The name has changed—several times—but the roots of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee go back to 1885 when Wisconsin established the Milwaukee Normal School, a two-year teacher’s college.

Some important dates:

1885 Milwaukee Normal School opens to train teachers in downtown Milwaukee at 18th & Wells
1892 University of Wisconsin offers day and evening classes in Milwaukee
1909 With the completion of a new Milwaukee Normal School building (today’s Mitchell Hall) the campus moves to its present location
1920 The University of Wisconsin Extension Division, formed in 1907, takes over responsibility for UW instruction in Milwaukee
1927 Normal school becomes Milwaukee State Teachers College with 4-year degree
1928 UW Extension opens Milwaukee Center downtown
1951 Milwaukee State Teachers College becomes Wisconsin State College with liberal arts degrees
1956 WSC & UW Milwaukee Extension merge to form UWM
1961 The 8.6-acre Milwaukee-Downer Seminary site, including 3 buildings, is purchased
1963 UWM offers first PhD degree in mathematics
1964 UWM buys Milwaukee-Downer College buildings, expands campus
1965 UWM purchases the 6.3-acre Milwaukee University School campus
1970 Three residence towers, collectively called Sandburg Halls, open for student housing
1988 UW System designates eight Centers of Excellence at UWM
1995 Division of Outreach and Continuing Education Extension (now the School of Continuing Education) moves to new offices in the downtown Plankinton Building
2000 UWM awards diploma to 125,000th graduate;UWM named among top 102 public doctoral research universities in nation
2001 Governor announces honors academy at UWM

By the turn of the century, the school had expanded to offer programs in the liberal arts and science as well as education. By the ’30’s, the school, now called Milwaukee State Teachers College, was a national leader in innovative teacher education, with 1,500 students, one of whom was Golda Meir, who became prime minister of Israel.

After World War II, the College was authorized to award four-year bachelor degrees and, in 1951 became Wisconsin State College. Five years later it combined with the Milwaukee Extension Center, which had been the local outreach program of the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Together, the two institutions became the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, with its focus on academic research, teaching and community service.

Since its founding, UWM has expanded its programs so that today its 12 schools and colleges offer 81 undergraduate programs, 48 masters and 17 doctoral degrees.

Sources: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Office of the Chancellor Records, 1943-1992, UWM Archival Collection 46; The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: A Historical Profile, 1885-1992 by Frank Cassell, J. Martin Klotsche, and Frederick Olson; and UWM: A Guide to Campus Buildings.