Norway Connections

May 3, 2019
group of people standing in a low
UW leadership meeting in Oslo, Norway, with NORAM executive director to discuss scholarship opportunities for UW students to study abroad. Pictured left to right: Donal Skinner, dean of UW Honors College; Hanne Aaberg, executive director of NORAM; David Sprott, dean of UW College of Business; Halgrim Thon (B.S. ’69); Keener Fry, UWAA executive director; Even Brande (M.B.A. ’93, B.S. ’91); and Tony Ogden, associate vice provost of global engagement.

Throughout the 1960s and 1980s, there were often 60–100 Norwegian students at the University of Wyoming at any given time. In an effort to reconnect with these alumni and create partnerships to welcome more Norwegian students, as well as to enhance UW’s education-abroad programming in Norway, a delegation of UW leaders visited Norway this past winter break. The delegation included Alumni Association Executive Director Keener Fry, Associate Vice Provost of Global Engagement Anthony Ogden, College of Business Dean David Sprott, School of Energy Resources Executive Director Mark Northam, Honors College Dean Donal Skinner and alumnus Even Brande, who is originally from Norway and is now chairman of the Laramie-based Handel Information Technologies.

“We had a productive time there,” Fry says. “We were quite astounded at the deep fondness that our Norwegian alumni hold for our university. The fact that they have built a common bond around their experiences without any input from UW is testament to this.”

Affectionately called the Buckhorn Boys, the group of alumni meets before Christmas each year. The UW delegation timed its visit around this annual get-together and met with approximately 35 alumni. UW personnel also connected with various universities, government agencies and potential partner organizations during their time in Norway.

“The alumni we met are passionate about UW and Laramie,” Sprott says. “The quality and strength of the alumni are impressive. Many graduated from the business school and have esteemed careers in business. The Norwegian government wants to increase education-abroad enrollment from around 20 to 50 percent of all students. This is a huge opportunity for us to re-engage Norway and welcome more Norwegian students here.”

While he was there, Sprott met with two top business schools in the country—Norwegian School of Economics in Bergen and the Norwegian Business School in Oslo—and found that there are many partnership opportunities. 

Ogden met with numerous other potential university and institutional partners. “There are many potential areas for renewed collaboration between Norway and Wyoming that could greatly enhance our efforts to support international and intercultural learning among our students,” he says.

Brande says, “Our three goals were reconnecting with alumni, creating exchange opportunities and getting more Norwegian students here—I think all of those have been set into motion.”

UW’s strategic plan calls for increasing the number of international students to 1,050 by 2022. “We need to continue to promote UW as a great opportunity for people from other countries,” Brande says, noting that Laramie’s small-town feel, laid-back lifestyle and sunshine make for an easy transition for students coming from another country.

“It makes a lot of sense to start with Norway, where we already have a lot of connections.” 

Ogden adds, “International students greatly enrich our campus, our classrooms and our community. We are excited to welcome a new generation of Norwegian students here at the University of Wyoming.”

Here, meet three of the successful Norwegian alumni the UW delegation connected with during its visit.

Alexander Miller

Drawn by the Nordic ski team and recommendations from fellow countrymen, Miller graduated with a B.S. in business administration in 1992, followed by a MBA in 1993. He went on to a successful career in Norway, including co-founding the mutual fund company Eika in 1997, which now has around $6 billion of assets under management. After heading up the equity portfolios for three of the largest family offices in Norway, he returned to Eika as chief investment director.

Miller believes UW gave him a strong foundation. He interned with A.G. Edwards in Cheyenne as a student and then worked for the firm for a year as an analyst before returning to Norway. “As a money manager, I have always thought that the diverse MBA program helped me in my career,” Miller says.

“I was trained in subjects other than just finance, which I think gave me an edge compared to many of my peers.”

He appreciated the quality of professors at UW and the small class sizes, as well as watching sporting events and making lifelong friends.

“We have a very strong alumni group in Norway,” Miller says. “We meet frequently both socially and professionally. Hopefully, the meetings we had in Oslo before Christmas will be the beginning of an increased involvement with UW. I have nothing but good memories from my five years in Laramie and Cheyenne, and I hope I can be able to give something back to this great institution. The world does indeed need more cowboys!”

Jørgen Waaler

As with many Norwegian alumni, the Nordic ski team—then an NCAA team—drew Waaler. He received a full scholarship on the team in 1980, graduating with his business degree in 1982 and an MBA in 1983. Waaler’s impressive career includes 16 years serving as CEO of the Oslo Stock Exchange-listed company StrongPoint, which offers retailers integrated technology solutions. Recently retired, Waaler now lives in Seefeld and serves on a number of boards.

Waaler appreciates the strong education and support he received at UW. He enjoyed the beautiful nature of Wyoming and traveling with the ski team—which he hopes will one day be an NCAA team again. “The timing is perfect, as the U.S. ski team is performing better than ever worldwide,” Waaler says, noting that each Norwegian UW ski team member recruited other tuition-paying relatives and friends.

He’s remained a steadfast supporter of UW from abroad. “I’ve been in charge of running the Norwegian UW alumni group for graduates between 1980 and 2000 for 35 years,” Waaler says.

“In 2000, we organized a huge homecoming for 30 of us in Laramie. In addition, some of us have attended two UW ski team reunions in Laramie.”

Roar Haaland Johansen

Johansen graduated with his economics degree from the College of Business in 1990 and went on to a notable international career, including establishing Mustad Longline Inc. in Seattle on behalf of Mustad Norway and serving as manager of business development for Infratek Norway, where he was instrumental in developing and building the charging infrastructure for Tesla and other car companies in Norway and Sweden. Half of the new cars in Norway are electric. Currently, he serves as vice president of sales for Jacobsen Elektro, a company that builds and improves infrastructure, mainly in Africa and Asia. 

At UW, Johansen fondly remembers Brooks Mitchell’s entrepreneurship classes. “He arranged sessions with top executives who came to Laramie and spent time with us, coaching us and promoting their respective companies,” he says. “Having professors that have actual business experience is vital.”

Johansen also appreciates Laramie’s wilderness, weather, changing seasons, social scene and small campus.

“I keep in touch with my lifelong friends here in Norway when we have our Thanksgiving party and Buckhorn Boys annual Christmas gathering,” he says. “Our U.S. relationships are maintained through vacations and with social media. The time we shared in Laramie has created a unique bond that will never go away.

“It was a pleasure having UW here in Oslo and the fact that they now are looking to increase the commitment between us,” Johansen says. “We had great meetings and shared the thoughts and ideas that can regenerate the attendance of Norwegians in Laramie but also spark interest for UW students to come to Norway. We will do our part as proud Norwegian cowboys and cowgirls.”

 

 

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Institutional Communications
Bureau of Mines Building, Room 137
Laramie, WY 82071
Phone: (307) 766-2929
Email: cbaldwin@uwyo.edu


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