History of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

The history of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee dates back to 1885, when the Milwaukee State Normal School opened for classes at 18th and Wells in downtown Milwaukee.

In the fall of 1956, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was created as a result of the merger between the old University of Wisconsin and the former Wisconsin State College of Milwaukee (formerly the Milwaukee State Normal School). The newly-created university consisted of the Wisconsin State College of Milwaukee campus and University of Wisconsin Extension at Milwaukee, an auxiliary of the University of Wisconsin. The new university was considered a part of the University of Wisconsin.

Early History

In 1880, the Wisconsin state legislature passed a law requiring the Board of Regents of Normal Schools to form a normal school in the Milwaukee area in order to meet the growing demand for higher education by the city's soaring population. The Milwaukee State Normal School at 18th and Wells Streets opened for classes in 1885, with John J. Mapel as president. Over the next 42 years, the Milwaukee State Normal School saw 7 different presidents, the addition of music and liberal arts programs and rapid growth from an initial enrollment of 46. In 1909, the Milwaukee State Normal School moved from downtown to its current location near the lakefront when a new building, now Mitchell Hall, was completed.

In 1922, the State Normal School Regents voted to discontinue college courses in an effort to refocus on the instruction of teachers. The Milwaukee State Normal School then began to offer education-related four year degrees. In 1927, the Milwaukee State Normal School changed its name to the Wisconsin State Teacher’s College. The Wisconsin State Teacher's College quickly dropped all non four-year degree programs and offered its first Bachelor of Science degree program in 1937, for education. After World War II, the school also added a graduate program for education. In 1946, J. Martin Klotsche became president of the college. (He would remain head of the evolving institution until 1973.) In 1951, when the Legislature empowered all state colleges to offer liberal arts programs, the Wisconsin State Teacher's College changed its name to Wisconsin State College of Milwaukee, which became part of the University of Wisconsin five years later.

ince 1956

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was founded in the belief that "if metropolitan Milwaukee was to be great, it would need a great urban public university" [http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/RSA/Research/uwm.html] . Pressed by the growing strong demand for a large comprehensive public university that offers graduate programs in Wisconsin's largest city, Wisconsin state legislature passed a bill in 1955 to create University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The current University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was established in 1956, as a result of the merger between the old University of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin State College of Milwaukee (WSCM). The new university consisted of the WSCM campus near the lakefront and the University of Wisconsin extension in downtown Milwaukee. The first commencement of the new University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was held on June 16, 1957. On June 13, 1958, Milwaukee's Socialist mayor Frank P. Zeidler was the first person to receive an honorary doctorate from the university. Enrollment grew from 6195 in 1956 to 9354 in 1962 and new academic programs, colleges and schools were created to meet student demands. In 1988, the UW System designated eight Centers of Excellence at UWM. In 1994, UWM was designated as a Research II University (now a Doctoral/Research University-Extensive) by the Cargegie Foundation. In the 50 years since adding the Milwaukee campus to the UW System, UWM has expanded to 12 schools and colleges and now offers 84 undergraduate programs, 48 graduate programs and 20 doctoral degrees, with a university-wide focus on academic research, teaching and community service.

In 1964, the campus of the neighboring private women's institution, Milwaukee-Downer College, was purchased by the State to expand the UWM campus; Milwaukee-Downer College had previously merged with Lawrence College to form the present Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. [http://www.lawrence.edu/about/trads/mdc.shtml] The university had already purchased the former campuses and buildings of the old Milwaukee-Downer Seminary and Milwaukee University School along Hartford Avenue [http://www.usmk12.org/display/router.aspx?DocID=126] .

In 2005, UW-Milwaukee surpassed UW-Madison in the number of Wisconsin resident undergraduate students as well as graduate students. [http://www.uwsa.edu/opar/ssb/2005-06/pdf/r_b106.pdf]

Institutional milestones

*1885 - Milwaukee State Normal School opened for class at 18th & Wells in downtown Milwaukee
*1892 - University of Wisconsin began to offer classes in Milwaukee
*1909 - Milwaukee State Normal School moved to its present location on the East Side
*1920 - The UW Extension Division, formed in 1907, took over responsibility for UW instruction in Milwaukee
*1927 - Milwaukee State Normal School changed its name to Milwaukee State Teachers College
*1928 - UW Extension opened Milwaukee Center downtown
*1951 - Milwaukee State Teachers College became Wisconsin State College-Milwaukee
*1956 - Wisconsin State College-Milwaukee merged with University of Wisconsin and the UW-Extension in Milwaukee became part of the new UW-Milwaukee
*1961 - The 8.6-acre Milwaukee-Downer Seminary site, including 3 buildings, was purchased
*1963 - UW-Milwaukee offered its first PhD degree in Mathematics
*1964 - UW-Milwaukee purchased the Milwaukee-Downer College campus
*1965 - UW-Milwaukee purchased the 6.3-acre Milwaukee University School campus
*1970 - Three residence towers, collectively called Sandburg Halls, opened for student housing
*1988 - UW System designated eight Centers of Excellence at UW-Milwaukee
*1994 - UW-Milwaukee was designated as a Research II University (now a Doctoral/Research University-Extensive) by the Cargegie Foundation.
*2000 - UW-Milwaukee was named among top 102 public doctoral research universities in nation
*2001 - Wisconsin's Governor announced honors academy at UW-Milwaukee
*2007 - $125 million was raised during the $100 million Campaign for UWM

chool Names

References

* "University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Commencement Program", distributed at each semester's commencement ceremony.

External links

* [http://www.uwmpost.com/article/c58b6a040bf450fc010bfc273f890006 UWM: A historical perspective] .