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Unearthed From the Archives
Becoming UW-Platteville
By James Hibbard, Archivist
In September 1958, in the comfort of his office in Old Main, Bjarne Ullsvik, the new president of Wisconsin State College at Platteville, composed a letter to faculty, staff, and students entitled Look Ahead. In the letter, Ullsvik predicted that due to the steadily increasing enrollment “WSCP will soon outgrow its present facilities.” What Ullsvik did not, and could not see was that WSCP would experience tremendous growth, two mergers, and become a university, all in the short span of 13 years.
Wisconsin State College and Institute of Technology at Platteville: July 1, 1959
When Ullsvik became President in 1958, he knew a merger between the State College and the Institute of Technology was already in the works. The two schools already shared Royce Hall, a male residence hall. In addition, the Student Center that was scheduled to open in spring 1959, was financed jointly and centrally located between the schools at Main and Hickory.
This merger, however, was not without its challenges. An Oct. 20, 1958 Exponent headline stated it bluntly: “Merger Presents Problems.” The article chastised the students: “If there are any students who have particular biases—attempt to forget them now!” For 50 years, the two schools had maintained an intense rivalry socially and athletically and it was not going to be forgotten so quickly. The most prominent illustration of the rivalry was on the football field. According to former history professor Tom Lundeen, “Because of the roughness of the games and fear of serious injuries, the two schools never played football with one another after 1925.”
The merger, however, was completed on July 1, 1959. Ullsvik remained president, but Milton Melcher, President of the Institute of Technology, became the Dean of Technology. Significantly, the traditions of both schools were kept and the two most identifiable symbols of each school, the Normal School Bell and the Mining School M, were eventually combined into the official seal.
LOOK AHEAD
Bjarne Ullsvik led Wisconsin State College at Platteville through its merger with the Institute of Technology.
Remarkably, only five years later, in June 1964, the Exponent expressed the frustration at another name change: “Throw your sweatshirts away; they’ve done it again. Since 1842, Platteville has etched six different names across its walls, stationary, sweatshirts or the like.” This time, however, Platteville was being promoted to university status.
This name change derived from UW-Platteville’s Normal School origins. When the Normal Schools were established in Wisconsin in the 19th century, they were grouped together and administered by their own board of regents. From 1866 to 1927, the Normal Schools functioned primarily as three-year institutions for educating teachers. In 1927, when they were authorized to award four-year baccalaureate degrees, they became
THE BAND EXITS
the Old Main building c. 1965.
MILTON MELCHER
RIGHT, former President of the Institute of Technology, became Dean of Technology following the merger. State Teachers Colleges. In 1951, due to expanded curriculums, they became State Colleges. Finally, in 1964, they all became state universities that offered master’s degrees in education. Platteville, however, was even more specialized. As President Ullsvik noted at the time, only a few larger universities “have curricular offerings in engineering, agriculture, industrial education, teacher education, and the liberal arts.”
Growth
Parallel to the name changes, the university’s student enrollment increased rapidly. In just 10 years, the school’s enrollment increased nearly four-fold, from 1,282 in 1958 to 5,024 students in 1968. This led to an increased number of new campus structures. This enrollment increase, however, brought on other challenges: housing shortages, food complaints, and the drinking age requirement of 21, among other issues. These problems came to a head in May 1967 when, of all things, a cat got inside a power station and caused a power outage. For three nights, the students took to the streets and rioted over their grievances. President Ullsvik addressed the students’ concerns as best as he could, even helping the students who had been arrested. It is unknown if the cat survived.
Remarkably, in 1971 a third change occurred. This was then-governor Patrick Lucey’s initiative. The idea behind it was to streamline administrative costs and save taxpayers money by merging the two public university systems: Wisconsin State University and University of Wisconsin. The proposed merger was not universally favored. For example, Roy Kopp of Platteville, the President of the Board of Regents of the Wisconsin State University system, was opposed to it. As he told an Exponent reporter, he did not think it would save money and saw “no valid reason for the merger.” The legislature, however, approved the merger and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville became a reality on Oct. 12, 1971, 50 years ago. Besides the expense of $1,000 to change signs, stationary, and diplomas, the biggest change was Ullsvik’s title. The board of regents required a president over the UW System, hence, President Ullsvik became Chancellor Ullsvik.
What’s in a name?
A timeline of UW-Platteville
1958
Bjarne Ullsvik becomes president of Wisconsin State College at Platteville
1959
Wisconsin State College at Platteville merges with the Institute of Technology
1964
The college updates its name to Wisconsin State University–Platteville to align with its new state university status
1968
The university’s enrollment increased nearly four-fold in 10 years reaching 5,024 students
1971
Governor Patrick Lucey merges the state’s two public university systems and Bjarne Ullsvik becomes Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville
