The University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley remains dedicated to our mission of bringing a world-class university education home to the citizens of the Fox Valley. We’ve made it a priority to be responsive to the needs of our student body as they are shaped by the eternally changing world of employment, family structure, technology and the instinctual human pursuit of lifelong learning. The invaluable support of our community’s business leaders and governing bodies enables the continual deeper development and wider expansion of programs offered at UWFox.
The seeds of UW-Fox Valley were first sown during the Great Depression. Extension Centers provided college coursework to youth who could not afford to go away to college, yet wanted to progress toward a college degree. As the pool of students dwindled during WW II, the Menasha center was shuttered until 1946 when a wave of returning GIs overwhelmed the existing University of Wisconsin structure and the Menasha site reopened. That momentum carried UW-Fox Valley through to the initial construction of our current campus in 1960, where enrollments have continued to grow and our students have become increasingly more diverse. In 1960 our enrollment was 290. Today it’s 1737.
Continued innovation and responsiveness drive us to create more history. Today’s UWFox offers four different collaborative bachelors’ degrees earned entirely on site, online or through interactive TV at UWFox. The act! (Alternative Careers in Teaching) program directly addresses the shortage of secondary math and natural science teachers in the state, accepting bachelors’ degreed students who have five years of professional experience in their respective fields and a desire to become educators. The ALP (Accelerated Learning Program) assists non-traditional students in earning their degrees while holding down jobs and raising families.
We remain the most affordable and accessible college in the state, and are especially proud of our strong connection to first-generation college students who wish to begin their studies at home and transfer to a four-year university to complete their degree. Every bit of our success is based upon our exceptional faculty, 80 percent of whom hold the highest degree in their field. Our student faculty ratio is 25:1, an impressive statistic that benefits both students and professors alike. Seventy-five years is just the beginning. The future is even brighter for Fox and the greater Fox Valley community today than it was in 1933. We will continue to innovate and be at the forefront of college education. We will continue to challenge and be challenged, to inspire and be inspired.
Sincerely
Jim Perry, Ph.D.
Campus Executive Officer and Dean
University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley