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Davies, William R.

 Person

Biography

William R. Davies served as the second president of what was then called the Eau Claire State Teachers College from 1941 to 1959.Davies was born in 1893 in Tenino, Washington. His family migrated to Cambria, Wisconsin when he was four years old. He graduated Ripon College with a bachelor’s degree in 1915 and the University of Wisconsin with a master’s degree in 1921. He taught briefly at a private school in Endeavor, Wisconsin, but left that position to serve in World War I. When he returned to the United States, he accepted a position as principal of McKinley Senior High School in Marshfield, Wisconsin. In 1925, he was elected school superintendent of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, and in 1930, he was elected school superintendent of Superior, Wisconsin.

The enrollment of Eau Claire State Teachers College increased from about 700 to about 1,700 during Davies' years as president. Like the other Wisconsin teachers colleges, Eau Claire became a State College in 1951. The curriculum expanded to include liberal arts subjects, and planning began to add nursing and business programs.

Davies advocated for internationalizing the college by bringing in international exchange students and faculty and initiating travel-study programs for Eau Claire students. Nationally known speakers came to campus to lecture in The Forum Series, which Davies also saw as a way to involve the community more closely with the college.

After a decade of effort, Davies secured the construction of a second building on the Eau Claire campus. The Brewer Hall/Zorn Arena/Kjer Theatre/Campus School complex opened in 1952. Two dormitories and a student center were completed later in the decade, making Eau Claire State much more of a residential campus.

Having announced his intention to retire, Davies died on Dec. 10, 1959. The first UW-Eau Claire student center, the W.R. Davies University Center, was built in 1959 and named in his honor. The original student center was razed and a new facility, completed in 2012, again was named named W.R. Davies Student Center in honor of this former chancellor.

Occupations

Found in 10 Collections and/or Records:

Arthur J. Fox Papers, 1939-1948

 Collection
Identifier: Archives Series 181
Summary

Arthur Julius Fox, one of the original faculty members of the Eau Claire State Normal School, was a former registrar and dean of instruction at Eau Claire State Teachers College. He retired in 1948 after 32 years of service at the college. This collection includes the general correspondence of A.J. Fox from 1939 to 1948 as well as his Teacher’s Program and Service Reports, his transcript from the University of Chicago, and newspaper clippings of his death in 1958.

Dates: 1939-1948

Eau Claire Area Committee Records, 1946-1974

 Collection
Identifier: Archives Series 139
Summary Meeting minutes, correspondence, and organizational records of the Eau Claire Area Committee (1946-1973), a committee of citizens from Eau Claire and the surrounding communities, formed to help disseminate information about the university to the primary region from which the institution draws its students and form better relations. President William R. Davies created the Area Advisory Committee in 1945. After the creation of the University of Wisconsin System, the committee was replaced by...
Dates: 1946-1974

Eau Claire Normal School/State Teachers' College Clippings, 1913-1950

 Collection
Identifier: University Historical Collection 301
Summary

Newspaper clippings and a pamphlet regarding the establishment and growth of the Eau Claire State Normal School and the Eau Claire State Teachers College. A 1913 pamphlet entitled “WHY the Normal School at Eau Claire Should Be Constructed NOW” outlines the “urgent need” for the school in the Chippewa Valley. Newspaper clippings document the growth and development of the Eau Claire Normal School, which evolved into the Eau Claire State Teachers College in 1927.

Dates: 1913-1950

Putnam Park Records, 1896-2022

 Collection
Identifier: Archives Series 117
Summary Principally minutes of the Putnam Park Commission and its predecessors which advise University officials on the use of Putnam Park, a local nature preserve. Originally the property of lumberman Henry C. Putnam, Putnam Park was donated to the City of Eau Claire in 1909, and to the University in 1957. Shortly thereafter William R. Davies established the Putnam Park Management Committee to advise the President and the Long-Range Planning Committee on the use of the nature preserve. It has...
Dates: 1896-2022

University Archives Photograph Collection, 1916-2011

 Collection
Identifier: Archives Series 279
Summary A collection of over 2000 photographs focusing on the University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire. The collection includes images of university buildings, various campus scenes, athletics, student organizations, student activities, programs and special events, ceremonies, and people (identified and unidentified students, staff, faculty, administrators, dignitaries, and campus visitors). The collection is arranged into eight series: buildings, athletics, student organizations, campus and student...
Dates: 1916-2011

University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire Faculty and Staff Publications and Information Files, circa 1930-1990

 Collection
Identifier: Archives Series 135
Summary

Includes original and reprint faculty and staff publications, newspaper clippings, biographical information, and memorial service programs.Also contains a UW--Eau Claire faculty bibliography (circa 1982) and University of Wisconsin System Faculty Publication abstracts from 1967-1970.

Dates: circa 1930-1990

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Foundation Records, 1936-2024 (bulk 1956-2024)

 Collection
Identifier: Archives Series 137
Summary The University Foundation was established in 1958 through the Eau Claire College Committee, to act as a legal depository to receive, invest, and distribute funds to supplement those which the state provides. This is done through donor gifts and bequests, fund raising, and providing scholarships, financial aid, and opportunities for students. A board of directors and various committees direct the foundation’s activities to benefit the university and to advocate between the university and...
Dates: 1936-2024 (bulk 1956-2024)

University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Office of the Chancellor Correspondence and Subject File, 1936-2014

 Collection
Identifier: Archives Series 001
Summary University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Office of the Chancellor's (and previously the President's) correspondence and subject files covering all aspects of the university including instruction, Board of Regents, building program, gifts and grants, accreditation, and student affairs. Although the series dates from 1936 and is therefore incomplete, it includes material from every President's/Chancellor's administration at the University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire. Besides documenting the routine...
Dates: 1936-2014

William R. Davies Papers, 1920-1948

 Collection
Identifier: University Historical Collection 238
Summary

High school yearbooks and Superior Public School newsletters relating to William R. Davies’s career as a school administrator in Marshfield, Shawano, Beaver Dam, and Superior, Wisconsin. Davies served as the second president of Eau Claire State Teachers College / Wisconsin State College at Eau Claire from 1940-1959. Also includes miscellaneous newspaper clippings and family papers.

Dates: 1920-1948

YMCA (Eau Claire, Wis.) Board of Directors Roster, 1881-1982

 Collection
Identifier: University Historical Collection 230
Summary

The board of director’s roster for the Young Men Christian’s Association (YMCA) provides an alphabetical list of members, years served, and additional offices held within the Eau Claire, Wisconsin, YMCA from 1881-1982.

Dates: 1881-1982

Additional filters:

Subject
Correspondence 5
Eau Claire (Wis.) 4
Meeting Minutes 4
Chancellor 3
Newspaper clippings 3
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Photographs 3
President 3
Programs 3
Putnam Park (Eau Claire, Wis.) 3
University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire--Alumni and Alumnae 3
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire--History 3
Annual Reports 2
Budgets 2
Committee Reports 2
Faculty 2
Homecoming 2
Membership Records 2
Newsletters 2
Organization Files 2
Publications 2
Staff 2
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire--Public relations 2
University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire--Students 2
World War II 2
Academic Disciplines 1
Accreditation (Education) 1
Art 1
Artists Series 1
Athletics 1
Audits 1
Basketball—Wisconsin—Eau Claire 1
Beaver Control 1
Beaver Dam, Wis. 1
Brewer Hall 1
Bridgman Hall 1
Brochures 1
Buildings 1
Cabaret 1
Campus School (Eau Claire, Wis.) 1
Chippewa River 1
Circle of Excellence 1
Citizen Advisory Committee 1
College teachers--Wisconsin--Eau Claire 1
Commencement 1
Confluence Project (Eau Claire, Wis.) 1
Construction 1
Council Oak Tree 1
Crest Wellness Center 1
Cross Country Running - Wisconsin - Eau Claire 1
Davies Student Center 1
Debates and Debating--Wisconsin--Eau Claire. 1
Deeds 1
Dormitories--Wisconsin 1
Dutch elm disease 1
Eau Claire (Wis.)–History 1
Eau Claire Area Committee 1
Financial Records 1
Football 1
Footbridge 1
Forensics (Public speaking)--Wisconsin--Eau Claire. 1
Fraternity 1
Fulfilling the Promise of Excellence Campaign 1
Fundraising 1
Grants 1
Haas Fine Arts Center 1
Hibbard Humanities Hall 1
Highway 37--Wisconsin 1
Hilltop 1
Horan Hall 1
Invasive species 1
Katharine Thomas Hall 1
Kjer Theatre 1
L.E. Phillips Science Hall 1
Land management 1
Little Niagara Creek 1
Lower Campus 1
Marshfield, Wis. 1
McIntyre Library 1
McPhee Physical Education Center 1
Memorial Hall 1
National Council for Accrediation of Teacher Education 1
Newspapers 1
Office Files 1
Pamphlets 1
Periscope 1
Posters 1
President's Club 1
Putnam Hall 1
Putnam Park Drive 1
Putnam Park Trail 1
Saint Bede Priory (Eau Claire, Wis.) 1
Schneider Social Science Hall 1
Schofield Hall 1
School of Nursing Building 1
School principals – Wisconsin 1
School superintendents – Wisconsin 1
Shawano, Wis. 1
Singing Statesmen 1
Sorority 1
Student Housing--Wisconsin--Eau Claire 1
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