|
|
ABOUT US "We cannot do what we do not know." Our Mission Statement Canada Research Center draws on experts with tested skills in business, education, and research. Matthew Schigur, M.B.A., M.I.S., M.P.M. (Keller Graduate School of Management) is a seasoned business educator and consultant. He lives in Milwaukee and serves on the board of Xpert Venture Designs Corporation, a federal Canadian nonprofit that creates new ventures to benefit Canadians. Thomas Lyons, B.A. in Economics (University of Wisconsin - Madison) offers first-hand knowledge of business and non-profit startups through experience in banking and financial services. He is a specialist in business succession / transition. He also is an expert in implementation of systems for growth periods for businesses and non-profits. Tom has a special interest in international banking. Paul Rux, Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin - Madison) offers first-hand knowledge about Canada from teaching and studying there. His M.A. from the University of Toronto is in Canadian history. He has completed certificate courses at the Ontario College of Education and University of Western Ontario. He offers seasoned skills in research, planning, funding, and business education. His projects have won awards from the Wisconsin State Senate and State Telecommunications Association. Dr. Rux was also a special one-year student in history and political science at the University of Dublin. Alan Capelle, M.S (University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point), brings over thirty years of consulting and professional work experience in the heritage resources/environmental sciences area to this team. From 1984-2001 he served as Regional Director for John Veverka & Associates, an international interpretive / heritage planning firm based in Michigan. Among the over 200 projects he worked on during those years, he served as Project Leader for the first U.S. National Heritage Corridor (Illinois & Michigan Canal) for the U.S. National Park Service. During the years 1978-1984 he worked for the Provincial Government of Alberta in their Parks and Historic Sites Divisions as a Manager, and Senior Planner. He has served as a Professor of Environmental / Earth Science at three universities since 1987, most recently at Upper Iowa University in Madison, Wisconsin. A recipient of six regional and national awards of merit within the environmental field, he received the 2008 Business Watch magazine ‘Green Business Award” in Madison, Wisconsin. He is an leading expert in how to do more with less today. | History Behind Canada Research Center Our founder and CEO, Paul Rux, was a Graduate Fellow at the University of Toronto. His plan was to earn a M.A. in British history. When he arrived at Toronto, professors pointed out that British history had been written. In comparison, Canadian history was unwritten. Why reinvent wheels? Per this advice, Rux earned his M.A. in Canadian history under Prof. John S. Moir. The rest is history. Rux developed a lifelong interest in and passion for Canada. He has maintained strong personal and professional ties with Canada. For example, he founded and chairs Xpert Venture Designs Corporation, a Canadian nonprofit that drives startups. See www.venturedesigns.org. Canada Research Center builds on this long, loving association. It also builds on the world-class information on Canada - present (up-to-the minute government documents) and past (history) - in the Wisconsin State Historical Society, Madison, WI. The Society sits on the campus of the University of Wisconsin - Madison. It is also Dr. Rux's first alma mater: B.A.(History), M.A.L.S. (Library & Information Studies), and Ph.D. (Management). When state leaders learned of Dr. Rux's expertise with Canada, they asked him to "mine" the Society's resources on - and his connections with - Canada to create badly needed jobs in the state. Canada Research Center is the result. Its partner in Canada is Xpert Venture Designs Corporation. (See above URL.) Our CEO, Dr. Rux, has built a unique two-way bridge to leverage resources to create jobs in both countries. Building began when he decided not to major in British history! | Select Patrons Ellsworth Brown, Ph.D., Director, Wisconsin State Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin Wisconsin State Senator Dale Schultz Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton Fred Long, M.B.A., President, Xpert Venture Designs Corporation, Cobourg, Ontario Canada Fred and Joan Long, Cobourg, Ontario (above) Professor John S. Moir, University of Toronto Jane Rux (left) with Mrs. (center) and Prof. John S. Moir (right), Brantford, Ontario, Canada |
|