The University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire (UW–Eau Claire, UWEC or simply Eau Claire) is a
public university
A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...
in
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Eau Claire ( ; lit. "clear water") is a city in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, Eau Claire and Chippewa County, Wisconsin, Chippewa counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the county seat, seat of Eau Claire County. It is the List of citie ...
, United States. It is part of the
University of Wisconsin System
The University of Wisconsin System is a state public university system in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is one of the largest public higher-education systems in the country, enrolling more than 160,000 students each year and employing approx ...
and offers
bachelor's
A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ( ...
and
master's
A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
degrees. As of 2024, the university had an enrollment of approximately 9,500 students.
The campus consists of 28 major buildings spanning . An additional of forested land is used for environmental research. UWEC is situated on the
Chippewa River.
The university is affiliated with the
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
's Division III and the
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the NCAA's Division III. In women's gymnastics, it competes alongside Division I and II members, as the NCAA sponsors a singl ...
(WIAC). The student body's mascot is Blu the Blugold.
History

Founded in 1916 as the Eau Claire State Normal School, the university originally offered one-, two- and three-year teachers' courses and a principals' course. At the school's founding ceremony Governor
Emanuel L. Philipp said the university was founded "in order that you, the sons and daughters of the commonwealth, might have better educational service."
As a college primarily focused on educating teachers, Eau Claire housed Park Elementary, a
laboratory school
A laboratory school or demonstration school is an elementary or secondary school operated in association with a university, college, or other teacher education institution and used for the training of future teachers, educational experimentatio ...
. Park Elementary had an unusual architectural design that included a hidden third story balcony used by professors and student teachers to observe classes. As a result of the changing educational focus of the university, this method of teaching new teachers fell out of use and Park Elementary School was closed. Most of the building was repurposed for general university classroom use, with about a third of the space dedicated to a child daycare center. The building was demolished in 2012.
In 1927, the name of the college was changed to Eau Claire State Teachers College and the school began offering a bachelor's degree program. The campus was also altered to accommodate a 300-man
detachment from the
Army Air Corps.
Eau Claire's role as an educational institution underwent profound changes in the 1940s and 1950s. The university saw a significant rise in enrollment and widened its scope beyond educating future teachers. Eau Claire president
W. R. Davies, speaking at a university assembly, said "the goal is a college of education that will rank as one of the best in the middlewest, with a wide enough offering to truly serve the needs of the college youth of northwest
Wisconsin
Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
." In 1951, the Wisconsin
Board of Regents
In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual co ...
of the
University of Wisconsin System
The University of Wisconsin System is a state public university system in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is one of the largest public higher-education systems in the country, enrolling more than 160,000 students each year and employing approx ...
authorized the school to offer Bachelor of Arts and science degrees in
liberal arts
Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...
; subsequently, the name of the school was changed to the Wisconsin State College at Eau Claire.
During the 1960s, the university saw further expansion. Science and art buildings were erected and several dormitories were built or expanded to meet the needs of an ever-growing student population. The university began to market itself more aggressively because of increased competition from surrounding campuses. Eau Claire's nickname – "Wisconsin's Most Beautiful Campus" – was first applied during this time. Highlighting the university's aesthetic appeal, an Eau Claire poet wrote, "Through and from a shady glen / A charming streamlet hies / And rippling along its picturesque way / A campus glorifies." In 1964, the Board of Regents gave university standing to the state colleges, and the institution at Eau Claire was renamed Wisconsin State University – Eau Claire. The 1960s are remembered as a "flowering of excellence on the campus." In 1962,
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...
visited the campus and called on president
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
to issue a second
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War. The Proclamation had the eff ...
.
During the late 1960s, the university was involved in several protests against the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, including a 42-hour vigil and several marches. Though there were numerous protests, all of them remained peaceful. After the
Kent State shootings, the university community planted four trees as a memorial to the dead students.
In 1971, the name of the institution was changed to the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire following the merger of the
Wisconsin State University System and the
University of Wisconsin System
The University of Wisconsin System is a state public university system in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is one of the largest public higher-education systems in the country, enrolling more than 160,000 students each year and employing approx ...
. In subsequent years, the university would solidify its tradition as a liberal arts campus. Currently, the university's stated mission is to provide "rigorous undergraduate liberal education" alongside "distinctive professional and graduate programs that build on and strengthen our proud tradition of liberal education." Since the 1971 merger, Eau Claire has expanded its course offerings, added more faculty and students, and enlarged campus grounds. Eau Claire has also acquired hundreds of acres of forested land primarily used for environmental research and purchased the Saint Bede Monastery in October 2011.
In 1974, the Richard E. Hibbard Humanities Hall opened on campus and an addition to the Davies Center was finished three years later in 1977. The Allied Health and Clinical Services Building was constructed in 1982 on the north bank of the Chippewa River, and in 1985 an addition to the Nursing building was constructed and opened. The construction of the new W.R. Davies Center was completed in 2012 and Centennial Hall was completed in 2013, later being opened in 2014. The construction of Centennial Hall was the first building on campus to be constructed and funded by "state dollars" in 30 years, while the new Davies Center was funded completely by student fees. Towers Hall, initially built in 1966, began a renovation project in 2017 starting with Towers South renovations during the 2017–2018 school year followed by Towers North renovations during the 2018–2019 school year. This renovation project was funded completely by student housing fees with expenditures over $35 million.
The university was involved in a
gay rights
Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.
Not ...
controversy in 2016 when Tom Hilton, an information systems professor, negatively responded to a student email asking for his support for the ''Eau Queer Film Festival.''
UW–Eau Claire was the center of a controversy related to an oak tree sacred to
Native Americans. Eventually, after much publicity, it was decided to scrap the old plans, despite the large added expense, and build the $48.8 million building at another location. In September 2016, a free speech board on campus had "UWEC is racist" written on it and it was promptly taken down. The board sparked a discussion about racial equity and diversity on campus.
In 2018, UW-Eau Claire adopted
UW-Barron College as a branch campus. The "merger" was part of a UW-System wide restructuring plan.
In September 2019, a student's residence hall door decoration was vandalized with a racial slur against Indigenous people and the words "go back to the rez."
In November 2019, five football players were suspended from the team for racist social media posts targeting the campus Black Empowerment Organization.
Campus
The University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire campus sits on the banks of the
Chippewa River. The campus is located in an urban setting, close to Eau Claire's historic
Water Street.
The main academic building on campus is
Schofield Hall, home to administrative offices. The building was named after Harvey Schofield, the first president of the university. Other academic buildings include the Phillips Science Hall, the Hibbard Humanities Hall, the Haas Fine Arts Center, the Schneider Social Sciences Hall, the Nursing Building, Vicki Lord Larson Hall, McIntyre Library, Human Sciences and Service, and Centennial Hall. The newest addition to campus is the Flesch Family Welcome Center, built in 2021.
Residence halls on campus include Horan, Governors, Murray, Bridgman, Sutherland, Oak Ridge, Chancellor's, The Suites, and Karlgaard Towers on upper campus, as well as off-campus residences such as the Priory, Haymarket Landing, and Aspenson-Mogenson.
The Davies Center, a hub of the campus, is home to dining halls, a
movie theatre
A movie theater (American English) or cinema (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as a movie house, cinema hall, picture house, picture theater, the movies, the pictures, or simply theater, is a business ...
, the office for the
student senate, a coffee shop, the student
bookstore
Bookselling is the commercial trading of books, which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process.
People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, book people, bookmen, or bookwomen.
History
The found ...
, and spaces for studying and socializing. The building was named after
William R. Davies, a noted president of the university. In 2011, the old Davies Center was torn down. A new facility was completed in 2013.
Sports facilities include the
W. L. Zorn Arena,
Hobbs Ice Center, McPhee Center, Olson Addition, Bollinger Fields,
Carson Park, and the Sonnentag Center.
The University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire occupies the ancestral lands of the
Ojibwe
The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...
and
Dakota people
The Dakota (pronounced , or ) are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe (Native American), tribe and First Nations in Canada, First Nations band government in North America. They compose two of the three main subcultur ...
. Before falling down in a windstorm in 1987, a tree on campus called the Council Oak stood where the Ojibwe and Dakota nations as well as other nations, including the
Ho-Chunk
The Ho-Chunk, also known as Hocąk, Hoocągra, or Winnebago are a Siouan languages, Siouan-speaking Native Americans in the United States, Native American people whose historic territory includes parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois ...
,
Menominee
The Menominee ( ; meaning ''"Menominee People"'', also spelled Menomini, derived from the Ojibwe language word for "Wild Rice People"; known as ''Mamaceqtaw'', "the people", in the Menominee language) are a federally recognized tribe of Na ...
, and
Potawatomi
The Potawatomi (), also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, ...
, met to share knowledge and discuss peaceful resolutions to their differences. The current Council Oak was planted and dedicated in 1990. The Council Oak is integrated into the university seal to symbolize UW-Eau Claire's commitment to serving as a place of meeting and exchange.
File:Counciloak.jpg, The Council Oak
File:SchofieldHallUWEC.jpg, Schofield Hall, home to administrative offices
File:Eau Claire Wisconsin-UWEC looking northeast.jpg, View from the campus library
File:CargillCollaborationCenter.jpg, Classroom in the Cargill Collaboration Center
file:UW - Eau Claire.jpg, Campus view
Organization and administration
Since its founding in 1916, the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire has had three presidents and six chancellors. One president, Leonard Haas, took an interim assignment with the UW System and returned as chancellor.
* Harvey Schofield, President 1916–1940
*
W. R. Davies, President 1941–1959
*
Leonard Haas, President 1959–1971, Chancellor 1973–1980
* M. Emily Hannah, Chancellor 1981–1984
*
Larry G. Schnack, Chancellor 1985–1997
* Donald J. Mash, Chancellor 1998–2005
*
Brian Levin-Stankevich, Chancellor 2006–2012
* James C. Schmidt, Chancellor 2013–present
Academics
Eau Claire is organized into four colleges: the College of Business, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Education and Human Sciences, and the College of Nursing. The school offers about 109 undergraduate majors, 66 undergraduate minors, 48 undergraduate certificates, and 11 graduate programs. The university offers several master's degrees and one doctoral degree. Enrollment is approximately 10,000 undergraduate and 500 graduate students. Eau Claire's academic programs operate on a
semester calendar.
The University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire has been
accredited
Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...
by the
Higher Learning Commission
The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...
since 1950. Other agencies also fully accredit specific programs.
Students are required to show competency in
mathematics
Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
,
English, a
foreign language
A foreign language is a language that is not an official language of, nor typically spoken in, a specific country. Native speakers from that country usually need to acquire it through conscious learning, such as through language lessons at schoo ...
and foreign cultures. Courses that deal with issues relating to diversity are also required. Students are also required to take a "
service-learning
Service-learning is an educational approach that uses community service to meet both classroom learning objectives and societal needs. It has been used with students of all grades and stages. Projects based in communities are designed to apply cla ...
" course where they engage in charitable work with the Eau Claire community. Service-learning "is intended to provide students with an opportunity to serve their community, apply knowledge gained in the classroom, enhance their
critical thinking
Critical thinking is the process of analyzing available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to make sound conclusions or informed choices. It involves recognizing underlying assumptions, providing justifications for ideas and actions, ...
skills, and become informed,
ethical
Ethics is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches include normative ethics, applied e ...
, responsible, and active citizens."
The Center of Excellence for Faculty and Undergraduate Student Research Collaboration was established at UW-Eau Claire to encourage students to incorporate "research into their undergraduate experience." Students working with faculty publish papers in academic journals.
Eau Claire's faculty/student research program has been nationally recognized.
Rankings
In the 2025 ''
U.S. News & World Report'' college rankings, the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire was ranked 20th out of 165 regional master's universities in the Midwest.
''U.S. News'' has ranked Eau Claire among the top ten regional public institutions in the Midwest and in the top third of public and private Midwestern regional universities every year since 1995.
Honors program
The University Honors Program's goal is to create opportunities that will help students develop intellectually, personally, and professionally. First-semester students are invited into the program based on ACT scores, SAT scores, and their academic standing in high school, and if students do not meet the requirements for an automatic invitation, they can request to be accepted through a holistic review process. To graduate with Honors, students must complete both first-year and senior Honors Seminars, 24 credits of any combination of Honors colloquia and Honors electives (at least two of which must be 300-level or higher), and attain a total and resident GPA of 3.5 or higher upon graduation. Students can also earn credit towards their 24 required Honors credits through mentoring in Honors, Honors contracts, and departmental honors. Honors courses count toward graduation requirements for general education, major and/or university requirements. Honors colloquia are interdisciplinary courses that encourage students to make connections across disciplines and sample knowledge outside their major while engaging in discussions with their classmates. A few activities within the Honors Program include the Hanging with Honors discussion series and group dinners in the Honors Living Learning Community.
