UW-Madison administrators and students gathered at the Porter Boathouse Wednesday evening to honor UW Foundation President Andrew ""Sandy"" Wilcox.
Wilcox has served as President of the Foundation for 22 years, but will retire as of Friday, with current Business School Dean Mike Knetter taking his place
""The difficult part is it came so fast,"" Wilcox said of his coming retirement.
Chancellor Biddy Martin and UW-Madison head of facilities and planning management Al Fish both spoke in honor of Wilcox.
Martin lauded Wilcox's work as president of the UW Foundation.
""Under his leadership the assets of the Foundation grew from 190 million dollars, which is what they were in 1988 to 2.3 billion dollars in 2010,"" Martin said.
Fish discussed Wilcox's vital role in organizing the financing for the Kohl Center.
""Sandy said ‘we might be able to raise seven million dollars for that,'"" Fish said. ""It was a 72 million dollar project and we raised $49 million in gift funds.""
Fish called Wilcox ""somebody who under-promises and over-delivers.""
Wilcox also used money from the foundation to help scholarships through the Great People campaign.
""The Foundation has generated approximately $15.7 million for need-based aid since the Great People campaign started,"" Martin said.
Fish pointed to a map which displayed the 45 building projects that were constructed since 1988, including Grainger Hall, the Engineering Centers building and the Education building.
""Almost 60 percent of the projects you see in front of you were done with the help of gifts,"" Fish said.
Another main point of the ceremony was Wilcox's Naval service.
The University's Naval-ROTC was on hand to present colors and honor Wilcox by naming their laser class sailing boat the ‘Sandy Wilcox.'
The N-ROTC ended the ceremony by having Wilcox christen the boat and piping him ashore, a Naval tradition since the 1700s.
Martin quoted former Chancellor John D. Wiley, saying ""when the history of UW-Madison is written, he will be one of the more consequential and influential people in it's history.""
Wilcox said his proudest accomplishment of the last 22 years was ""always doing the right thing.""
Two study abroad scholarships to Asia and France will also be named in his honor.
