University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point
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| University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point | |
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| Established | 1894 |
| Type | State university |
| Chancellor | Mark Nook (Interim Chancellor) |
| Faculty | Over 400 |
| Students | 8,700 |
| Location | Stevens Point, Wisconsin, United States |
| Campus | Small town, 400 acres (1.6 km²) |
| Colors | Purple & Gold |
| Nickname | Pointers |
| Mascot | Stevie and Stephanie Pointer |
| Website | http://www.uwsp.edu |
The University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point (also known as UW–Stevens Point or UWSP) is a public university located in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System, and grants associate, baccalaureate, and master's degrees.
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[edit] History
UWSP opened its doors in 1894 as Stevens Point Normal School after securing land and funding from the city of Stevens Point and the county. In addition to teacher preparation, "domestic science" (home economics) and conservation education were offered; the latter formed the basis for the College of Natural Resources, nationally recognized[citation needed] for undergraduate and graduate training in natural resources.
In 1927 Stevens Point Normal School became Central State Teachers College and began offering four-year teaching degrees. When post-World War II enrollment became less centered on teacher training and more focused on liberal arts education, the Wisconsin State Legislature intervened, elevating the school to a Wisconsin State College with the authority to grant bachelor's degrees in liberal arts.
Ever larger numbers of students in the 1950s and 1960s led to construction on campus throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. It was during this period, in 1964, that the college became a Wisconsin State University and began offering graduate degrees. Again in the 1970s the school's name changed from WSU-SP to the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point after the two state university systems merged. UWSP has graduated over 70,000 students since opening its doors. Over 40,000 of these alumni live in Wisconsin.
Lee S. Dreyfus became Chancellor in 1974 before going on to become the state of Wisconsin's 40th Governor. Governor Dreyfus was inaugurated on the lawn in front of Old Main on the UWSP campus in 1979.
The campus played host to the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League for their first training camp in 1995. It was part of what was known as the Cheese League, a collection of teams that hold training camp in Wisconsin. Beginning in 1996, the Jaguars have held their training camp in Jacksonville.
[edit] Location
Stevens Point, WI is rated in Relocateamerica.com's list of the 100 best cities to live in America.
[edit] Sororities and fraternities
The Greek Community consists of three sororities and five fraternities on campus. All of the greek organizations meet and collaborate as one, known as Inter-Greek Council. The sororities on campus are: Delta Phi Epsilon, Gamma Phi Delta, and Phi Omega. The fraternities on campus are: Sigma Tau Gamma, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Theta Xi, and Phi Sigma Chi.
[edit] History of the DeBot Center
1967- DeBot Center opened in January, and was intended as a residential dining area for students on the west side of Reserve Street. The cost of DeBot was about $1.5 million and equipment cost of $110,000.
2003- The Lower level of the University center including Campus Activities and Student Invovlement and Employment is renovated at a cost of $2 million. The campus employment and Intramurals become part of the Centers.
2004- The Lower level of DeBot was remodeled and the Convenience Store received a major upgrade to provide more dining and seating options. Wireless access was added to the lower DeBot area.
2005- The Upper level of DeBot received a $2 million renovation in the summer. The three dining rooms and portions of the kitchen were reconstructed. Each room has an individual theme with finishes, differing configurations, movable partitions, and activity centers.
[edit] History of Centers of UWSP
1950- The campus had its first student union in the basement of Delzell Hall, a men's residence hall. It consisted of a billiard table, a black and white TV set, and a kitchenette in a large open room. Games, an ironing board and an iron were donated by several student organizations.
1951- The institution had a name change to Wisconsin State College.
1955- Enrollment swelled to 1,188 and during the following year, the Board of Regents established a Student Union Fee. This fee was collected in anticipation of construction of a separate Student Union Building.
1959- The first Student Union building opened, which is currently the east part of the present University Center. It contained about 35,000 square feet. The cost of the building was a little over a half a million dollars with about $35,000 worth of equipment in it.
1960- Campus enrollment exploded all over the nation. UW-Stevens Point ended the decade with more than four times the number of students enrolled at the beginning of the decade. Lawmakers and educators saw the enrollment booms coming, and were able to enlarge facilities almost as needed even though three to five years was necessary for the planning and construction time of a building.
1964- The Allen Center was opened as a residential dining area and intended for students on the east side of Reserve St. A second dining area was being planned instead of an addition to Allen Center. Two dining centers, it was assumed, would mean less travel to meals for each student, and would allow a smaller group in a given building to get to know each other better than would be in the case in a single, large food facility.
