EC Wisconsin News

Lakeland University announced the death of President Emeritus Stephen A. Gould, who passed away on Friday following injuries from an auto accident. He was 80 years old.

The university also extended support to his wife, Susan, a former Lakeland registrar, as she recovers from the same accident.

Gould served as president of Lakeland University from 1998 to 2012. During his tenure, the university experienced significant growth in enrollment, fundraising, and its endowment fund. More than $20 million was invested in campus construction and upgrades under his leadership. Major projects included the Laun Center for Business and Technology, three new residence halls, renovations to the Chase Science Center and Nash Visitors Center, and expansion of the Todd Wehr Athletic Center.

Gould emphasized community engagement during his presidency. Students and employees contributed thousands of hours in service throughout the region.

“President Gould was the embodiment of everything that is Lakeland,” said Lakeland President Beth Borgen. “He cared deeply for this institution and its people and became a role model for countless others to feel the same. Thanks to his leadership, Lakeland made significant strides forward that have us well-positioned today for success for years to come. We are stunned at his sudden passing, and while he will be deeply missed, we will forever celebrate his legacy.”

Gould joined Lakeland’s faculty in 1970 as an instructor of German after earning degrees from Wabash College in Indiana and the University of Nebraska. He retired in 2012 after serving for 42 years.

Reflecting on his career at retirement, Gould stated: “I found in Lakeland’s mission a purpose for my life. I found it especially purposeful to be involved in the lives of those people, whether they were traditional age or found their stride a lot later in life. That’s given me a sense of meaning for the things that I do.”

Gould lived on Prof Row within the university community and learned about its history through connections with long-time faculty members such as Joe Bauer.

While teaching remained important to him throughout his career, Gould made notable contributions as an administrator. He became associate dean of lifelong learning in 1979 and played a key role in developing programming for non-traditional students—now making up most of Lakeland’s enrollment.

In 2004, he led development of BlendEd—a flexible learning platform recognized nationally for student-centered education approaches.

In addition to domestic achievements, Gould helped establish Lakeland's Tokyo campus when American universities began expanding into Japan during the early 1990s. The Tokyo campus opened in fall 1990; Gould served there as provost and dean until 1994 before returning to Wisconsin by 1997.

His leadership continued upon return as he worked closely with then-President David Black before succeeding him as president—a position he held until retirement.

“I knew if I did the jobs I was given as well as I could do them, a whole lot of students would get a chance and the trajectory of those lives would be raised,” Gould said upon retirement. “I’ve been able to leverage those positions to enable me to improve the lives of a lot more students than I would have teaching 20 students at a time... Sometimes the jobs absorbed more of my life than I would have preferred but I always felt I was doing something meaningful."

“The student who gets an internship and gets a job and helps a company grow is not always a student the world would have predicted would have done those things," he added."That’s the pride of being a Muskie... The faculty who teach here and staff who work here are engaged happily in that mission... I believed in it. I never have stopped believing in it.”

Upon retiring in 2012 Gould received emeritus status both as president and professor; South Hall was renamed Stephen A. Gould Hall during Homecoming 2019 recognizing his contributions.

The university indicated that further details regarding services will be shared when available.