History:

Citizen interest in a UW campus in Washington County dates back to the early 1960's. In 1964, a joint special committee appointed by the Washington County Board of Supervisors and the City of West Bend passed resolutions calling for West Bend to be the site of a future University of Wisconsin Center. In 1965, they agreed to purchase the Carl Pick farm and utilize 87 acres of the land for the founding of a University campus. Regent approval of the site was granted on November 12, 1965.

On August 23, 1966, an agreement was signed between the City, the County, and the University. The next few years saw the development of a plan for a campus as well as a number of changes in the original proposal. Groundbreaking for the new campus took place on July 12, 1967. Classes began in September, 1968, and the campus was dedicated on November 8, 1969.