 UWSP University Relations and Communications, 2100 Main St., Room 116, Stevens Point WI 54481, 715-346-3046, fax: 715-346-2042, news@uwsp.edu |
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A History of UWSP
Chancellors,
1894 to the present
UWSP History
- Theron B. Pray, 1894-1906
- John Francis Sims, 1906-1926
Charles F. Watson, interim, 1926- Robert Dodge Baldwin, 1926-1930
- Frank S. Hyer, 1930-1938
- Phillip H. Falk, 1938-1939
- Ernest T. Smith, 1939-1940
- William C. Hansen, 1940-1962
- James H. Albertson, 1962-1967
Gordon Haferbecker, interim, Feb. -Oct. 1967
- Lee Sherman Dreyfus, 1967-1977
John B. Ellery, interim, April 1978-July 1979- Philip R. Marshall, 1979-1989
Howard Thoyre, interim, 1989- Keith R. Sanders, 1989-1994
Howard Thoyre, interim, 1994-96- Thomas F. George, 1996-2003
Virginia Helm, interim, 2003-04- Linda Bunnell, 2004-present
Theron B. Pray - President of Stevens Point Normal School, 1894-1906
Theron B. Pray became the first president of Stevens Point Normal School in May 1894. A native of New York state, he was a graduate of the University of Chicago. During his first summer on campus, President Pray worked amid the confusion and noise of construction as the school�s only building was completed, literally around him. When the doors opened on September 17, 1894, he welcomed 201 students. During his 12-year tenure, he built a faculty of fine teachers, who were scholarly as well as productive. In 1906 the Board of Regents asked him to resign. Although the board gave no reason for the request, some believed that personal animosity might have been involved. Decreasing enrollment may also have been a factor in his dismissal.John Francis Sims - President of Stevens Point Normal School, 1906-1926
John F. Sims became the second president of Stevens Point Normal School in 1906. A respected educator, he was on the faculty of River Falls Normal before coming to Stevens Point. After graduating from Manitowoc High School, he became a teacher, as one could in his day, by passing an examination. He played a national role in the fight to prohibit child labor and in the movement to improve rural education. President Sims was steadfast in his sympathies for the individual and was well loved by many faculty members and students. He hired such memorable faculty members as May Roach and Fred Schmeeckle, oversaw the building of Nelson Hall in 1915 and guided the normal school to become a four-year degree granting institution. These changes led him to believe that the faculty must upgrade their own educations and he was prepared to step down as president to show his own commitment to this idea. However, President Sims died of complications from surgery in May 1926, just as Stevens Point Normal was about to become Stevens Point Teachers College.Charles F. Watson, head of the Geography Department, was named acting president as the school searched for a new leader.
Robert Dodge Baldwin - President of Central State Teachers College in Stevens Point, 1926-1930
Robert D. Baldwin, a national leader in rural education, was the first president of Central State Teachers College. It was during his first year that the school began awarding bachelor�s degrees at commencement. A former professor of education at Washington State Normal School at Cheney, he held degrees from Princeton, Columbia and Stanford. He dubbed the school "Central State," a name it was to keep for more than three decades.During his tenure, President Baldwin strengthened the academic programs and the campus was expanded. Under his leadership, the faculty became involved in decision-making and budget planning. In 1930 the new Training School began providing students with practice and laboratory experiences in teaching. Finances became difficult and jobs became scarce as the Great Depression neared. President Baldwin decided that faculty members who lacked college degrees should get them, something many of the faculty members supported. With declining enrollment, President Baldwin announced that some of the staff would have to be dropped. Faced with inadequate budgets, cutbacks in faculty positions and reduced enrollment, President Baldwin resigned in 1930. He later joined the faculty at the University of West Virginia.
