MSOE’s Winter Commencement will be held Saturday, Feb. 23 at 10 a.m. in the Kern Center. The university will celebrate undergraduate and graduate students in engineering majors, the Rader School of Business and the School of Nursing as they receive their bachelor’s or master’s degrees.  

MSOE Regent Ron Jensen will receive Honorary Doctor of Engineering and Bachelor of Science degrees and deliver the keynote address. Jensen is the retired president and CEO of Paper Pak Industries (PPI), a manufacturer dedicated solely to absorbent mediums for the food, medical and safety industries. Prior to that, Jensen was a “turnaround” CEO, primarily focused on creating shareholder wealth for small- to mid-sized companies. He oversaw the regeneration of three distinct companies and executed 15 acquisitions to change the structure of these companies.  

Josh Boyce, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, is the class respondent. Boyce is graduating with honors and will receive a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. Manfred A. Lopez-Prado will receive the Alumni Association Award for Student Achievement. Lopez-Prado is from Milwaukee and is graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems.

Jensen’s career began at Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC), where he became the manufacturing supervisor after graduating from MSOE in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in industrial management. He worked his way up to president of OMC International Group and vice president for manufacturing for the corporation. Jensen was an ASQ Certified Quality Engineer; attended the Executive Program in International Business at Columbia University; and has spoken in various academic and industry association venues about applying Design of Experiments in manufacturing. He began serving as an MSOE Regent in 2014.