- Patrick Joseph Lucey
Infobox Governor
name= Patrick J. Lucey
caption=
order=38th
office= Governor of Wisconsin
term_start=January 4 ,1971
term_end=July 6 ,1977
lieutenant=Martin J. Schreiber
predecessor=Warren P. Knowles
successor=Martin J. Schreiber
birth_date= birth date and age|1918|03|21
birthplace=La Crosse, Wisconsin , U.S.
death_date=
death_place=
spouse=
profession=
party= Democrat
religion=
footnotes=Patrick Joseph Lucey (born
March 21 ,1918 ) is a member of the Democratic Party who served as governor of theU.S. state ofWisconsin from 1971 to 1977. In 1977, Lucey was appointed ambassador toMexico by PresidentJimmy Carter , a post he held until 1979. Lucey was also an independent vice-presidential candidate in 1980 with John Anderson.Lucey graduated from
Campion High School inPrairie du Chien, Wisconsin in 1935. [ [http://www.campion-knights.org/Notables Campion Graduate Notables ] ] Lucey went to St. Thomas College and graduated from theUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison . Lucey served as justice of the peace inFerryville, Wisconsin , and in theWisconsin State Assembly from 1949 to 1951.University of Wisconsin System merger
One of Lucey's executive initiatives was to revive an idea to merge the state's two university systems, the Wisconsin State University (WSU) system and the pre-eminent University of Wisconsin (UW), in Madison. The idea was suggested in the 1890s, then revived in the 1940s and 1950s by Governor
Oscar Rennebohm and GovernorWalter J. Kohler, Jr. In 1971, Lucey raised the issue again, saying a merger would contain the growing costs of two systems; give order to the increasing higher education demands of the state; control program duplication; and provide for a united voice and single UW budget.
Not surprisingly, Madison faculty and administrators by and large opposed the merger, fearing it would diminish the great state university. Most WSU faculty and administrators favored merger, believing it would add prestige to their institutions and level the playing field for state funding.
Merger legislation easily passed the Democratic-controlled Assembly. After much maneuvering and lobbying, it was approved by a one-vote margin in the Republican-controlled Senate. It took until 1974 for implementation legislation to be finalized. "I had to be pretty heavy-handedndash no merger, no budget," said Lucey in an interview following his term in office.
Presently, the
University of Wisconsin System each year educates more than 155,000 students on 26 campuses and one million citizens through theUW-Extension .Other gubernatorial accomplishments
Lucey also recommended additional funding for tourism, which spurred development throughout the state. Two examples were the expansion of the
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources park system and the Mt. Telemark Resort inCable, Wisconsin . Since 1974, Cable and Mt. Telemark hosts the AmericanBirkebeiner each year, the largest cross-country ski race in North America.1980 Vice Presidential campaign
The John Anderson-Lucey presidential ticket polled 7% of the vote in the 1980 presidential election, despite a 25% showing in early polls by Anderson and a spirited televised debate between Anderson and
Ronald Reagan .Notes
External links
* [http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=1959&keyword=Governor Governor Patrick J. Lucey, Wisconsin State Historical Society]
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