Commencement speaker Lynn Gardinier shares how UW-Whitewater gave her the pathway to explore a satisfying career
May 01, 2025
Written by Dave Fidlin | Photos by Nick Pook and submitted
At first blush, Lynn Gardinier knew she enjoyed and appreciated the core principles of accounting when she had an opportunity to take an introductory course in high school.
As she delved deeper into the discipline as a University of Wisconsin-Whitewater student and realized the profession allowed her to combine her interest in numbers with her love of working with people, she knew she found her calling, one that resulted in a decades-long career with Baker Tilly, a coast-to-coast advisory, tax and assurance firm. She said the firm leads with its core values of integrity, passion, stewardship and belonging — values she experienced through her education at UW-Whitewater.
Gardinier, who earned her Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from UW-Whitewater in 1990, will share her story as commencement speaker at the spring 2025 commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 17.
As she reflects on her time as a college student, Gardinier said her involvement in the campus chapter of Beta Alpha Psi — the international honor society for accounting, finance and information systems students — was an invaluable experience that paved pathways for her in the years that followed.
“I found it very beneficial,” Gardinier said of Beta Alpha Psi. “I didn’t have anyone in my life that was an accountant, so it provided a broader real life look into many aspects of the accounting profession. I enjoyed math and just took some accounting classes in high school and I thought, ‘Oh, this seems interesting.’”
Gardinier said the deeper dive into accounting was eye opening — and a confirmation of what she wanted to do, post-graduation.
Beta Alpha Psi served as a platform where Gardinier was able to hear talks and meet personally with representatives of accounting firms. As a student, Gardinier also worked in UW-Whitewater’s accounting services office for several years, which gave her further practical experience in a field she was entering.
After graduating from UW-Whitewater, Gardinier began her career at what then was known as Virchow Krause & Company. In 2009, the firm changed its name to Baker Tilly. Today, Gardinier specializes in accounting, assurance and consulting services for manufacturers and distributors, primarily for businesses within the Midwest.
Even as she grew deeper into her career, Gardinier said UW-Whitewater remained top-of-mind, and she continued to give back as opportunities arose.
“I’ve been able to stay in touch with UW-Whitewater since I graduated,” Gardinier said. “I did interviewing, career fairs and Beta Alpha Psi events whenever I could.”
Over the years, Gardinier said she also stayed in touch with Robert Gruber, a longtime UW-Whitewater accounting professor whose multiple contributions continue to impact the field. Gruber, who passed away in 2015, was a past chair of the board of directors of the Wisconsin Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He was also instrumental in forming an advisory board for the Department of Accounting at UW-Whitewater, and Gardinier was a part of the inaugural group of participants.
“He asked me to be part of that board,” Gardinier said as she reflected on the role he played in her life. Gardinier also serves on the Advisory Board for the College of Business and Economics and supports university funds like the Robert Gruber Accounting Professorship, the Warhawk Accounting Advancement Fund, and the College of Business and Economics.
Lynn Gardinier, second from the right in the front row, poses with the UW-Whitewater College of Business and Economics Advisory Board on Oct. 28, 2021. Front row from left: Jim Caldwell, Damani Short, Paul Sara, Barbara Kreisman, Deanna Nguyen, Gardinier, Dave Wittwer. Back row from left: Interim Dean Paul Ambrose, Jeff Hoffman, Tim Hyland, Kevin Newell, Tim Toepel, Joe Frohna, Jon Kachel. (UW-Whitewater photo/Nick Pook)
Both Beta Alpha Psi and the UW-Whitewater campus have instilled within Gardinier a deeper desire to become civically engaged.
“The students who attend UW-Whitewater do tend to get involved in the community,” Gardinier said. “As I look back, that likely played a part in my interest in community involvement, which is something I still do today.”
As a principal and market leader in Baker Tilly’s Janesville office, Gardinier takes part in groups such as Forward Janesville, which is the city’s chamber of commerce organization, where she has served on the board of directors in the past.
For a person who works with numbers, Gardinier said UW-Whitewater’s own statistics speak for themselves, and she is grateful to have been a student of the university. She and Smokey, her husband of 37 years, have two children who are also proud alumni.
“I think the number of students who graduate from UW-Whitewater with a job already in hand speaks volumes,” Gardinier said. “It’s a place that prepares you for the real world and provides great opportunities through internship programs and experiences.”