Frank S. Hyer - President of Central State Teachers College in Stevens Point, 1930-1938
Frank S. Hyer, a Ripon College graduate and president of Whitewater State Teachers College, had served previously on the faculty at Stevens Point as principal of the Training School. He came to Central State Teachers College with extensive knowledge of the school and was well respected for his leadership qualities. Elementary education was a major interest of President Hyer and his aim was to produce teachers who could go out into the field and do a creditable job. Although his tenure was during the difficult economic times of the Great Depression, his administration saw an increase in enrollment. During the 1931-32 academic year, the school hit a record high enrollment with the largest incoming class in the school�s history. Despite low teacher salaries, the faculty continued to strive for excellence under his leadership. When he reached his 50th year as an educator in 1937, President Hyer announced his retirement, but stayed on for another year until his successor was found.Phillip H. Falk - President of Central State Teachers College in Stevens Point, 1938-1939
As tough economic times continued, Phillip H. Falk became President of Central State Teachers College despite a salary that was less than attractive. He did a study of Central State�s programs, which led him to become dissatisfied with the quality of the faculty and students. A job in Madison and his wife�s illness were given as reasons for leaving campus after only one semester. His study of student achievements later formed the basis for guidelines to upgrade the Stevens Point program.Ernest T. Smith - President of Central State Teachers College in Stevens Point, 1939-1940
Ernest T. Smith, who was named acting president of Central State Teachers College after the abrupt departure of his predecessor, was named president in 1939. The oldest active member of the faculty, he had been at Central State for 30 years. A history teacher and director of the high school division, he had published several widely-used textbooks. At age 60, he became the first president to be promoted directly from the faculty. During his brief tenure, a Civilian Pilot Training program and a ground school were set up on campus in reaction to the threat of World War II. However, in less than a year he was dead from a brief bronchial ailment.William C. Hansen - President of Central State Teachers College in Stevens Point, 1940-1962
William C. Hansen was the first alumnus of Stevens Point Normal School to serve as president of his alma mater, which had become known as Central State Teachers College. For 22 years, he worked to improve the quality of education. He was the longest tenured president in the history of the school, presiding over the change from a teachers college to a state college in 1951.During this time, the enrollment and faculty tripled. President Hansen addressed both the academic and physical needs of campus. In 1953 there were three majors offered; 10 years later, there were 22. A benchmark of his leadership was the establishment of the nation�s first conservation education major. Long-needed buildings were constructed, among them the Science Building, the first $2 million structure on campus. After his retirement from the school in 1962, President Hansen served as a senator in the Wisconsin State Senate and on the Stevens Point Board of Education for a number of years.
James H. Albertson - President of Wisconsin State College-Stevens Point, 1962-1967
James H. Albertson came to Stevens Point from Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., at age 36, making him the youngest president in the state system. He began his tenure by developing a plan for "shared governance," giving faculty control of many decisions that had been previously controlled by the president. Even students were given a voice on some committees. He set in motion a four-year debate that resulted in a new basic curriculum and a new set of general degree requirements.During his tenure, several new majors were approved and student population expanded rapidly. The campus added faculty and facilities at a hectic pace. Albertson�s years as president of the college were a time of national and international unrest. Major Civil Rights conflicts, the assassination of President Kennedy and the unpopularity of the Vietnam War brought unrest on campuses throughout the country. Under a grant to support international internships, President Albertson traveled to the Philippines and Vietnam. During one of his trips to Vietnam, his plane crashed near Danang.
Gorden Haferbecker, professor of economics, served as acting president for nine months after Albertson�s death.
Lee Sherman Dreyfus - President/Chancellor of Wisconsin State University-Stevens Point, 1967-1977
Soon after taking office, President Lee Sherman Dreyfus urged the faculty of Wisconsin State University in Stevens Point to embrace the new "media for learning," which he foresaw as television and the computer. He came to Stevens Point from UW-Madison where he had been director of television education and a professor of speech. Sporting a red vest and the nickname "LSD," Chancellor Dreyfus carried out a major academic reorganization and encouraged innovative programs.Among his accomplishments was the addition of several new buildings on campus. He was an outspoken proponent of the merger of the state university system, which took place in 1971. When WSU became the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, his title changed from president to chancellor. He put students first, teaching one class each semester throughout his tenure as chancellor. He was a vigorous defender of ROTC programs on the university campus, telling students to view it as the university�s presence in the military, not the military presence in the university.
