Charles R. Van Hise

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Charles Richard Van Hise
Charles Richard Van Hise
Born	May 29, 1857 Fulton, Wisconsin
Died	November 19, 1918
Fields	geology
Institutions	University of Wisconsin

Charles Richard Van Hise (May 29, 1857 – November 19, 1918) was an academic and president of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin, from 1903 to 1918.

Van Hise was born in Fulton, Wisconsin. He received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 1879, and was the first to graduate with a Ph.D. from the school in 1892, receiving a doctorate in geology. He also received a B.S. in 1880 and a M.S. in 1882.

He entered the faculty of the University immediately after graduating, as instructor. He held the positions of instructor in chemistry and metallurgy (1879–1883), assistant professor of metallurgy (1886–1888), professor of mineralogy and petrography (1888–1892), professor of Archaean and applied geology (1890–1892), and professor of geology after 1892.

He was elected by the Board of Regents to become the president of the University of Wisconsin on April 21, 1903. Van Hise succeeded Charles K. Adams, who had died in 1901, and Edward A. Birge, who had served as acting president for the past two years. Van Hise was helped in his election by the support of Governor Robert La Follette.

In 1904, as president of the university, he declared that “the beneficent influence of the university [be] available to every home in the state,” later articulated as the “Wisconsin Idea.” He was instrumental in the formation of the University of Wisconsin Extension division, which later grew into the University of Wisconsin System. During his tenure, UW's medical college was established, the number of faculty doubled and the university's revenue increased four-fold.

He served as the president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1916.

On the UW–Madison Campus there is a building named after Van Hise at the intersection of Charter and Linden Streets. There is also an elementary school in Madison named after him.

[edit] Publications

• Correlation Papers . . . Archœan and Algonkian (1892)
• Principles of North American Pre-Cambrian Geology (1896)
• Some Principles Controlling the Deposition of Ores (1901)
• The Iron Ores of the Lake Superior Region (1901)
• An Attempt to Reduce the Phenomena of Rock Alterations to Order under the Laws of Energy (1903)
• The Conservation of Natural Resources in the United States (1910)
• Concentration and Control (1912; new edition, 1915)

[edit] External links

• Biography of Van Hise at the Wisconsin Electronic Reader
• Biographies of the chancellors and presidents of the University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Short blurb about Van Hise at AAAS.org
• University of Wisconsin-Madison home page.
• Wisconsin Electronic Reader.
• The University of Wisconsin-Madison Collection.