Schnack, Larry

Person

Staff Only

Biography

After 19 years of teaching and administrative work at UW-Eau Claire, Larry Schnack served as chancellor from 1984 to 1998. His tenure was a period of stability with respect to enrollment and the university facilities, which provided Schnack with the time to focus his attention on improving academic programs.

In 1994 a redefined baccalaureate program strengthened general education. It emphasized study-abroad opportunities; promoted faculty-student collaborative research; encouraged the creation of capstone courses in the student's major; and initiated a service-learning requirement through which students would apply what they had learned in their courses to non-profit programs in the community. The university's enhanced academic reputation was reflected by its repeated high placing in the U.S. News and World Report's rankings of Midwestern regional universities —high rankings that have continued to the present day.

Chancellor Schnack also sought closer ties between the university and the Eau Claire community. In particular, he worked to make the university's resources more widely available by his membership on the Eau Claire Area Development Committee.

At the time of his retirement, the UW System Board of Regents emphasized his successes in "building an academic curriculum that has received national recognition" and his "significant contributions to regional economic development and the quality of life in the Eau Claire region."

Occupations

Chancellor -- Date: 1984 - 1998

Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:

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

Found in: Special Collections and Archives, McIntyre Library, UW-Eau Claire

University Archives Slides Collection, 1916-2002

Collection

Identifier: Archives Series 105

Summary Photographic slides of University related activities providing a representation of campus life and documenting the photographic work done by the Media Development Center. The Media Development Center provides photographic, audio, videotape, and graphic services to the University community. Topics include faculty teaching, campus scenes, student life, construction of campus buildings, academic buildings, student housing, exterior scenes, Putnam Park, Little Niagara Creek, events on campus,...

Dates: 1916-2002