During his tenure, he participated in several educational missions abroad, making trips to places such as South Vietnam and Poland to establish international programs. Dreyfus left the university in the spring of 1978 to make a successful run for governor of Wisconsin. He was inaugurated in front of UWSP�s Old Main building in January 1979.
While Dreyfus was on leave, Vice Chancellor John B. Ellery was named acting chancellor. He had served as an assistant to Dreyfus and as a dean, and took an active role as head of the university. His accomplishments included recruiting minority students, establishing the Native American Center on campus and initiating a campaign to improve students reading and writing skills.
Philip R. Marshall - Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, 1979-1989
Philip R. Marshall came to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point from Eastern Washington University at Cheney, where he had been executive vice president. He focused much effort on improving salaries of faculty members throughout the UW System. He advocated recruitment and retention of minority students, faculty and staff. In academics, he advocated student writing programs, stating that "every teacher is a teacher of writing."
In 1986, he made the decision to move the campus into the forefront of the coming computer age. Using grants and other help from the telecommunications giant AT&T, he made computers available to any faculty member who wanted one, installed computer labs in every academic building and instituted workshops to train university employees at all levels. Upon his retirement in 1989, the UW System Board of Regents commended him for his "commitment to shared governance within the university, for his special interest in student activities and for his achievements in the area of community service." They also noted that his wife, Helen was "an active and loyal partner in these endeavors . . . [who] contributed much to the advancement" of the university.
Vice Chancellor and Provost Howard Thoyre served as acting chancellor until a new chancellor was found.
Keith R. Sanders - Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, 1989-1994
Keith R. Sanders oversaw the Centennial of UW-Stevens Point. A professor of communication, he was hired in January and was to take office in June. However, he did not wait that long, beginning immediately to work with Acting Chancellor Thoyre to lay the groundwork for a new administration. In preparation for the campus centennial and the dawning of the next century, Chancellor Sanders set out to create a culturally diverse campus, to look for new sources of funding as state dollars for education declined and to improve the academic and physical images of the campus. At the end of his service to the university, he was remembered for his initiation of strategic and long-range planning for the campus.When Sanders left UWSP to assist in planning a restructuring of UW System administration, Vice Chancellor and Provost Howard Thoyre again served as interim chancellor.
Thomas F. George - Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, 1996-2003
Soon after Chancellor Thomas F. George took the reins at UW-Stevens Point, he became known throughout the community for his participation in innumerable events and his willingness to speak enthusiastically about the university to any audience. An avid jazz fan, he performed on the piano in a variety of public settings as a soloist and with ensembles, especially in connection with UWSP events. He stressed student excellence and partnerships inside and outside the university. He emphasized that the university was an asset to the region and that it could strengthen the local economy, an initiative that was dubbed the Central Wisconsin Idea. He backed programs to expand distance education, devised degree and certificate programs that brought area employees to campus and nurtured partnerships with governments, businesses and other educational institutions. In 2003 he left UWSP for a position as chancellor at the University of Missouri at St. Louis.
Vice Chancellor and Provost Virginia Helm served as interim chancellor, the first woman to head UW-Stevens Point in its 109-year history, while a successor is sought.
Linda Bunnell - Chancellor of UWSP, June 1, 2004-present
Prior to coming to UWSP, Bunnell had operated a broad-based consulting practice since 2002, serving higher education and nonprofit organizations. She previously served for eight years as chancellor of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, where she also was a professor of English. She then served the College Board as senior vice president for higher education. Before joining the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Bunnell served as vice chancellor of academic affairs for the Minnesota State University System and held various positions at the California State University and the University of California, Riverside. She earned her B.A. at Baylor University and her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in English literature at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
