Salzmann honored with Center for Women’s Leadership

Matthew Day

Staff

February 2, 2026

STEVENS POINT – Plans for the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP) to transform the Collins Classroom Center into the Sentry School of Business and Economics continue to unfold, with construction set to begin this summer.

Per the college’s website, uwsp.edu, the Sentry School project – which the State Building Commission officially approved last fall – is named after the local insurance company that donated $10 million to the $98 million project. 

The college announced this development around the same time as one of the school’s forthcoming centers was officially named: the Ruth E. Salzmann Center for Women’s Leadership. 

Deborah Bayer – assistant professor of finance and director of the Sentry School’s Financial Literacy Program – has been named director of the Salzmann Center, and said she is “very excited” to wear another proverbial hat. 

“I love it – I really do,” she said. “I like to be active. I get to interact more with students outside of class, and it works. I make it work.” 

Ruth E. Salzmann 

According to sentry.com, Ruth E. Salzmann “set a standard in business leadership more than 60 years ago, becoming the first woman president of the international Casualty Actuarial Society and Sentry’s first female vice president and board member.” 

Bayer said in her opinion, Salzmann was “a trailblazer” and is deserving of the tribute. 

“She broke a lot of barriers and achieved so many great things,” she said. “She serves as an inspiration to our students, and it’s an honor to put her name on the center.” 

UWSP College of Professional Studies Dean Rebecca Sommer said the name is “a living tribute to Ruth’s humor, professionalism and deep sense of community.” 

The Salzmann Center 

Bayer said the Salzmann Center has been made possible not only by further donation from Sentry, but with the support of Northwestern Mutual-Central Wisconsin’s Kempf District Office. 

This generosity, Bayer said, will allow the center “to provide leadership, education and professional networking opportunities to connect our students and our UWSP faculty and administrators with the community, with our corporate partners, with professionals in the field.” 

Further, Sommer said the Salzmann Center is “designed to inspire emerging leaders and empower all who seek to learn from the achievements of those who came before.”  

Bayer said the Salzmann Center will be one of several housed within the Sentry School, joined by the Wisconsin Small Business Development Center at UWSP, the Anderson Classroom-to-Career Center, the Center for Data Analytics, the Center for Sales Excellence and the Center for Business and Economic Insight.

She said it will be “wonderful” to have the Salzmann Center in what will be the university’s first “dedicated hall for business.”

Though the school isn’t planned to be open until 2029 – per Sentry’s website – Bayer said she’s already facilitating the center’s work from her office and other rooms on campus, while hosting events across the college’s venues. 

“Once the Sentry School is complete, we’ll have an actual center where students can come and hang out, where we’ll have more resources available,” she said. “We’ll also have a professional clothing closet for them to come and get free clothing, in which they can conduct interviews and that type of thing, so we’re really excited about that.” 

Since she became director in October, Bayer said the Salzmann Center has already begun achieving its intentions of “bridging academic learning with real-world leadership experiences.” 

“I would say all the programming we’ve done so far has been successful in bringing people together, and in expanding people’s networks with the common goal of becoming a better leader,” she said. 

And even in light of the center’s as-of-yet decentralized state, Bayer said its participation is growing. 

“As we get more exposure, or as people learn more about us, then more people start coming to the events…,” she said. “The programming we’re doing is appealing to a wider and wider audience as we become better known.” 

All are welcome 

Bayer said all UWSP students – and, when noted, the general public – are encouraged to utilize the Salzmann Center and attend its events. 

“It’s very low-pressure, all of these situations,” she said. “It’s not like you’re joining a club or something. These are just programming activities that are open to help students grow…, and it’s just a great chance for them to be a part of a supportive network.” 

Despite its name, Bayer said it’s important to clarify that the Ruth E. Salzmann Center for Women’s Leadership “is not just open to women.” 

“It’s open to everyone,” she said. “Male students love to come participate in these events as well… We always say, ‘Just come and check it out.’” 

Bayer said businesses and professionals are also encouraged to collaborate with the center, and often choose to do so. 

“People love to share their experiences,” she said. “They want other people to have a smooth experience and a smooth transition into a successful business, so people are always excited to share their ideas.” 

The benefits, Bayer said, are twofold. 

“Our professionals really enjoy interacting with the students as well, and these are potential students who they will work with in the future, once they graduate,” she said. “It’s always good for everyone to build a stronger network, and this is a way of doing that. I always think of it as a way to give back and pay it forward at the same time.”   

Bayer said this practice also leads to regular guest speakers for the Salzmann Center and an ever-expanding network of partners and alumni in the business community.  

She said UWSP students are equally encouraged to suggest ideas for the center. 

“I collaborate with my intern, [Leah Bertrand, to] come up with some of these ideas, and then we ask other students what they’d be interested in doing,” she said. “[I] ask some of the professionals and some leaders to see if they have ideas for activities, but really, it’s easier than you think – there’s a lot of fun stuff to do.” 

Upcoming Events 

In addition to the Salzmann Center’s ongoing podcast series and book club, Bayer said these upcoming events have been announced: 

• Feb. 3 – A professional clothing consult
• Feb. 9 – Salzmann Center Lunch with a leader banquet

• March 3 – Salzmann Center Women Trailblazers Voices Lunch with an Author (Amelia Rose Earhart)
• March 3 (4:30 p.m.) – Salzmann Center co-sponsoring “Soaring Beyond Limits” with Amelia Rose Earhart, open to the public 
• April 7 – A financial workshop

Along with entrepreneurial pitch events, Bayer said the Salzmann Center is making good on the Sentry School mission of “creating career-ready graduates and leaders through applied learning.” 

She said she also facilitates at least one volunteer opportunity per semester, as “the philanthropic part of the center is very important.” 

“Students are excited to be involved in that type of giving back and meaningful activities,” she said, adding that these events further help spread the word about the center. 

Though Bayer said she’s “really looking forward to having a physical presence” for the Salzmann Center in the coming years, the early goings of instilling passion for learning while networking – including her own – have proved “extremely rewarding.” 

“I’m able to continuously learn from the leaders I encounter,” she said. “I’m meeting new people all the time, and I have people who introduce me to other community members who wanted to meet me because they had heard about the center and they want to play a part in it. That’s so energizing to me, to be a part of something so magical.”