellor Richard Telfer and Whitewater City Manager Cameron Clapper present UW-Whitewater entrepreneurship student Andrew Hoeft with a $10,000 Seed Capital Accelerator Fund check for his business, Date Check Pro, at Whitewater University Technology Park on Feb. 5, 2013. (UW-Whitewater photo/Craig Schreiner)
While they both hail from Michigan and have lived in other areas within the Midwest, they said they were happy to call Whitewater home. His career in education began as a high school teacher in Indiana and Wisconsin — including time in Elkhorn. Her 37-year career in education included teaching in public schools in Michigan, Indiana, Kansas, and Wisconsin and serving as an administrator in Beloit and Whitewater.
After Dick received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1984, they departed for Kansas for one year before returning to the familiar southeastern Wisconsin terrain — he began his first role at UW-Whitewater as a faculty member in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction.
He gradually moved into part-time administrative roles, in graduate studies and as a department chair. He moved into administration full-time in 1997, in the next decade serving as vice chancellor and provost before being named interim chancellor in 2007.
Reflecting on the pivotal moment in the mid-1980s that began his tenure with UW-Whitewater, Telfer said there were a number of attractive and notable features of campus that remain hallmarks today.
“It’s the right-sized place for many people,” he said. “It’s not too big, and it’s not too small. You have faculty who are really interested in working with the students. I think it’s a supportive atmosphere for many people. They feel supported.”
UW-Whitewater’s commitment to the core tenets of inclusivity is embodied in a number of ways, Roni Telfer said. One such example has been the campus’ long-standing commitment to serving people of all abilities. The men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball programs, the Center for Students with Disabilities and the Warhawks’ representation in the Paralympics are among the outward demonstrations of this commitment.
From left, Richard Telfer, former chancellor, his wife Roni, and social work lecturer James Winship watch the women's and men's wheelchair basketball teams host a home tournament at UW-Whitewater in November 2017 at Kachel Fieldhouse. (UW-Whitewater photo/Martinez Milton)
She reflected on an informal gathering years ago, when she and Dick had faculty to their home. In this particular instance, members of the biology department were over, discussing a forthcoming trip to Yellowstone National Park.
“We got to discussing a situation where there were a couple of students in a class who were in wheelchairs and how the instructor said he would have loved to have found a way to get them out there,” she said. “They did wind up doing an excursion out there. They made arrangements to make it accessible.”
He said he is especially appreciative of UW-Whitewater’s merit-based King/Chávez Scholars Program, a program that he helped launch, which helps prepare first-generation students with the transition from high school to a college setting.
“If you’re from a background with family members who haven’t gone to college, you need to learn how to do college,” he said. “In order to do that, it’s helpful to have people who can help you understand that.”
An outpouring of love for UW-Whitewater Chancellor Richard Telfer fills the Hamilton Room of the University Center on April 27, 2015, as university staff pay their respects to their retiring leader. Telfer, center, stands with his grandchildren and wife Roni at the close of the program. (UW-Whitewater photo/Craig Schreiner)
Since they retired, they have remained active in UW-Whitewater and the broader community. They have served on boards and contributed their time and talent to a number of local organizations, including the Whitewater Arts Alliance, Whitewater Community Foundation, the Fort Memorial Hospital Foundation and Fort Memorial Hospital Governing Board. Dick Telfer joined the UW-Whitewater Foundation Board of Directors, where he serves as a strong supporter and advocate.
Roni Telfer has held leadership positions in several community organizations, including the Whitewater Community Foundation.Shown here, from left, in November 2022 are Bonnie Miller, WFC program coordinator; Ginny Coburn, WCF board member; Roni Telfer, WCF board co-president; and Lisa Kaminski, advisor at Lincoln Elementary, who are holding a “Big Check” for the Whitewater Unified School District Robotics Program. Lincoln Brick Layer team members and fifth grade students Saul Mendoza, Amelia LeFaive, Paige Callahan and Emma Kuzoff are holding the check. (Submitted photo)
He singles out the couple’s involvement in Bethel House, a community effort organized by local church members who help provide transitional housing for people in need. As he sees it, providing stability through one of life’s most essential needs at times of difficulty increases the likelihood of success.
With friends, the couple has established the Richard and Veronica Telfer Fellowship Program, which provides support for a faculty member and curriculum development in the College of Education and Professional Studies, and the Telfer Incentive Program, for the support of a second faculty member. They have provided financial support to numerous programs at UW-Whitewater, including the College of Education and Professional Studies, the College of Arts and Communication and the Young Auditorium, Hyland Hall, Athletics, and Wheelchair Basketball.
“If you are given something, you need to give back.”
