Jones Keynotes UW-FDL Graduation

Local entrepreneur to speak at spring commencement

the reporter staff

Entrepreneur and “lifelong learner” Donald G. Jones will deliver the commencement address at the University of Wisconsin-Fond du Lac spring Honors and Commencement Program to be held at 7 p.m. Friday, May 16, in the Prairie Theater.

Jones, who has longtime connections to Fond du Lac, is the chief executive officer and founder of Spirit Enterprise. During the last 35 years, he has founded and been involved in numerous telecommunications and technology businesses.

He is now involved in social entrepreneurship and the mentoring of young people who are interested in starting companies and products of their own.

Jones is a frequent adviser and panelist for business plan competitions at the graduate business schools of Harvard, Northwestern-Kellogg, the University of Texas at Austin and Indiana University. He is also a guest lecturer at both Kellogg and Harvard on issues relating to the Internet and entrepreneurship in technology.

Through the Jones Family Foundation, he has contributed to numerous civic and educational causes on both the local and national levels. His efforts helped bring technology to local schools and assisted in the creation of the Family Ice Center. He also donated a 100-acre parcel crucial to the development and funding of Fond du Lac High School.

Jones and his wife, Terri, have received numerous awards for their philanthropic efforts.

Jones has worked to expand and promote the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., where his efforts were instrumental in the formation of THOMAS, the legislative information site on the World Wide Web. Locally, Jones provides assistance to many businesses, serving as an adviser or director.

He entered the telecommunications industry as a radio broadcaster in Illinois and went on to found Public Service Broadcasters, a company that owned regional radio stations, including KFIZ-AM in Fond du Lac. From radio, Jones entered the cable television industry in the 1970s and founded Star Cablevision Group. He was later involved with the Internet, becoming an Internet Service Provider and establishing a national fiber optic backbone network.

Lori Garbisch of Fond du Lac has been selected to be the student speaker at the ceremony. Garbisch returned to college to earn an associate degree and has been active at UW-Fond du Lac in theater productions and university forums and has done informal mentoring and tutoring of other students.

She is the mother of two and plans to complete a bachelor’s degree at the UW-Fond du Lac campus through the collaborative degree program in organizational administration available through UW-Oshkosh.

Graduates at the spring commencement will be awarded the associate of arts and science degree. Twelve students will be recognized during the ceremony for outstanding student achievement at the university.

The community is invited to attend the Honors and Commencement Program. The Prairie Theater is located in the University Center.