Dear Colleagues,

I share with you sad news from the College of General Studies. Ronald Peter Penkoff, a former professor and chair of Art at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha (now UWM at Waukesha), passed away on September 2, 2020.

Ron received his BA from Bowling Green University and his MFA from Ohio State University. He began teaching art classes at UW-Waukesha in 1968. There he became head of the Art Department and eventually took on the responsibility of Art Department chair for all of the two-year UW campuses statewide. While in that role he had the opportunity to take the position of art professor at UW-Richland. Ron had a deep scholarly interest in Frank Lloyd Wright’s work and with his extensive knowledge in that area was able to lecture on that topic locally and around the country. After retirement from teaching he continued to paint, draw, and read in his home in Richland Center, where he converted the bare attic to a beautiful art studio.

For additional details, please see Ron’s obituary online. Our condolences to Ron’s family and to the many others whose lives he touched.

Take care,

Johannes

Johannes Britz
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs