University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point

University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point
Established 1894
Type State university
Chancellor Bernie Patterson
Academic staff Over 400
Students 9,200
Location Stevens Point, Wisconsin, United States
Campus Small town, 400 acres (162 ha)
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.

Contents

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 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.

In 2007 a Sustainability Task Force was created to help achieve the future goal of a carbon neutral campus. In 2009, Chancellor Linda Bunnell resigned after a student vote of no-confidence. The vote was called, in part due to an automobile accident she failed to report and allegations of drunk driving.[1]

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.

Campus

The university is located in Stevens Point, Wisconsin a block north of State Route 66 and southwest of Interstate 39/U.S. Route 51. It's a 410-acre (166 ha) campus with 42 buildings, including a 275-acre (111 ha) nature preserve and 24-acre (9.7 ha) lake.

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.

University Media

Radio Station

WWSP-FM is the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point's alternative radio station. Operating at 30,000 watts, WWSP is the largest student operated campus radio station in the Midwest. 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.

Television Station

SPtv
Stevens Point, WI
Branding "SPtv"
Channels Analog: 98 (Cable)
Owner Student Organization
Founded 1972
Former callsigns CTV, SETV, SVO, STV
Website http://www.uwsp.edu/stuorg/stv/

SPtv is the Student television station at The University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point. Currently, it is broadcast in Stevens Point, Wisconsin on channel 98 (a live stream of the channel is also available for viewing on SPtv's website). SPtv's office and studios are located in the College of Communicative Arts building on the UWSP campus. When the station is not airing programming, it airs a message board of community and campus news and events.

Current Shows

Syndicated Programming

Student Organizations

Stevens Point students can participate in a variety of cultural, academic and special interest student organizations. The Student Involvement and Employment office or SIEO located in the Dreyfus University Center on campus provides information to students about the various opportunities in student clubs or employment.

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).

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. The Pointer football team also holds the annual Spud Bowl game sponsored by famous local potato farms and brewery companies as the first home game of the season. The Pointers play their home games at Goerke Field, which is also the home of Stevens Point Area Senior High (SPASH) football and Pacelli High School Football.

Basketball

The Pointer Men’s and Women’s basketball teams have combined to bring home five NCAA Division III titles. The Women’s basketball team won the national title in 2002, 15 years after its first NCAA Division III title in 1987. The Men’s basketball team won back to back NCAA Division III titles in 2004 and 2005, and won the championship again in 2010. The Men’s basketball team finished 2008-2009 season with 24-5 record and ranked fourth in the NCAA III 2008-2009 basketball final poll.

Baseball

Since 2004 UWSP Men's baseball has been coached by former Pointer Pat Bloom. In just five seasons, Bloom has already become UWSP's all-time winningest baseball coach with a 161-78 career record. He also led the program to back-to-back NCAA Division III World Series appearances in 2006 and 2007, as well as four straight WIAC Tournament titles(2005–2008).

The 2007 season was the best finish in school history. The Pointers won one fewer game than their previous season(34-17 in '07 and 35-18 in '06) but finished third at the World Series, an improvement from a fifth place finish in 2006. The Pointers made their fourth World Series appearance in 2010.

Softball

In 2009, the Pointer Women's softball team had a 24-11 (8-6, WIAC) record. The team won the WIAC conference title in 2001. In 1998 the Pointers won the Division III National Championship. The softball team plays their home games at Zenoff Park and McCarty Field.

Track & Field

The UWSP Men's and Women's Track & Field teams have a long history of successfully representing the university. The Men's teams have brought home 3 individual NAIA national titles and 16 individual NCAA Division III national titles. The Women's teams have combined to win 13 individual NCAA Division III titles. The Men's team has accounted for 61 All-American performances at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships since 1985[2] and over 70 at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships since 1982.[3] The Women have combined for 24 indoor NCAA Division III All-American performances between 1985-2007[4] and 27 Outdoor All-American performances from 1984-2007.[5]

The Men's track team is led by legendary coach Rick Witt. Witt has been head coach for over 30 years during which he has made top 10 performances at the NCAA Division III Nationals a common occurrence for the program. He has also been named National Coach of the Year once, Regional Coach of the Year 7 times, and Conference Coach of the Year 14 times.[6]

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

Landmarks

The Schmeeckle Reserve, a nature preserve, is located on the university.

References

External links