Haas, Leonard C.
Biography
Leonard Clarence Haas was born on February 17, 1915, and grew up in Altoona, Wisconsin. Haas graduated from Eau Claire State Teachers College in 1935 with his bachelor’s degree in education. He earned a master’s degree in history from UW-Madison in 1938, and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1954. He married Dorellen M. Lambert on May 31, 1941, and returned to UW-Eau Claire that year as a history and government instructor. From 1959-1971, Haas served as President of Wisconsin State College at Eau Claire until 1964, and Wisconsin State University-Eau Claire (1964-1971). From 1971-1973, he served as Executive Vice-President of the University of Wisconsin System where he played a major role in the merging of state colleges and universities into one system. He returned to UW-EC in 1973 and served as chancellor until 1980. Haas remained at the university as a history professor from 1980 until his retirement in 1985. The Fine Arts Center was dedicated to Haas and his wife in 1986. Haas died at the age of 83 on March 14, 1998.
During Haas' tenure the university grew from five to 25 buildings and from 1,700 to nearly 11,000 students. The proportion of students coming from outside the Eau Claire area, and even from outside Wisconsin, increased greatly. Bachelor's degree programs in nursing and business were initiated. Acknowledgment of their high quality came from the college's membership and recognition of excellence in 30 honor societies and accreditations. At the suggestion of his mentor, Professor Laura Sutherland, he adopted "Excellence" as the university's motto.
Occupations
- President -- Date: 1959 - 1971
- Chancellor -- Date: 1973 - 1980
Found in 4 Collections and/or Records:
Centennial Oral History Collection, 2012-2013
Oral history interviews conducted by students and staff, prior to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire's Centennial in 2016. The interviews cover a wide range of topics related to the history of the school. Includes digital materials.
Haas Oral History Interviews Project, 1985-1991
University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire Oral History Interviews, 1963-1993
This collection consists of transcripts, audio cassettes, and reel-to-reel audio containing university-related oral history interviews.
University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire School of Education Campus School Records, 1940-1986
Records of the Campus School at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, first known as the “model school” when the Eau Claire State Normal School opened in 1916. Records reflect curriculum, teacher training methods, construction of the new laboratory school and campus school complex in 1952, campus school studies, termination of the training school program, and rental of the campus school building by the Eau Claire County public school system when the school closed in 1973.
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