Type | Public |
---|---|
Established | 1968 |
Endowment | $5,550,342 (2014) |
Chancellor | Deborah L. Ford |
Students | 4,700 |
Location | Somers, Wisconsin, U.S. |
Campus | Suburban, 700 acres (283 ha) |
Colors | Green, Black |
Athletics | NCAA Division II – GLVC |
Nickname | 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 the Town of Somers, between the cities of Kenosha and Racine, Wisconsin. 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 three 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.
UW–Parkside was created in 1965 by an act of the state legislature. 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).
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. 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.