University of Wisconsin–Madison

The University of Wisconsin–Madison (also known as University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, "UW", or regionally as, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded when Wisconsin achieved statehood in 1848, UW–Madison is the official state university of Wisconsin, and the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It was the first public university established in Wisconsin and remains the oldest and largest public university in the state. It became a land-grant institution in 1866. The 933-acre (378 ha) main campus includes four National Historic Landmarks.

UW–Madison is organized into 20 schools and colleges, which enrolled 29,302 undergraduate, 9,445 graduate, and 2,459 professional students and granted 6,659 bachelor's, 3,493 graduate and professional degrees in 2013-2014. The University employs over 21,796 faculty and staff. Its comprehensive academic program offers 136 undergraduate majors, along with 148 master's degree programs and 120 doctoral programs.

University of Wisconsin System

The University of Wisconsin System is a university system of public universities in the state of Wisconsin. It is one of the largest public higher education systems in the country, enrolling more than 182,000 students each year and employing more than 32,000 faculty and staff statewide. The University of Wisconsin System comprises two doctoral research universities, eleven comprehensive universities, thirteen freshman-sophomore colleges, and the statewide University of Wisconsin–Extension.

History

The present-day University of Wisconsin System was created on October 11, 1971, by Chapter 100, Laws of 1971, which combined the former Chapter 36 (former University of Wisconsin) and Chapter 37 (former Wisconsin State Universities) to create a new Chapter 36 (University of Wisconsin System) of the Wisconsin Statutes.

Former University of Wisconsin

The University of Wisconsin was created by the state constitution in 1848, and held its first classes in Madison in 1849. In 1956, pressed by the growing demand for a large public university that offered graduate programs in Wisconsin's largest city, Wisconsin lawmakers merged Wisconsin State College of Milwaukee (WSCM) and the University of Wisconsin-Extension's Milwaukee division as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The new campus consisted of both the WSCM campus near the lakefront and the UW extension in downtown Milwaukee.

University of Wisconsin (disambiguation)

University of Wisconsin may refer to:

Wisconsin

Wisconsin (ⁱ/wɪsˈkɒ̃nsɪn/) is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States, in the Midwest and Great Lakes regions. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin is the 23rd largest state by total area and the 20th most populous. The state capital is Madison, and its largest city is Milwaukee, which is located on the western shore of Lake Michigan. The state is divided into 72 counties.

Wisconsin's geography is diverse, with the Northern Highland and Western Upland along with a part of the Central Plain occupying the western part of the state and lowlands stretching to the shore of Lake Michigan. Wisconsin is second to Michigan in the length of its Great Lakes coastline.

Wisconsin is known as "America's Dairyland" because it is one of the nation's leading dairy producers, particularly famous for cheese. Manufacturing, especially paper products, information technology (IT), and tourism are also major contributors to the state's economy.

Wisconsin wine

Wisconsin wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Wisconsin is part of the largest American Viticultural Area (AVA), the Upper Mississippi Valley AVA, which includes southwest Wisconsin, southeast Minnesota, northeast Iowa, and northwest Illinois. The state also has two smaller designated American Viticultural Areas, the Lake Wisconsin AVA and the Wisconsin Ledge AVA.

The Wisconsin Winery Association is a statewide organization that promotes wine making in the state.

History

The first wine grapes were planted in Wisconsin by Agoston Haraszthy in the mid-19th century. Before he migrated to California and helped to found the wine industry there, he established a vineyard, winery and wine cellars overlooking the Wisconsin River at what is today the Wollersheim Winery near Prairie du Sac. Although Haraszthy found the climate of Wisconsin difficult for wine grape production, later German settlers produced wine using both European and native American grape varieties.

Wisconsin (statue)

The Wisconsin is a statue on top of the Wisconsin Capitol Building created by Daniel Chester French.

History

The Wisconsin statue on the dome was sculpted during 1913-1914 by Daniel Chester French of New York.

The commission to create the statue of Wisconsin on the top of the dome was originally promised to Helen Farnsworth Mears, originally of Wisconsin. When Daniel Chester French agreed to produce the finial figure, the commission was switched to him.

Description

This work, often referred to as the "Golden Lady", consists of an allegorical figure reminiscent of Athena, dressed in Greek garb, her right arm outstretched to symbolize the state motto, "Forward", and wearing a helmet topped by a badger, the Wisconsin state totem.

The figure's left hand holds a globe with an eagle perched on top. Across the eagle's chest is a large W, for Wisconsin, a detail hard to discern.

Wisconsin is 15 ft 5 in (4.70 m) tall and weighs 3 short tons (2.7 t).

The lady is also in a mural in the House of Representatives.