{"id":3,"date":"2025-09-26T19:05:22","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T19:05:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/about-new\/?page_id=3"},"modified":"2026-02-20T17:25:34","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T17:25:34","slug":"new-about-page","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

About the Universities of Wisconsin<\/h1>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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The Universities of Wisconsin serve more than 164,600 students. Awarding more than 37,000 degrees annually, these 13 public universities are Wisconsin\u2019s talent pipeline, putting graduates in position to increase their earning power, contribute to their communities, and make Wisconsin a better place to live. Nearly 90% of in-state Universities of Wisconsin graduates stay in the state five years after earning a degree. The Universities of Wisconsin also contribute to the richness of Wisconsin\u2019s culture and economy with cutting-edge and life-changing research, new companies and patents, and boundless creative and intellectual energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through a constellation of universities statewide, our two nationally recognized Research I universities in Madison and Milwaukee together with 10 comprehensive universities and Wisconsin\u2019s only Polytechnic university offer a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate degree programs \u2013 including doctoral and professional degrees \u2013 providing unlimited opportunities to explore, learn, and thrive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Universities of Wisconsin News<\/a><\/h4>\n

View press releases, media resources, and the UW News Service. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Our Impact<\/a><\/h4>\n

Explore how the Universities of Wisconsin make an impact on our state.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Facts & Figures<\/h4>\n

Explore our Education Reports & Statistics<\/a> including interactive charts and graphs reflecting higher education performance measures and accountability<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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History<\/strong><\/summary>
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Merger of Two Systems of Higher Education<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The statewide University of Wisconsin System was created with the merger of two public university systems under a single Board of Regents by Chapter 100, Laws of 1971, which went into effect on October 12, 1971. The 1971 legislature set July 1, 1973, as the final date for completion of the merger, but 1973 Assembly Bill 930, drafted with the help of a Merger Implementation Study Committee to achieve that objective, did not pass in the assembly until the spring session of 1974 and died for lack of senate action when the regular session ended. The bill passed both houses, as Senate Bill 2, in the special session in May 1974 and became law on July 9, 1974. The bill combined the former Chapter 36 (former University of Wisconsin) and Chapter 37 (former Wisconsin State Universities) to create a new Chapter 36 (University of Wisconsin System) of the Wisconsin Statutes. Chapter 36<\/a> now sets forth the mission and purpose of the University of Wisconsin System. This statute also describes the responsibilities and powers of the Board of Regents, faculty and student roles in shared governance, faculty appointment and tenure rights, academic staff appointments, and other aspects involved in the administration of the University of Wisconsin System.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former University of Wisconsin<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The pre-merger University of Wisconsin was created by the state constitution and law in 1848. At the time of the merger in 1971, it consisted of the original land-grant university at Madison (1849); the University of Wisconsin\u2013Milwaukee (merged in 1956); UW-Green Bay (1968) and UW-Parkside (1968) plus 10 freshman-sophomore centers (now branch campuses) and statewide Extension. Total 1971 enrollment was 69,554. Governance was by the Regents of the University of Wisconsin, a board of 10 members, nine appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate for nine-year terms, the tenth being the state superintendent of public instruction who served ex-officio on both the University of Wisconsin and Wisconsin State Universities boards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former Wisconsin State Universities<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Wisconsin State Universities system had its origins in an 1857 state law creating the Board of Regents of Normal Schools. The first of nine such institutions was opened at Platteville in 1866 and the last at Eau Claire in 1916. In 1927, the normal schools received authority to grant baccalaureate degrees in education and were renamed State Teachers Colleges. With the addition of liberal arts programs in 1951, they became the Wisconsin State Colleges. (As a side note, UW-Stout was founded as a private institution in 1893. A separate Board of Trustees governed it from 1911, when it became a state institution, until 1955 when it was designated part of the Wisconsin State Colleges System.) In 1964, the Wisconsin State Colleges were designated Wisconsin State Universities. At the time of the merger in 1971, the board had 14 members, including the state superintendent of public instruction and 13 citizens appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate for five-year terms. The WSU system, then governed by the board, consisted of the nine universities and four freshman-sophomore branch campuses and had a total enrollment of 64,148.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The University of Wisconsin System<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The 1971 merger law was approved after a long debate by a margin of one vote in the Senate. It combined the two systems under a single Board of Regents. The current UW System consists of two Research I universities (Madison, Milwaukee); 11 comprehensive universities (Eau Claire, Green Bay, La Crosse, Oshkosh, Parkside, Platteville, River Falls, Stevens Point, Stout, Superior, and Whitewater); 13 branch campuses; and a statewide extension network with offices in every county.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Restructuring<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In 2018, the Higher Learning Commission approved a UW System restructuring proposal that aligned the 13 two-year UW Colleges with seven of the comprehensive universities. These branch campuses are: UW-Eau Claire \u2013 Barron County; UW-Green Bay, Manitowoc Campus; UW-Green Bay, Marinette Campus; UW-Green Bay, Sheboygan Campus; UW-Milwaukee at Washington County; UW-Milwaukee at Waukesha; UW Oshkosh, Fond du Lac Campus; UW Oshkosh, Fox Cities Campus; UW-Platteville Baraboo Sauk County; UW-Platteville Richland; UW-Stevens Point at Marshfield; UW-Stevens Point at Wausau; and UW-Whitewater at Rock County.<\/p>\n\n\n

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