| University of Wisconsin–Platteville | |
|---|---|
| Motto | What College Should Be! |
| Established | 1866 |
| Type | State university |
| Endowment | $29,640,215[1] |
| Chancellor | Dennis Shields, JD |
| Admin. staff | 336 |
| Students | 7,928[2] |
| Undergraduates | 7,232[2] |
| Postgraduates | 696[2] |
| Location | Platteville, WI, USA |
| Campus | Small Town 820 acres (332 ha) |
| Nickname | Pioneers |
| Colors | Orange & Blue |
| Website | www.uwplatt.edu |
University of Wisconsin–Platteville (also known as UW–Platteville) is a public university located in Platteville, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and offers both bachelor and master degrees. The university has three colleges that serve over 7,000 students on-campus and an additional 3,000 students through its five distance education programs. UW-Platteville is highly regarded for its engineering program.
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The University grew from the 1959 merger of two schools: a teacher preparation college and a trade school dedicated to producing specialized technicians for mining.[3] The first of these was the elder. The Platteville Normal School was established in 1866 as the first teacher preparation school in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Mining Trade School, founded in 1907, had evolved into the first three year program for mining engineers in the United States before the merger. The schools combined became the Wisconsin State College and Institute of Technology. In 1966, along with Wisconsin's other state colleges, it was granted university status as Wisconsin State University-Platteville. It took its current name after the Wisconsin State University system merged with the University of Wisconsin.[3]
Starting in the late 1960s, the University of Wisconsin–Platteville expanded its academic program and established new colleges, the largest being a business college. The old mining college was transformed into an engineering college encompassing mining, electrical, mechanical, and eventually electronic engineering. In the late 1980s, the mining engineering degree was gradually phased out because of falling enrollment. By this time, however, it had been overshadowed by the other engineering degrees. UW–P's engineering program has an international reputation for producing solid engineers and attracts students from around the world.
From 1984 to 2000, the Chicago Bears of the National Football League held pre-season training camp at UW–Platteville. They were considered a member of the "Cheese League" that in 1999 consisted of the Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs, with each team practicing at a different university in Wisconsin.[4] In 2001, the Illinois State Legislature asked the Bears to move to an Illinois practice facility in order to raise funds for remodeling Soldier Field. Before the Bears left, they donated $250,000 to UW–Platteville for a new computer lab, which was named "The Bears Den."[1]. As of 2007, the city of Platteville intended to build a Bears Museum to honor the relationship between the two.
Engineering, agriculture, and criminal justice are the "mission programs," and the fastest growing programs at UW–P have been those in the business college, software engineering, and chemistry/criminalistics. As of 2004, the majority of students enroll in either business or engineering, with the numbers of graduates in each field being roughly equal.
In the 1980s, UW–P made an effort to bring businesses to the Platteville area to take advantage of University resources. Rockwell Automation started this trend in the 1980s when it recruited two engineering professors at UW–P to start an engineering firm. Rockwell provided financing and awarded them major contracts. The resulting business was Insight Industries, which later changed to AVISTA Inc. (now a division of Esterline, Inc.).
UW–P's campus is uncommon in that there are no city streets that cut through the campus. During the 1960s, all city streets and parking lots within the campus were replaced with wide sidewalks and manicured lawns. Not only did this improve the aesthetic sense of the campus, but it immediately eliminated all pedestrian accidents involving students struck by vehicles while walking from one classroom building to another.
UW–P has ten residence halls.[5] The newest, "Southwest Hall," opened in the fall of 2006.[6] Another new hall, Rountree Commons, is slated to open August 2012.[7]
The university is part of the University of Wisconsin System, and has an administrative staff headed by a Chancellor. Its colleges are headed by deans and departments chairpersons who report to the deans. The university consists of three colleges that offer bachelor's and master's degrees:
Ullsvik Hall, renovated and expanded between 2006 and 2008, houses administrative offices, academic facilities, visitor center, and other support departments. It also has banquet and catering facilities, including the Robert I. Velzy Commons, and the Nohr Art Gallery.[2]
In 2004, UW–P received approval from the UW system to increase its enrollment from 5,500 to 7,500 students. UW–P has started a program called the Tri-State Initiative, which aims to attract prospective students from Illinois and Iowa.[3] The enrollment of UW-P, as of Fall 2008, stands at 6,612 undergraduates and 900 graduate students. As of 2004, UW–P is staffed by 336 faculty.[8]
In 2002, a new student union, named the Pioneer Student Center, was opened at the center of campus. The new location makes the student union the heart of the campus. The union also serves as a technology and activity hub with a large computer lab (the Bear's Den), an involvement center, and several on-campus activities organized by Campus Programming and Relations. The union houses one of two dining complexes, the Pioneer Crossing, which includes subdivisions such as "Signature Line" and "Pioneer Haus," which mostly serves chicken. The center also includes a deli and coffee shop. The other location for food on campus is Glenview Commons, located in the residence hall section of campus. In 2011 the student center building was named the Markee Pioneer Student Center, after former Chancellor David Markee and his wife Lou Ann.
