Charles R. Van Hise
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Charles Richard Van Hise (May 29, 1857 – November 19, 1918) was an academic and president of the University of Madison from 1903 to 1918.
Van Hise was born in Fulton, Wisconsin. He received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 1879, and was the first to graduate with a Ph.D. from the school in 1892, receiving a doctorate in geology. He also received a B.S. in 1880 and a M.S. in 1882.
He entered the faculty of the University immediately after graduating, as instructor. He held the positions of instructor in chemistry and metallurgy (1879–1883), assistant professor of metallurgy (1886–1888), professor of mineralogy and petrography (1888–1892), professor of Archaean and applied geology (1890–1892), and professor of geology after 1892.
He was elected by the Board of Regents to become the president of the University of Wisconsin on April 21, 1903 Van Hise succeeded Charles K. Adams, who had died in 1901, and Edward A. Birge, who had served as acting president for the past two years. Van Hise was helped in his election by the support of Governor Robert La Follette.
In 1904, as president of the university, he declared that “the beneficent influence of the university [be] available to every home in the state,” later articulated as the “Wisconsin Idea.” He was instrumental in the formation of the University of Wisconsin Extension division, which later grew into the University of Wisconsin System. During his tenure, UW's medical college was established, the number of faculty doubled and the university's revenue increased four-fold.
He joined the University of Wisconsin faculty in 1879 as an assistant in metallurgy and chemistry and remained with the university for the rest of his life. Van Hise, who was then professor of geology, was elected president by the Board of Regents on April 21, 1903, at least partly at the urging of Governor Robert La Follette, and inaugurated on June 5, 1904 as part of the Jubilee 50th Anniversary celebrations. Both Van Hise and La Follette, who had been classmates at Wisconsin and students of John Bascom, felt that the university should benefit the entire state, and Van Hise helped develop this concept into the Wisconsin Idea, including founding the university extension division. Van Hise also oversaw a reorganization of the university in 1904 that included the establishment of a graduate division and the founding of the Medical School. He led the university through the difficult years of World War I, including defending the university against charges of disloyalty and a falling out with La Follette over the latter's opposition to the war. During his tenure the faculty increased from 200 to 750, and the university's income quadrupled. Van Hise died unexpectedly in Milwaukee on November 19, 1918, following what was considered minor surgery.
He served as the president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1916.
Van Hise died unexpectedly in 1918 after minor surgery in Milwaukee.
On the UW–Madison Campus there is a building named after Van Hise at the intersection of Charter and Linden Streets. There is also an elementary school in Middleton, Wisconsin named after him.
[edit] Publications
- Correlation Papers . . . Archœan and Algonkian (1892)
- Principles of North American Pre-Cambrian Geology (1896)
- Some Principles Controlling the Deposition of Ores (1901)
- The Iron Ores of the Lake Superior Region (1901)
- An Attempt to Reduce the Phenomena of Rock Alterations to Order under the Laws of Energy (1903)
- The Conservation of Natural Resources in the United States (1910)
- Concentration and Control (1912; new edition, 1915)
