University of Wisconsin–Parkside

University of Wisconsin–Parkside
Type Public
Established 1968
Endowment $5,550,342 (2014)[1]
Chancellor Deborah L. Ford
Students 4,700
Location Somers, Wisconsin, U.S.
Campus Suburban, 700 acres (283 ha)
Colors Green, Black[2]
         
Athletics NCAA Division II – GLVC
Mascot Rangers
Affiliations UW System
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
Website www.uwp.edu

The University of Wisconsin–Parkside is a four-year public university located in Somers, Wisconsin, between the cities of Kenosha and Racine. Part of the University of Wisconsin System, the school has 4,769 students and 125 full-time faculty. The university offers 33 undergraduate majors and 3 master's degrees in 22 academic departments. UW-Parkside is one of two universities in the UW System not named for the city in which it is located, the other being UW-Stout.

UW–Parkside is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II for athletics. The athletics teams are nicknamed the Rangers and wear forest green, black, and white.

History

UW–Parkside was created in 1965 by an act of the state legislature.[3] Ground was broken for the new campus in November 1967 and the university accepted its first on-site students in fall 1969. The first students graduated from UW–Parkside in June 1970. In 1971, when the University of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin State Universities merged, UW–Parkside became part of the University of Wisconsin System. The University has had six chancellors: Irvin G. Wyllie (1966–74), Alan Guskin (1975–85), Sheila Kaplan (1986–93), Eleanor J. Smith (1994–97), John P. Keating (1998–2008), and Deborah L. Ford (2009–present).

Campus

Wyllie Hall (Main Place)

UW–Parkside is a complex of buildings with the main academic buildings connected by an indoor walkway known as "The Bridge". Nationally known architect Gyo Obata developed the campus master plan with a major library/learning center at its heart.[4] The original buildings, constructed between 1967 and 1976, occupy a small portion of the 700-acre (283 ha) campus, which lies in Kenosha County.

The campus comprises 15 buildings, including Wyllie Hall, Greenquist Hall, Molinaro Hall, Tallent Hall, the Rita Tallent Picken Regional Center for Arts and Humanities, the Student Center, the Sports and Activity Center, Ranger Hall, University Apartments, and Pike River Suites. Recent renovations and expansions to the Sports and Activity Center, Student Center, Rita Tallent Picken Regional Center for Arts and Humanities, and the newly constructed Pike River Suites blended the updates into the existing architecture.

The campus has hundreds of acres of restored prairies, mature oak and maple forests, and a meandering creek. The university also owns hundreds of acres of off-campus nature preserves in Kenosha and Racine Counties.

Rita Tallent Picken Regional Center for Arts and Humanities

"The Life Expressive"
Rita Tallent Picken Regional Center for Arts and Humanities

The Rita Tallent Picken Regional Center for Arts and Humanities, also known as "The Rita", underwent remodeling and expansion in 2012, with a goal of developing a creative and cultural hub for southeast Wisconsin with greater community access and new performance venues. The remodeling and expansion included a new music recital hall; a studio theater for smaller theater productions; galleries for art exhibitions; instructional studios for music, theater arts, and 2-D art programs; and expanded and upgraded classrooms.

The Rita houses the UW-Parkside Theatre Arts Department, which caps the company at approximately 65 students.[5]

Organization and administration

Colleges

UW-Parkside is organized into four colleges:

Academics

UW-Parkside offers over 30 undergraduate majors and graduate-level degrees in business, applied molecular biology, information systems, and sustainable management. Housed within the College of Social Sciences and Professional Studies is the Institute for Professional Educator Development, which offers courses leading to teacher certification in early adolescence through adolescence in several specializations.

Carnegie Foundation community engagement classification

In 2008, UW-Parkside became the first Wisconsin university to participate in the Carnegie Foundation community engagement classification in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, in the Curricular Engagement and Outreach and Partnerships categories.[6]

Library

The University Library is located in Wyllie Hall. It houses a collection of over 380,000 volumes, 19,000 audio visual titles, 972,991 microform pieces, over 80,000 electronic books, maintains subscriptions to 1200 periodicals, and offers access to over 200 databases, most of which are available remotely.[7] The library is also home to the university archives and the Parkside Area Research Center (ARC). The archives' holdings document the history of UW-Parkside and its predecessor institutions. The Parkside Area Research Center houses local and regional manuscript collections, including the Vincent F. Ruffolo Collection of Nash and AMC materials, the Irving Wallace collection, the David Kherdian collection, and the John Sullivan collection of Aviation materials.[8] The ARC also provides access to the holdings of the Wisconsin Historical Society using a transfer system to bring WHS holdings to the Parkside Area Research Center for research.

Student life

Housing

Ranger Hall

The University has three student housing facilities: Pike River Suites, Ranger Hall, and the University Apartments.

Built in 2009, Pike River Suites is the newest residence hall at UW-Parkside. It can house approximately 250 residents. Residents live in a "house," which includes a lounge, kitchenette, and study area.

Ranger Hall is a traditional-style residence hall and can house approximately 410 residents. Most rooms are designed to house up to two students, though there are a limited number of single rooms available.

The University Apartments is an apartment-style residence hall that can house approximately 370 student residents. It consists of seven separate buildings, each with 6-10 four-bedroom apartments.

Athletics

Official athletics logo.

UW–Parkside is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II and the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Varsity sports for men and women include soccer, basketball, track, and cross country. Men's varsity sports are baseball, wrestling and golf. Women's varsity sports are softball and volleyball.

UW-Parkside's nickname mascot is the Rangers. The university's mascot, depicted by a brown bear in a Parkside jersey, is Ranger Bear. In January 2011 Ranger Bear qualified for the first time for the Universal Cheer Association Mascot Nationals, where he took third place.

Notable alumni

References

External links

Coordinates: 42°38′40″N 87°51′09″W / 42.64444°N 87.85250°W / 42.64444; -87.85250

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