Davies, William R.
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
- President -- Date: 1941 - 1959
Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:
University Archives Photograph Collection, 1916-2011
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Foundation Records, 1936-2025 (bulk 1956-2025)
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