Jerry L. Waukau Honored with Ripon College Distinguished Alumni Citation

RIPON, WI- Jerry L. Waukau of Keshena, Wisconsin, will receive the Distinguished Alumni Citation of Ripon College at a ceremony Friday, June 23. Waukau, a 1978 graduate of the College, has been the tribal health administrator at the
Menominee Tribal Clinic in Keshena, Wisconsin, for 38 years. He was born and raised on the reservation and is an enrolled member of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. Prior to working in the health center, he was the administrator of the tribe for four years.
He is chairman of the Wisconsin Tribal Health Director’s Association and serves on the faculty of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Pediatric Integrated Care Collaborative, which focuses on implementing trauma-informed integrated care in Native communities. His numerous honors include the Minority Health Leadership Award, Indian Health
Services Exemplary Group Performance Award, Bemidji Area Director’s Award, Community-University Partnership Award from UW-Madison and the Robert Wood Johnson Culture of Health Prize Award.
At Ripon, he majored in anthropology and economics and played basketball for three years under Hall of Fame Coach Kermit “Doc” Weiske ’50. He also attended an Independent Study Program for Ambulatory Care Administration from the University of Minnesota (1987-1988).
Waukau is a native of Neopit, Wisconsin, and lives in Keshena with his wife, Susan. They have six children, Jerry Jr., Alan, Kristin, Joseph, Maria and Appolonia; and he and his wife have raised a grandson and three foster children.