Dave Wegge joined the St. Norbert College in 1979 after receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. With his hire, political science became a two-faculty member discipline. Dave brought essential expertise in elections, institutions, and research methods and led St. Norbert to the forefront of political science programs by requiring all majors to take both statistics and research methods. In 1984, Dave founded the St. Norbert College Survey Center and quickly gained a statewide and national reputation for excellence in survey research. The Wisconsin Survey, still conducted twice a year, is regularly cited by local, state, and national media. In 2009, Dave expanded the scope of the center to become the Strategic Research Institute and has furthered the reputation of St. Norbert College through his excellent work. Through his work on survey research, campaigns and elections, Dave has been and continues to be an active scholar. In addition to traditional research, he is very active in public scholarship research that is done for the public in the service of democracy. In this arena, Dave has been interviewed by virtually every major media outlet in the country. All of these many accomplishments aside, Wegge is first and foremost an excellent teacher. Students have always come first for Dave. He is known as a compassionate but tough teacher, and demands the best from his students, even in his most feared course – research methods. He is beloved by students for his inspiration and mentoring.

Biographical Note written by Joe Dyal, 2019.