William Wragge has been an adjunct professor of the Department of Physics for over 25 years.
Photo courtesy of Carl Lam / Staff Writer
CARL LAM
Staff Writer
According to an old saying, “you never know where life will take you.” Never has there been a phrase that’s so fitting to almost everybody’s life. To be frank, most students haven’t even experienced where life will take us, but our professors have had adventures and experiences that we can only dream to have.
William Wragge is an adjunct professor in the Department of Physics and has been for over 25 years. He earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial arts education from Buffalo State College with a minor in physics and electronics education. Naturally, that education degree allowed Wragge to teach, but there was a catch.
“I taught for two years in Mayville but I didn’t like the high school level, so I started my own business,” he said.
Wragge started his own business in 1982 in Dunkirk, across from what used to be Dunkirk Ice Cream, specializing in a certain field of electronics.
“I had my own business for about 25 years that manufactured printed circuit boards. What I like to do is pass on a lot of information about that to students as to what it’s like to run your own business,” Wragge said. “I take a lot of practical examples from business. [By] teaching physics and electronics, you can pick on a lot of things that happen in business and say this is the ‘real world’ and that helps them a lot.”
He then went on to earn a master’s degree in special studies from SUNY Fredonia, focusing on computer education and digital electronics under the tutelage of Dr. Subra Pendyala. His desire to further his education came while he was running his business in Dunkirk. However, the master’s also played another role in his life.
“I figured if I was going to go into my own business at the time and if that failed, I wanted to have something to fall back on,” he said.
Wragge’s interest in digital and analog electronics came from his college years after he took a number of classes relating to the field. The learning for him didn’t stop there.
“Then, I started my own business in it and learned a lot there. It’s a passion that I’ve always had. I like to reflect that onto the students, as far as that enthusiasm. If you can show that while you’re teaching, I think it makes a big difference,” he said.
The business was sold in 2006 to a company from Canada. The building is still
there, but Wragge said the industry isn’t the same anymore. His business was operating during the “heyday” of the times and capitalized on the production of those circuit boards. As a former business owner, the perspective and knowledge he brings to class is invaluable.
“I feel that many large manufacturing businesses are being overtaken by foreign competition and the future is in small businesses that could get their start from new technologies,” Wragge said. “I try to encourage students when they show interest in small business startups. With my past experience in the printed circuit board industry, I am glad to impart to students both the positive and negative in running a small business today. The challenge can be very rewarding.”
After selling the company, Wragge took on an expanded course load within the physics department. He now teaches an Essential Science course for education majors, physics labs and his specialty, electronics. And 25 years ago, he got his start here because he established connections during his graduate work.
“Because I got my master’s here, I got to know people here. Long ago, Mike Grasso called me and asked if I wanted to teach an electronics course,” Wragge said. “They needed someone at the time and I kept going with that.”
Senior sound recording technology major Alexander Wieloszynski works with electronics on a near daily basis and explained that having this class is a necessity.
“I took Mr. Wragge’s basic electronics class last year and found it to be really informative and helpful as a sound recording technology major,” Wieloszynski said. “He is a very kind and knowledgeable person and made what can be a difficult subject easier to deal with. My class was about 90 percent sound recording majors, and he always tried to relate whatever concept we were learning at the time to recording somehow.”
The faculty also take note of his passion for teaching. Dr. Justin Conroy, chair of the physics department, says Wragge is a valuable and dedicated member of the department.
“Having owned his own electronics company, his knowledge and experience provide a unique and valuable perspective for his students. His students rave about his approachability and willingness to help,” Conroy said.
Over the course of his time here, he’s glad to be around students at the university level and has this advice to offer students.
“I like talking to the students and seeing what their goals and aspirations are. I like working with them trying to explain reality and what it’s like when you get out of college. I just like working with that age level, it’s very interesting,” Wragge said. “Get into something where they have a passion for it and there’s a definite need. That would be the best advice I could say.”