1964- Another institutional name changed occurred, changing Wisconsin State College to Wisconsin State University.
1965- an addition was put on the University Center at a cost in excess of a half million dollars. The addition doubled the 35,000 square feet to 70,000 square feet.
1967- DeBot Center opened in January, and was intended as a residential dining area for students on the west side of Reserve Street. The cost of DeBot was about $1.5 million and equipment cost of $110,000.
1970- Since the previous decade, enrollment increased from less than 2,000 to nearly 9,000 students. Student enrollment was somewhat established, and all the areas of the campus were afforded some time to sit back and see what had been established. Some programs that had to be established quickly to accommodate increasing enrollments during the 1960's could now be evaluated and improved.
1971- Wisconsin State University was changed to University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point as the two, sometimes competitive, higher education systems in Wisconsin were merged into a single system.
1972- Facility work continued to bring space and services to the needs of the 1970's level of population. In January, Allen Center was completed. Completion involved finishing the ground level area from a concrete shell.
1998- The addition of a conveniently located passenger elevator over the summer made the UC more user friendly and accessible.
2002- The Box office and the Multicultural Resource Center (which still reports to Multicultural affairs) area moved into the UC.
2003- The Lower level of the University center including Campus Activities and Student Invovlement and Employment is renovated at a cost of $2 million. The campus employment and Intramurals become part of the Centers.
2003- The Allen Center is fully converted to a Health & Wellness facility. Programs located in Allen include: Outdoor Edventures, the Cardio Center, a Massage Center, Student Health Promotions, and Group Fitness. Centers Facilities support is also located in Allen Center.
2004- The Lower level of DeBot was remodeled and the Convenience Store received a major upgrade to provide more dining and seating options. Wireless access was added to the lower DeBot area.
2005- The Upper level of DeBot received a $2 million renovation in the summer. The three dining rooms and portions of the kitchen were reconstructed. Each room has an individual theme with finishes, differing configurations, movable partitions, and activity centers.
2006- A $23.7 million renovation was approved for the University Center. Some of the new additions made to the building included a theater, an expanded Laird room, a larger 2 story concourse for retail spaces, more lounge areas, and a larger computer lab. A new entrance on the North West corner of the addition allows for a more inviting concourse entrance.
2008- The newly renamed and renovated Lee Sherman Dreyfus University Center reopened after 18 months of being closed for construction.
[edit] Radio station
WWSP-FM is the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point's alternative radio station. It is the largest student operated radio station in the Midwest.[citation needed] It broadcasts commercial free on 89.9FM 365 days per year from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. (with summer hours of 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m.)
WWSP hosts the world's largest trivia contest, which was founded in 1969 and has since become a long-standing tradition for both the university and the entire community. Hundreds of teams with thousands of members participate in the contest every year, usually in April.
In addition to the radio station, UWSP also has a campus television station, STV.
[edit] Clubs
[edit] International Club
International Club is one of the largest student organizations at UWSP. Its purpose is to promote and encourage an exchange of cultures between and among nations by providing opportunities for friendship, understanding, and the social interest of members. Our activities are characterized by cultural, educational, and social components in an attempt to bring together international and American students in quest of "One World for Peace."
http://www.uwsp.edu/stuorg/iclub/
[edit] Chinese Cultural Club
[edit] History
The Chinese Culture Club (CCC) was established in 1999 by a group of students and faculty members interested in enhancing cultural diversity and the understanding of Chinese culture on the UWSP campus as well as in the local community.
[edit] Goals
Introducing modern and traditional Chinese culture.
Let more people know more about China and Chinese students' live in UWSP. improve the awareness of current Chinese social and economic development in UWSP.
Promoting friendship and mutual understanding between Chinese and other international students, as well between Chinese and the local American students.
[edit] Routine Activities
Lantern Festival: Yuanxiao Festival or the Lantern Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month, fourteen days after Chinese New Year's Day (around the end of January and the beginning of February). In the country and town, people celebrate it heartily. For some reason, there is often a bigger celebration in the rural areas, especially in the North.
Moon Festical: The Chinese Moon Festival is on the 15th of the 8th lunar month. It's also known as the Mid-autumn Festival. Chinese culture is deeply imbedded in traditional festivals. Just like Christmas and Thanksgiving in the West, the Moon Festival is one of the most important traditional events for the Chinese. At this time, you can see most of Chinese student get together and celebrate. They usually perform traditional Chinese dancing, singing and others.
