A Brief History
The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh can trace its roots back 134 years to 1871 when the institution was established as the Oshkosh State Normal School. At the time of its founding, the campus was composed of one main building on a six acre site. The original school structure was destroyed in a fire that occurred in 1916. Dempsey Hall, the existing main administration building, was constructed in 1918 to replace the original facility.
In 1971, it’s centennial year, Oshkosh was renamed the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, as it is known today. Over the years, the institution has grown from that one original structure to a campus of fifty-eight buildings on over 184 acres. The main academic portion of University of Wisconsin Oshkosh contains over 5.3 million gross square feet of space located on 123 acres, creating a very compact, urban campus.
In 2017, UW System decided to restructure the 2-year campuses in the state with the 4-year comprehensive campuses. UW Fond du Lac and UW Fox Valley became part of UW Oshkosh and are now called: UW Oshkosh, Fond du Lac campus and UW Oshkosh, Fox Cities campus.
UW Oshkosh Profile
Fond du Lac
88 Acres
9 Buildings/Additions*
0.3 million ASF
0.5 million GSF County owned
$10.8 million Contents replacement value
* (as listed in CDR records)
Oshkosh
182 Acres
112 on main campus
70 non‐contiguous
70 Buildings/Additions*
2.3 million ASF
3.9 million GSF
$676.3 million
Building replacement value
$243.2 million Contents replacement value
* (as listed in CDR records)
Fox Cities
20 Acres
7 Buildings/Additions*
1.1 million ASF
2.0 million GSF County owned
$15.4 million Contents replacement value
* (as listed in CDR records)
Building Chronology
As can be seen in the following chart, a majority of the campus was constructed within a twenty-year time span from 1951 to 1971. In that period, 78% of all General Purpose Revenue (GPR) and 97% of all Program Revenue (PR) facilities were constructed. As a result of this period of significant construction, the majority of the campus facilities and infrastructure are between thirty and fifty years old.
Oshkosh Buildings
- Oviatt House: 1883
- Multi-Cultural Education Center: 1902
- Harrington Hall: 1913
- Dempsey Hall: 1918
- Pollack Alumni House: 1920
- Swart Hall: 1927
- Radford Hall: 1951
- Albee Hall: 1955
- Webster Hall: 1957
- Reeve Memorial Union: 1959
- Polk Library: 1962
- Donner Hall: 1962
- University Police (Security Building): 1960
- Halsey Science Center: 1963
- Buckstaff Planetarium: 1963
- Taylor Hall: 1963
- Fletcher Hall: 1964
- Stewart Hall: 1965
- Evans Hall: 1965
- Heating Plant: 1975
- Clow Social Science Building: 1966
- Gruenhagen Conference Center: 1966
- Scott Hall: 1967
- Arts & Communications Building: 1970
- Titan Stadium: 1970
- Nursing/Education Building: 1970
- Blackhawk Commons: 1970
- Kolf Physical Education Building: 1971
- Field Studies (Aquatic Studies) Center: 1979
- Ceramics Lab: 1988
- Student Recreation and Wellness Center: 2007
- High Avenue Parking Ramp: 2007
- Horizon Village: 2011
Fond du Lac buildings
- Administration Building: 1966
- Art Building: 1966
- Science Building: 1966
- Classroom Building: 1966
- Physical Education Building: 1966
- Physical Plant Building: 1966
- University Center: 2000
Fox Cities buildings
- UW Fox Valley: 1960
- Communication Arts Center: TBD
- Green House: 1962
- Children’s Center: 1967
- General Storage Building: 1983
- Daycare Storage A: 1984
- Daycare Storage B: 1984
- Kiln Building: 1990
- Engineering Building: TBD
Campus Area Calculation
- Main Building Footprints: 1,013,162 sq. ft, 23.26 acres
- Other Building Footprints: 144,009 sq. ft, 3.31 acres
- Parking Area: 1,195,019 sq. ft, 27.43 acres
- Walkway Area: 697,647 sq. ft, 16.02 acres
- Total Green Space: 4,992,063 sq. ft, 114.60 acres
- Main Campus Grounds: 5,361,608 sq. ft, 123.90 acres
- Other Campus Grounds (Oshkosh Sports Center, etc.) : 2,680,292 sq. ft, 61.53 acres
- Grand Total: 8,041, 901 sq. ft, 184.62 acres