Mary Poppe Chrisman — Building Dedication

Cedar Grove native Mary Poppe Came to Wisconsin State College-Whitewater to study mathematics. She married fellow student Byron Chrisman on the day she received her Bachelor of Science degree. The couple moved to Colorado, where Mary Poppe earned her Master of Science degree at The University of Colorado under a National Science Foundation Scholarship. Her professional life included teaching, computer programming, and accounting. Her personal life included three sons, her husband's business endeavors, love for the outdoors, and her church.

Byron has said that Mary loved teaching and would have liked working as a student tutor when she was on campus. The Mary Poppe Chrisman Success Center, through Byron's gift, is a legacy in support of the mission and goals of student success at UW-Whitewater.

In the Fall of 2017, the university opened the doors to a state-of-the-art building dedicated to student success — the Mary Poppe Chrisman Success Center. In the first three months of the center’s opening, an all-time record of 45,476 tutoring hours were logged to benefit nearly 3,000 students. The move to the Mary Poppe Chrisman Success Center brought greater visibility for these programs, and students have been drawn in by the welcoming atmosphere that creates a game plan for academic improvement and a sense of community.