UW-Oshkosh: Leaders In Business, Aging Care To Get Honorary Doctorates

CONTACT: Mary Olson, (920) 424-0200

OSHKOSH – A Wisconsin business giant and a national advocate for healthy aging long before it became popular will each receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters May 13 at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Craig Culver, a 1973 UW-Oshkosh alum and chief executive officer of Culver Franchise System Inc., America’s largest frozen custard franchise, will receive an honorary doctorate at the 9 a.m. ceremony.

David Green, retired president and chief executive officer of Evergreen Retirement Community of Oshkosh, will receive an honorary doctorate at the 2 p.m. ceremony.

Both ceremonies will be at Kolf Sports Center, 785 High Ave.

“Mr. Culver has built a career and a business through commitment to doing what is right for his customers, employees, franchisees and his family,” said Chancellor Richard H. Wells. “As an alumnus, he also has helped his alma mater as an active member of the UW-Oshkosh Foundation Board and participant in several College of Business events.”

Culver is co-founder of the Prairie du Sac-based Culver Franchise System Inc., which has 300 franchises in 16 states. Entrepreneur Magazine has ranked Culver’s number one for custard sales and restaurant growth for three straight years.

He was a 2005 Nation’s Restaurant News Golden Chain Award recipient and Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2001, he was named Wisconsin’s Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Culver earned his bachelor’s degree in biology at UW-Oshkosh in 1973. In 1999, he was named a UW-Oshkosh Distinguished Alumnus.

“His business philosophy is based on smart growth, high quality products and service, consistently staying on the cutting edge of food technology and safe products and fully supporting his franchisee partners and their workers,” said UW-Oshkosh entrepreneurship professor Burk Tower, who nominated Culver for the honorary doctorate.

Chancellor Wells called Green a leader and advocate for quality-care and service in elder health.

“His national reputation for innovation in nursing facilities includes the development of client-centered care and the creation of multilevel care units,” he said. “He was an invaluable member of our College of Nursing’s Board of Visitors for 13 years, and he encouraged and helped many faculty and students in their pursuit of education and volunteer opportunities.”

Green was president and CEO of Evergreen Retirement Community of Oshkosh from 1976 to 2005. He was a board member, director and adviser for many local and national professional health care groups, including the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AHSA) and the Wisconsin AHSA.

He “championed respect and enthusiasm for healthy aging before it was popular,” said UW-Oshkosh College of Nursing Dean Rosemary Smith. “In the early 1980s, he spoke of ‘client-centered care’ and ‘putting residents first,’ and he continued those themes throughout his career.”

Green earned a bachelor’s degree in both architectural engineering and business at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He earned a master’s in aging studies at the University of North Texas.