The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is one of the preeminent institutions integrating the 13 degree-granting schools that make up the University of Wisconsin System. Located near the shore of Lake Michigan, the school—which coincidentally was founded with an environmental focus in mind—presents one of the most appealing campuses in the state and the region of the country, with first caliber facilities.
Founded in 1965, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay has expanded beyond its initial green focus to offer undergraduate and graduate courses in a wide variety of areas. Situated in the middle of the vibrant city of Green Bay, the student body has the benefit of being able to take advantage of the active cultural scene and the splendid natural settings (particularly the vastness of Lake Michigan).
As mentioned, the school started out with a manifest purpose of environmentally-conscious education, and this tradition is enshrined in their Master's in Environmental Science and Policy degree program. Nonetheless, the institution has branched out over the years and currently provides degrees at the associate, bachelor's and master's levels in a variety of fields.
At the undergraduate level, the most popular majors in recent years include: Business Administration, Psychology, Human Development, History and Communication (among several others).
All told, undergraduate students have more than 30 different majors and minors to choose from, and within these programs there are an additional 64 areas of emphasis that help specialize the study programs even more, improving graduates' chances of professional insertion after leaving the institution.
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is a largely in-state school, meaning that a large majority of students are from Wisconsin itself, with Minnesotans coming in a distant second. Though demographics are constantly demonstrating minor fluctuations, there usually tends to be a higher proportion of female students to male students, which is in line with national university trends.
The school is primarily focused on undergraduate programs, which makes it no surprise that most students are young, completing some type of undergraduate course offered by the institution (see Academics section below). The majority of the student body is enrolled with the university on a full-time basis; a fair amount of them live on the campus itself, while more than half of the student body resides on off-campus housing. Freshmen in particular tend to have the highest on-campus residency rates.
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, while not among the most diverse schools in the nation, does have students from several foreign nations and minority groups (whether foreign or not). Both the school and the surrounding community have placed an emphasis on boosting appreciation of diversity, and students recur to the university's International Center as well as the American Intercultural Center, where minority student organizations can find support and develop their activities.
Second only to its outstanding academic offerings, the source of a tremendous amount of pride among students, faculty and community members alike would have to be the campus and its facilities. The grounds are distinguished by their constant maintenance and the charming natural surroundings, and the buildings are new, fully equipped and in certain cases serve as the setting for groups not affiliated with the university due to the quality of the installations.
An example of this would be the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts, where the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra frequently goes to perform. The center, which was founded in 1993 and named in honor of the university's founder, Dr. Edward Weidner, hosts performers of all types though with a stated objective of providing a venue for community and school performances, speakers, and educational content. The Weidner Center is widely considered to be among the most prestigious performing arts centers in the Midwest.
One of the most distinguishing features of the campus is its extensive and lush Cofrin Memorial Arboretum, which furnishes students and community members with over 5 miles of biking and walking trails. Coming in at an impressive 290 acres, the arboretum literally engulfs the entire university and is open to the public.
Another distinctive feature—something that not many universities throughout the nation can boast, surely—is the 9-hole Shorewood golf course that students, faculty members and community members can use and which is operated by the school itself.
Finally, the campus will surprise all newcomers with its unique interconnected building structure, an idea which was explicitly developed by the school's founders as a way to make good on the school motto of "Connecting learning to life." The impressive, 8-story school library is connected to all other academic buildings via a network of concourses which make getting around the campus easier, more interesting, and with the added advantage of shelter from the harsh winters of the area.
In a city with a football team as prominent and famous as the Green Bay Packers, it didn't make a lot of sense to have a school football team—and as a result, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay has established itself in other sports, being part of the NCAA Division I Horizon League.
Among the most significant accomplishments that the school's sports teams have had, the various feats of the women's basketball team in the NCAA tournament over the last several years stand out. The team has risen as high as 16th place in national rankings, which is quite significant for a mid-sized university. Other major accomplishments have been reached by the men's basketball team, which won the NCAA championship in the 90s, and by the softball team which became champion in 2005, as well as the men's soccer team which relatively recently defeated the region's top ranked team, Ohio State.
A large part of the appeal of University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is due to the surrounding community, specifically the immediate Green Bay metropolitan area and the Fox Cities corridor. The metropolitan population of the larger Green Bay area stands at over 200,000 people, and the local economy is quite healthy; so much so, in fact, that the city of Green Bay was voted as the best American mid-sized city for doing business.
Many students find employment opportunities in the surrounding community, and the sectors of the local economy that have been witnessing significant growth in recent times have been tourism, healthcare and insurance. In addition, the area has a long record of being a center for the manufacturing, papermaking and food processing industries.
Green Bay boasts many tidy and well-maintained parks, the largest and most spectacular of which is the 700-acre Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary, one of the most impressive urban wildlife habitats in the country.
Ranks 4027th for the average student loan amount.
Ranks 2539th for the average full-time faculty salary.
StateUniversity.com has no official or unofficial affiliation with University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.