The University of Wisconsin–Platteville is a pioneer in the field of nontraditional education, with 30 years experience offering an accredited degree at a distance. In 1978, the University introduced print-based courses to enable Wisconsin residents living in isolated areas to earn an undergraduate degree in business administration without having to travel to a university campus. In 1996, the residency requirement was amended and the distance program was extended to working adults living throughout the United States. In 1999, online graduate programs in criminal justice, engineering, and project management were introduced, allowing students throughout the world to earn an accredited degree at a distance from UW–P. In addition to accredited degree programs, UW–P has also developed online leadership and management courses in association with the Wisconsin Department of Justice and on-site project management courses in association with a project management consulting company.[9]
Sports
UW–P is a member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 14 sports, including football and basketball. The teams are nicknamed the Pioneers. Men's sports include basketball, football, indoor & outdoor track and field, cross country, wrestling, soccer, and baseball. Women's sports include basketball, soccer, indoor & outdoor track and field, volleyball, cross country, golf, softball, and cheerleading. All teams compete in NCAA Division III and Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
The Men's basketball team has found much success over the years winning 4 NCAA Division III championships in 1991, 1995, 1998, 1999. The Pioneers qualified for the Division III Men's Basketball tournament from 1991-1999 and returned ten years later in 2009. Bo Ryan, the current head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers, guided the Pioneers to a 353-76 record and the best winning percentage in NCAA Division III basketball. Bo Ryan established one of the best home court advantages of all time as the Pioneers only lost 5 games at home in a decade. Bo Ryan averaged 26 wins a season in the 1990s, when the Division III men's regular season schedule only allows 25 games per year.
Campus life centers on the Pioneer name, which represents more than the sports teams. The student newspaper, The Exponent, is published weekly by a student staff. UW–P currently has over 150 clubs and organizations.
UW–P has several nationally affiliated and local Greek organizations.
Fraternities
Sororities
The largest celebration by UW–P students is the twice-annual lighting of the Platte Mound M. The "M" is located on Platte Mound, a nearby large hill east of the city of Platteville.[10] It is the largest white, single-letter, non-cursive, non-italic, man-made "M" in the world. It was created in 1936 by mining students, with the "M" standing for mining. Today, because mining engineering is no longer offered in the curriculum at UW–P, the "M" is now maintained by some UW–P faculty members and the local chapter of Theta Tau Professional Engineering Fraternity. Once a year, the "M" is whitewashed (not painted) to make it stand out. This used to be an all-engineering-students event, with the "M" being whitewashed using many buckets passed from student to student, followed by a cookout on the back patio of the engineering building. During the university's annual homecoming in the fall and after the "Miner's Ball" (also called "M-Ball") or after graduation in the spring, the "M" is lit by means of cans with a small amount of kerosene and a wick. The lit "M" can be seen for miles and is a popular event for local photographers. Also, once a year another group, Sigma Phi Epsilon, lights the "M" with the cans set up in a heart shape called the "Burning Heart."
As with most college towns, the city has a large number of taverns, mainly on Second Street. About a third of the student body lives in residence halls, with most students leaving town on weekends. Taverns regularly have standing-room-only nights. The music scene, funded by the taverns is active, producing several bands a year. One band, All Envy Aside (formerly Envy), made national fame in 2005 by winning the MTV Best Band on Campus contest.[11] The active nightlife and "strip of bars" format of Platteville's Second Street have given the town its unofficial nickname, "P-Vegas".
The following have attended or held positions at University of Wisconsin–Platteville:
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