Special collections and archives
The Special Collections and Archives at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire houses the official and unofficial records of the university from its founding to the present. It also holds one of the nation's largest collections of jazz, which includes more than 1000 charts and 1000 recordings of artists such as
Woody Herman
Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roo ...
,
Sammy Nestico,
Count Basie
William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...
,
Stan Kenton
Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though ...
,
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially.
From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...
and
Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flutist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Awards, ...
. Several of the charts and recordings are signed and unique.
The UW-Eau Claire Archives is a member of the Area Research Center Network of the
Wisconsin Historical Society
The Wisconsin Historical Society (officially the State Historical Society of Wisconsin) is simultaneously a state agency and a private membership organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of ...
, serving Buffalo, Chippewa, Clark, Eau Claire, Rusk and Taylor counties, and holds manuscripts and records pertaining to those counties.
Research
Eau Claire offers its students the opportunity to participate in a nationally recognized research program through its Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP). The student-faculty led, coauthored, research program has been a part of the university for more than 50 years, and continues to be part of student life.
Distinctions of Eau Claire's student led research program are its growing presence on campus, as well as its financial allocation for research projects. Since the early 2000s, the total number of projects has increased by 41% and funding to the program by 60% (reaching $935915 in 2015–16).
The ORSP also recognizes students who pursue their research programs with funding and scholarships. In 2020, the ORSP gifted around $10,000 in scholarships, along with funding for their projects According to UW-Eau Claire's Factbook, 39.6% of graduates in 2020-21 were involved in research during their time at UW-Eau Claire.
Study abroad
The study abroad program holds one of the top participation rates among Universities at the Master's level in the country. With more than 40 different programs in 35 countries, students can study at colleges in many parts of the world. According to UW-Eau Claire's Factbook, 13.4% of the Class of 2021 studied abroad.
Since 1984, the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire has been a part of the
National Student Exchange (NSE), a program that allows students to attend a semester or full academic year at a different institution while still paying UWEC tuition. Through NSE, around 3,500 students participate at 170 universities in 48 states, Canada, Puerto Rice, Guam, and the Virgin Islands; 40-50 of those students are from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire.
Forums
The Forum lecture series invites notable speakers to share their ideas with the Chippewa Valley community. The program was founded in 1942 by President
W. R. Davies to express his vision of what the college might become as a cultural center. The Forum has hosted a variety of speakers including
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...
,
Carl Sagan
Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is his research on the possibility of extraterrestrial life, including e ...
,
Henry Kissinger
Henry Alfred Kissinger (May 27, 1923 – November 29, 2023) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 56th United States secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 and the 7th National Security Advisor (United States), natio ...
,
William F. Buckley Jr.
William Frank Buckley Jr. (born William Francis Buckley; November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American conservative writer, public intellectual, political commentator and novelist.
Born in New York City, Buckley spoke Spanish as his ...
,
Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credi ...
,
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
,
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a ...
and
Monica Lewinsky
Monica Samille Lewinsky (born July 23, 1973) is an American activist. Lewinsky became internationally known in the late 1990s after U.S. President Bill Clinton admitted to having had an affair with her during her days as a White House intern ...
.
The Ann Devroy Memorial Forum is a partnership between ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' and the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. The program was set up after the death of
Ann Devroy, the chief
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
correspondent at ''The Washington Post'' and a 1970 UW-Eau Claire graduate. Each year a noted journalist presents a keynote address at the Ann Devroy Memorial Forum, and a fellowship is given to a promising UW-Eau Claire journalism student.
Student life
In 2021, 61.1% of the student population was female, 11.1% were students of color, and 28.1% were First-Generation students. Additionally, 16.9% of undergraduate students were low-income. The university mainly attracted students from the Midwest, with 61.8% of students from Wisconsin, 28.8% from Minnesota, 7.5% from other U.S. states, and 1.9% being international students.
Clubs
The University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire has more than 210 campus organizations for student involvement, including academic and professional organizations, campus media, club sports, Greek life, honor societies, service organizations, special interest clubs, and clubs related to culture and identity, governance and politics, recreation, performing, and spiritual beliefs. The women's
rugby club team won the 2022
National Collegiate Rugby Division II
National Championship
A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...
.
