Kellners commit $25M to UW-Madison
Gift is latest in long history of couple’s contributions
She was the daughter of a New York cement salesman. He was the son of a legendary Wisconsin track star and Milwaukee-area businessman.
They met in March 1965 at Sellery Residence Hall at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and went to a movie on their first date.
After graduation, they married in 1969 and began to raise a family. He built a big investment and real estate development business in Milwaukee. She devoted herself to education.
But Mary and Ted Kellner never forgot their experiences at UW-Madison, the school that has remained an integral part of their lives.
On Saturday, the Kellners added to their legacy of giving at UW-Madison, committing $25 million as part of the university’s $3.2 billion All Ways Forward comprehensive campaign.
The gift was announced during the Badgers’ homecoming football game against the University of Maryland.
Why give so much to their old school?
“So the kids can have the same experiences Mary and I had,” Ted Kellner said.
Over the years, the Kellners have given UWMadison millions of dollars for a wide range of education, business, general scholarship and athletic programs and facilities, including Camp Randall’s Kellner Hall. The new gift will boost many of the same areas, as well as broader support for the university.
“All of us here at UW are deeply grateful for the generosity of the Kellner family, who have given so much to so many areas of our university,” said UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank. “This gift continues the tradition of providing support to key programs that help us serve students better.”
Barry Alvarez, the school’s athletic director, said: “I am thrilled that Ted and Mary are once again showing their generosity to the university. But I’m not surprised. It is who they are.”
Michael Knetter, president and CEO of the Wisconsin Foundation and Wisconsin Alumni Association, said: “Ted and Mary Kellner truly exemplify the best of the Wisconsin spirit.”
In going to Madison, Ted Kellner followed in the footsteps of his father, Jack F. Kellner, a track team captain who graduated in 1941 and launched a successful career with Western Industries, a Milwaukee-based manufacturing firm.
Ted Kellner earned his bachelor’s degree in business. He was a walk-on basketball player who got cut in his junior year.
“I wasn’t good enough to play,” he said. “That was the problem.”
He was serious about studying, though. He said two professors had great influence on him — Frank Graner in finance and James A. Graaskamp in real estate.
Those areas would form the foundation of Ted Kellner’s business success. He is co-founder, former chairman and chief executive officer of Fiduciary Management Inc. He also co-founded Fiduciary Real Estate Development, where he serves as executive chairman.
Mary Kellner grew up in Huntington, N.Y. She heard that UW was a good school and a lot of fun to attend. And the price was right.
Her first airplane trip took her to Wisconsin for her first semester. She earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education at UW, a master’s in guidance and counseling from UW-Milwaukee and a doctorate in education from Cardinal Stritch.
Over the years, she was a teacher, guidance counselor and coordinator of school-based programs to prevent drug and alcohol abuse.
The Kellners have three grown children and five grandchildren.
Mary Kellner is president of Kelben Foundation, a name that combines Kellner with her father’s name, Ben Tucker.
Since the Kellners created the foundation in 1983, it has provided more than 5,000 scholarships to low-income children in Milwaukee to attend college.
The first year, they gave out one scholarship. The second year, they gave out two.
“Last year, we gave out 330 of them,” Mary Kellner said.
She claims that when it comes to giving at UW, she’s just along for the ride. He says she’s the boss.
“We met many of our dearest friends there,” she said. “We got a good education there. I’d say Ted was the most involved. He was on every board you could be on. He just has Badger blood running through him.”
The Kellners aren’t done helping Wisconsin. They are currently serving a year-long term as cochairs of the comprehensive campaign with John Oros and his wife, Anne.
“The people that I know that I’ve been working with and calling on, they’re glad to give to the University of Wisconsin,” Ted Kellner said. “They love it. They do it because the university meant a lot to them. It’s where they got a great education and met great friends.”