University of Wisconsin River Falls - Meletean Yearbook (River Falls, WI)

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SOUTH HALL ERECTED 1898 1874-1949 PRESIDENTS OF THE SCHOOL W. D. Parker, 1875-1889; 1895-1898 J. Q. Emery, 1889-1893 John Hull, 1893-1894 W. J. Brier, 1898-1909 H. L. Wilson, 1909-1911 J. W. Crabtree, 1911-1917 J. H. Ames, 1917-1946 E. H. Kleinpell, 1946- MEMBERS OF THE STATE BOARD OF REGENTS AT RIVER FALLS Allen H. Weld, 1868-1877 A. D. Andrews, 1877-1885 C. V. Guy. 1885-1892 E. E. Ainsworth, 1892-1895 E. Ballard, 1896 Freeman H. Lord, 1897-1906, 1909-1912 F. D. Ensign, 1906-1909 George Thompson, 1912-1913 P. W. Ramer, 1913-1929 Jay H. Grimm, 1929-1941 James A. Richards, 1942-1945 Dr. Chalmer Davee, 1946- 9

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THE OLD NORMAL SCHOOL BUILDING THE FIRST BUILDING ON THE CAMPUS ERECTED 1875 DESTROYED BY FIRE 1897 THE RIVER FALLS STATE TEACHERS COLLEGE Founded 1874, the fourth normal school to be established in Wisconsin by the Board of Regents of Normal Schools. Opened 1875 with a faculty of nine and a student body in the Normal Department of 104. 1897— The Normal School building destroyed by fire. The school opened at one o'clock the next afternoon in buildings offered by citizens of River Falls, and continued during the year without the loss of a single student and but one half day's loss occasioned by the fire. 1898— South Hall erected and opened September 6. 1909—First summer session held. 1912—Department of Agriculture established. 1914—North Hall constructed. Two tracts of farm land, aggregating about forty-five acres, purchased. 1917- 1920—Further purchase of farm lands. 1918— Barracks built in 1917 for a unit of the Student Army Training Corps transformed into shops for the Agricultural Mechanics department. 1920—Athletic field purchased. 1926- 1927—Four-year courses leading to the degree of bachelor of educa-cation established. The River Falls Normal School becomes the River Falls State Teachers College. 1927— The Training School Building constructed. 1930—Industrial Arts Building completed. 1935— River Falls State Teachers College granted accreditment in the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. 1945—Appropriation of $347,000 by the state legislature for the construction of new buildings. A part of this fund used to construct the Campus Apartments for married veterans and to purchase houses which have been converted into residences for students, especially a dormitory for freshman girls. 1948—Completion of addition to the Industrial Arts Building. 1948-1949—College enrollment breaks all-time record with an attendance of 831. 8

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The most important factors in a college are the students and the faculty. The college is in the class-rooms where the student meets the teacher. In every year of its history the student body at River Falls has been characterized by a spirit of loyalty to the college and a cooperative attitude toward the faculty and the administration. Outstanding records have also been characteristic in the various activities of the school in which students have taken a leading part—athletics, forensics, publications, dramatics and other fields. The brilliant record of River Falls athletic teams in intercollegiate competition is well known. This department has been fortunate in the character and ability of the men who have directed its program. Many of these men have received appointments to responsible posts in athletic departments of some of the leading universities. The achievements of members of the faculty in class-room work has established a reputation which reflects great credit on the college. Evidence of this high standard of scholarship and teaching skill is found in the records made by graduates of the college in the graduate departments of many universities. Members of the River Falls faculty, in every period of the school's history, have been called to important positions in other institutions of higher learning, some to the presidencies of other colleges, and some to positions on the instructional staffs of leading colleges and universities.