Music
The UW–Eau Claire Blugold Marching Band (BMB) is one of the largest collegiate marching bands in the country. In 2018, the BMB reached 400 members for the first time in its history and has continued to maintain its membership of 400+ students, as of 2021. The band performs at Blugold home games, field exhibitions, parades, stage shows, and other selected events. Since 2008, the BMB has made seven international performance tours with performances in Paris, Sydney, Venice, Rome, the Vatican, Athens, Singapore, London, Tokyo, Istanbul, and Barcelona. In addition to land-based international performances, BMB has performed on six separate cruise ships. BMB has performed three times as the guest exhibition band at the Bands of America Super Regional in Indianapolis and twice at the BOA St. Louis Super Regional. BMB has performed guest exhibitions for Youth in Music in Minneapolis for 14 of the past 15 years, as well as in high school competitions such as Music Along the Chippewa, Chicagoland, and others in the Twin Cities, Milwaukee, and Chicago areas.
UW–Eau Claire's Jazz Ensemble I is an eight-time winner of ''
Down Beat
''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...
s "Best College Big Band" award and has been nominated for a
Grammy
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
twice. ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' has called the jazz program one of the most "well regarded in the country."
The university also hosts The Eau Claire
Jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
Festival, one of the oldest, largest and most prestigious collegiate jazz festivals in the country. The festival regularly attracts respected jazz musicians including
Gary Burton
Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American jazz Vibraphone, vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused ...
,
Bill Evans
William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, block chords, innovative chord voicings, a ...
,
Rufus Reid
Rufus Reid (born February 10, 1944, in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American jazz bassist, educator, and composer.
Biography
Reid was raised in Sacramento, California, where he played the trumpet through junior high and high school. Upon graduation ...
,
Lewis Nash
Lewis Nash (born December 30, 1958) is an American jazz drummer. According to ''Modern Drummer'' magazine, Nash has one of the longest discographies in jazz and has played on over 400 records, earning him the honor of Jazz's Most Valuable Play ...
,
Michael Brecker
Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as a performer and composer, received an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music in ...
,
Stanley Jordan,
Eric Marienthal
Eric Marienthal (born December 19, 1957) is a Grammy Award-nominated Los Angeles-based contemporary saxophonist best known for his work in the jazz, jazz fusion, smooth jazz, and pop genres.
Early life
Eric Marienthal was born on December 19, 1 ...
,
Bobby Sanabria,
Chris Potter,
Benny Green,
Charlie Byrd,
Ira Sullivan
Ira Sullivan (May 1, 1931 – September 21, 2020) was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, flautist, saxophonist, and composer born in Washington, D.C., United States. An active musician since the 1950s, he often worked with Red Rodney ...
and
Slide Hampton
Locksley Wellington Hampton (April 21, 1932 – November 18, 2021) was an American jazz trombone, jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. As his nickname implies, Hampton's main instrument was slide trombone, but he also occasionally played tub ...
. The festival is composed of college bands, high school bands and invited performers. The college and high school bands compete to win awards, and UW-Eau Claire's Jazz I regularly performs with the invited guests. The festival also offers clinics,
lectures
A lecture (from ) is an speech, oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history, backgroun ...
and master classes with the invited performers.
Madrigal dinner
The
madrigal
A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music most typical of the Renaissance (15th–16th centuries) and early Baroque (1580–1650) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The polyphonic madrigal is unaccompanied, and the ...
dinner is a 15th-century-style banquet. At the dinner, the Chamber Choir performs in costume as a royal court celebrating the harvest season and the holiday season. Traditionally, a student performs as a jester to add levity to the evening's festivities. Additionally, each year different students are chosen to play the roles of King and Queen. Guests attending the madrigal dinner often dress in period costumes, though no dress code is required. Beyond
choral music
A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...
, the madrigald dinner also incorporates modern Christmas music. Dishes such as
wassail
Wassail (, ) is a beverage made from hot mulled cider, ale, or wine and spices, drunk traditionally as an integral part of wassailing, an ancient English Christmastide and Yuletide drinking ritual and salutation either involved in door-to ...
, beef vegetable soup and stuffed pork chops are served.
Viennese Ball
The annual Viennese Ball has been a tradition for over 40 years at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. A formal event, the ball "recalls the culture, history and music of 19th-century Vienna." It is modeled on the New Year's Eve Kaiser Ball and showcases the University Women's Concert Choral and Singing Statesmen ensembles, which open the evening with several pieces including the American and Austrian national anthems, University Symphony Orchestra, which performs
waltzes
The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...
and
polkas
Polka is a dance style and musical genre, genre of dance music in originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though generally associated with Culture of the Czech Republic, Czech and Central Europe, Central E ...
from the Strauss Era, and the Eau Claire Jazz Ensemble I, which plays music from the
Big Band
A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...