PCCF: This is a great chance for CCC to share Chinese Culture with others.
[edit] More About CCC
This organization is open to any full or part time student, faculty member of the UWSP, or anyone living in the surrounding community of Stevens Point interested in Chinese Culture and willing to pay dues (a small membership fee per semester) to the organization to find out more.
Besides its regular member meetings, CCC has engaged in a variety of activities, including organizing the Chinese Spring Festival dinner party every spring, participating in the Portage County International Cultural Fair, organizing and participating in picnics, organizing the a Chinese Move Festival series, and so on.
CCC would like to take this opportunity to extend their warm welcome to all of you and encourage you to join their effort in promoting international awareness, cultural diversity, knowledge about other countries and civilization, mutual understanding among students with different ethnic and cultural backgrounds on the campus, and most of all, to make students' lives at the UWSP more interesting, colorful, and memorable!
[edit] Athletics
Student-athletes in twenty different sports at UWSP are participating in the NCAA division III. Men’s and Women’s ice hockey teams are competing in Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) and other sports teams are members of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC).
[edit] Football
One of the most popular athletic teams at UWSP is men’s football team, which finished the 2008 season with 9-2 (6-1, WIAC) record and ranked seventh among NCAA division III football teams prior to the beginning of 2009 season. Pointers Football team also holds an annual Spud Bowl game sponsored by famous local potato farms and brewery companies at its first home game of the season. Pointers Football team plays its home games at Goerke Field, which is also known as the home of Stevens Point Area Senior High (SPASH) football.
[edit] Basketball
Men’s and Women’s basketball teams have combined four NCAA III titles since 1987. Women’s basketball team won the title in 2002 in 15 years after its first NCAA III title in 1987. Men’s basketball team won the back to back NCAA III title in 2004 and 2005. Men’s basketball team finished 2008-2009 season with 24-5 record and ranked fourth in the NCAA III 2008-2009 basketball final poll].
[edit] Notable alumni
- Jordan Zimmermann, MLB Player for the Washington Nationals
- Andrea Anders, television star
- Kirk Baumgartner, member of the College Football Hall of Fame
- Tim Bedore, comedian
- Kevin Dana, professional football player
- Michael Dombeck, former U.S. Forest Service chief
- Lawrence Eagleburger, former U.S. Secretary of State (attended)
- Ted Fritsch, NFL player
- Kathy Kinney, television star, most notable for portraying Mimi on the Drew Carey Show
- Clint Kriewaldt, NFL player
- Mel Laird, former U.S. Secretary of Defense (attended)
- Bruce Lammers, former U.S. Olympic track and field team member
- John A. List, University of Chicago economist
- Max Maxfield, Wyoming Secretary of State
- Pete McCann, jazz guitarist
- Laura Osnes, actress, played Sandy in Grease: You're The One That I Want (attended)
- Jim Pekol, musician
- Terry Porter, NBA player and coach
- Patrick Rothfuss, author of the fantasy novel The Name of the Wind
- Brad Soderberg, former men's head basketball coach, St. Louis University
- Daniel P. Vrakas, Wisconsin politician
[edit] Notable faculty
- Dick Bennett (Athletics, 1976-85) – head basketball coach; later coached at the University of Wisconsin and Washington State University
- Jack Bennett (Athletics, 1996-2005) – head basketball coach, brother of Dick Bennett, led Pointers to back-to-back national championships in 2003-04 and 2004-05
- J. Baird Callicott (Philosophy Department, 1965-94) – founder of academic environmental ethics discipline; now at the University of North Texas
- Pat Bloom, Head Coach of Baseball and former player for UWSP Baseball
- Lee Sherman Dreyfus (Chancellor, 1967-78) – chancellor; became the 40th governor of Wisconsin
- James Moore (Theater, 1975-2003) – choreographer and dancer, collaborator with Jerome Robbins
- Michael Nelson (Philosophy Department, 1994-2004) – co-editor of the Great New Wilderness Debate; now at Michigan State University
- Jon Roberts (History Department, 1985-2001) – intellectual historian; now at Boston University; author of Darwinism and the Divine in America: Protestant Intellectuals and Organic Evolution, 1869-1900 (University of Wisconsin Press, 1988) and The Sacred and the Secular University (Princeton University Press, 2000)
- James Stokes (English Department, 1981-present) – historian of early English drama
[edit] Landmarks
The Schmeeckle Reserve, a nature preserve, is located on the university.
[edit] External links
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