The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay: A History of Innovation and Sustainability
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (UW-Green Bay, UWGB, or Green Bay) is a public university located in Green Bay, Wisconsin, United States. As part of the University of Wisconsin System, it has grown from its initial establishment in 1965 to become a comprehensive institution offering a wide array of degrees.
Founding and Early Years
The seeds of UW-Green Bay were sown in the early 1960s. By 1958, the University of Wisconsin-Extension's Green Bay center had become the second-largest of UW-Extension's eight freshman-sophomore centers, boasting 500 students. By 1965, it had grown to be the largest. This growth spurred demand for a full-fledged four-year campus catering to northeastern Wisconsin.
In 1963, the Coordinating Committee for Higher Education unanimously recommended building a new university in the Fox Valley. While Governor Warren Knowles was initially hesitant, he eventually agreed to expand the freshman-sophomore campuses in Green Bay and Kenosha into four-year institutions. The Kenosha institution would later become the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. The bill that authorized this expansion was signed into law on September 2, 1965, officially establishing UW-Green Bay.
UW-Green Bay officially came into being in the fall of 1968, with the first classes being held at the Deckner Center (now Anne Sullivan Elementary School), home of the former Green Bay extension center.
Emphasis on Environmental Sustainability
From its inception, UW-Green Bay distinguished itself with an emphasis on environmental sustainability. This commitment earned it the nickname "Eco U" in 1971 by Newsweek. The university’s dedication to environmental issues is reflected in its academic programs, campus design, and overall ethos.
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Campus and Facilities
The 200-acre main campus is situated on the northeast side of Green Bay, overlooking Lake Michigan's Green Bay. The campus is characterized by its extensive natural areas, bordered by the bay on one side and the Niagara Escarpment on the other.
A system of circular roads (North, East, and South Circle Drives) facilitates traffic flow around the central campus, supplemented by smaller roads connecting the Circle Drives to parking lots. The Cofrin Memorial Arboretum, a 290-acre natural area encircling the campus, serves as a natural boundary. It provides opportunities for recreation, field trips, and research projects, with the aim of restoring and preserving Wisconsin's native ecological communities.
The David A. Cofrin Library, one of the tallest buildings in the Green Bay area, sits at the heart of the campus. Adjacent to the library are the academic buildings, the University Union (UW-Green Bay's student union), and the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts.
Residential buildings, including traditional residence halls, shared-bedroom apartments, and private bedroom apartments, are located in the northeast part of campus. The Richard Mauthe Center, formerly known as the Ecumenical Center, serves as the campus' religious center. The Kress Events Center and various athletic fields dominate the southeast part of campus.
Across Nicolet Drive, Lambeau Cottage, once owned by Green Bay Packers founder Curly Lambeau, and Communiversity Park are located.
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The UW-Green Bay main campus has a concourse system of underground corridors, casually referred to as "tunnels", that connect eleven of its buildings. Designed with the David A. Cofrin Library at its center, subterranean hallways branch out to Student Services, the University Union and seven academic buildings. Opposite the adjacent Theatre Hall and Studio Arts buildings that form an arts wing is a sciences wing comprises Instructional Services, Environmental Sciences and Laboratory Sciences buildings. To the west of the library are the L.G. Wood and John M. Rose Halls. Constructed in 2002, Mary Ann Cofrin Hall is the newest building in the concourse system. Campus buildings not connected by the concourse system are the residence halls, Kress Center, the Weidner Center, and the Brown County STEM and Innovation Center which broke ground September 17, 2018.
Academic Programs and Organization
UW-Green Bay offers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs, including a First Nations Ed.D. Undergraduate academic study is divided between the four schools of Health, Education & Social Welfare, Business, Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences, and Science & Technology. Many degrees are organized as problem-focused interdisciplinary units.
Named for Austin E. Cofrin, a local philanthropist, the Cofrin School of Business was constituted in 2010 after Cofrin's son, David (who the campus library is named after) donated money to establish the program. Cofrin's donation was the largest for an academic program since the university's founding.
The Office of International Education facilitates all study abroad and international student exchange at UWGB.
Library Resources
The Cofrin Library boasts a collection of over one million items. Its Special Collections Department houses historical records of northeastern Wisconsin, genealogical records, and a local business archives collection.
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Athletics
UW-Green Bay's athletic teams are known as the Phoenix and compete in the NCAA Division I. The university has seven men’s programmes and nine women’s, including Nordic skiing for both genders. The Kress Events Center hosts Phoenix Athletics, concerts, and university-wide events and is the headquarters for workouts, weight training, and intramural sports.
The Green Bay women's basketball team has achieved significant success, winning or tying for the Horizon League regular-season championship twenty times. The team has been to the NCAA tournament twenty times. The team received its first national ranking in 2003, when it was ranked as high as #16 in both the Associated Press poll and the Coaches' Poll. In 2005, it also received a national ranking and a bid to the NCAA Tournament, but was knocked out in the first round by Maryland. In 2006, it appeared in the WNIT, where it lost to Iowa State in a first-round game. The next season, it was seeded #9 in the NCAA Tournament, where it defeated New Mexico in the first round before falling to top-seeded Connecticut in the second round. The next NCAA Tournament win for the Phoenix women came in 2010, when they entered as a #12 seed and upset 5-seed Virginia in the first round before bowing out to Iowa State on the Cyclones' home court just short of the Sweet 16.
The Green Bay softball team claimed its first Horizon League tournament championship in 2005 after being picked to finish last in the conference. The Green Bay Women's Volleyball team claimed its first regular season Horizon League title and the first Horizon League tournament championship in 2018.
Enrollment
Unofficial enrollment figures released in 2019 showed that the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay had realized its largest headcount in institutional history, with 8,098 students enrolled on the Green Bay Campus for the Fall 2019 semester.
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