Era. Other music is performed by smaller student and faculty ensembles. The ball also offers Austrian and American cuisine. Proceeds have provided more than $1.5 million in music, service and international study awards for UW-Eau Claire students.
Gatsby's Gala
The annual Gatsby's Gala is a fundraising tradition at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. The gala is a roaring 20s-themed party that supports both the Eau Claire Jazz festival and the UW–Eau Claire Jazz Studies program. Performances at this event include "swing classics, sultry ballads, and modern twists" from the UW–Eau Claire Jazz ensembles I and II, community guest artists, and "surprise vocalists." This event offers food and beverages as well as a raffle and "charity-gaming."
Pablo Center at the Confluence
The Pablo Center at the Confluence is a building in downtown Eau Claire used for a variety of showings and performance art displays. The center is available for community use, however it is also used by the university for its music and theatre arts students. Inside of the center are the Jamf and RCU theatres, two of the largest performing spaces available to college students in the nation, light and sound projection labs, recording studios, and several art galleries.
Often, the works of Blugolds are featured in their galleries.
Athletics

Eau Claire athletes are referred to as "Blugolds," a name
coined to reflect the school colors,
navy blue
Navy blue is a dark shade of the color blue.
Navy blue got its name from the dark blue (contrasted with naval white) worn by officers in the Royal Navy since 1748 and subsequently adopted by other navies around the world. When this color name, ...
and
old gold
Old gold is a dark yellow, which varies from light olive or olive brown to deep or strong yellow, generally on the darker side of this range.
The first recorded use of ''old gold'' as a color name in English was in the early 19th century (exact ...
. The University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire has no official university
mascot
A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...
. However, in 2011, the student body voted in favor of a mythical bird as a mascot following a student-led initiative. The bird represents "the students of UW-Eau Claire, not the university itself."
The university's athletic teams participate in the
NCAA Division III
NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...
and the
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the NCAA's Division III. In women's gymnastics, it competes alongside Division I and II members, as the NCAA sponsors a singl ...
. There are twelve men's
varsity sports programs (
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
,
cross country,
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
,
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
,
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
,
swimming
Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...
and
diving
Diving most often refers to:
* Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water
* Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes
Diving or Dive may also refer to:
Sports
* Dive (American football), ...
,
tennis
Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
, indoor and outdoor
track and field
Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
,
wrestling
Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...
,
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
, and
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
) and thirteen women's sports programs (basketball, cross country, golf,
gymnastics
Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...
, ice hockey,
lacrosse
Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...
, soccer,
softball
Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...
, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field, and
volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
). In terms of total wins, the Blugolds rank 14th in the entire NCAA Division III sports program.
The Blugolds have been national champions in cross country (1984, 2009, 2015), softball (2008), golf (2001), swimming (1983, 1987, 1988), ice hockey (1984, 2013) indoor track and field (2015, 2016, 2022), outdoor track and field (2019, 2022), and volleyball (2021). As of August 2015, the Blugolds have been conference champions in men's swimming 25 of the past 40 years, conference champions in women's swimming for 19 of the past 32 years, conference champions in women's tennis for 10 of the last 18 seasons, conference champions in softball for seven of the last 15 seasons, conference champions in women's golf for seven of the last 13 seasons, conference champions in women's soccer for three of the last six seasons, and conference champions in women's volleyball for three of the last five seasons. The Blugolds hold nine national titles. They hold 140 conference titles and have won 36
Academic All-American Awards.
The Blugolds softball team appeared in one
Women's College World Series
The Women's College World Series (WCWS) is the final portion of the NCAA Division I softball tournament for college softball in the United States and is held annually in Oklahoma City, OK. The event is held at Devon Park (stadium), Devon Park loca ...
in 1971.
See also
*
List of University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire people
References
External links
*
Athletics website
{{DEFAULTSORT:University Of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Eau Claire Eau Claire (French for "clear water", ''pl.'' ''eaux claires'') is the name of a number of locations and features in North America. The name is pronounced as if it were spelled "O'Clare".
Place names (Canada)
Communities
*Eau Claire, Calgary, a n ...
Universities and colleges established in 1916
Buildings and structures in Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Public universities and colleges in Wisconsin
Education in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin
Tourist attractions in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin
1916 establishments in Wisconsin
Universities and colleges accredited by the Higher Learning Commission