Gruenhagen Conference Center

Name

For the 10 years the building served as a dormitory, it was referred to as Gruenhagen Hall.

Namesake: Richard Gruenhagen

Richard Elmer Gruenhagen (Green-hay-gen) once said that art is the creation of excellence, “of something beautiful, something useful, something inspirational.” Today, Gruenhagen’s artistic talents as a woodworker and teacher continue to inspire the campus community. As a namesake, he reminds all who enter Gruenhagen Conference Center that educational enterprises make a difference to individuals and communities.

He was born in the tiny community Orihula, northwest of Oshkosh, on September 22, 1880, to Frank and Pauline Gruenhagen. His father, a fine craftsman and mechanic, built the family’s boats, a tradition that Gruenhagen would continue as an adult. In 1895, his parents sold their general store in Orihula and moved to Oshkosh.  Gruenhagen graduated from Oshkosh High School, and took industrial education courses at the University of Wisconsin. He received his bachelor’s degree in education from Oshkosh State Teachers College in 1930.  

In 1906, Richard Gruenhagen married Carice Hamilton who was a member of his graduating class at Oshkosh High School. Carice, like her husband, enjoyed fishing, hunting, and sailing. With the birth of their son Hamilton (Richard Hamilton Gruenhagen) in 1915, the Gruenhagens were able to hand down many well-loved pastimes.

Gruenhagen’s position as an Industrial Arts instructor at Oshkosh Normal, later Oshkosh State Teachers College, allowed him to nurture Midwestern talents. Before coming to the Normal School in 1909, he served as a Manual Training Instructor in the Stevens Point city schools. He joined the Normal School faculty at a crucial time. His colleague, Livingston Summers, began a manual training program that prepared teachers for careers in the growing field of industrial education. During his tenure in the department, Gruenhagen taught classes in advanced furniture construction & design, elementary & advanced cabinet making, general woodworking, and maintenance of shop equipment, to name a few.

The Great Depression, a decreasing demand for industrial arts teachers, and increasing enrollments at the Stout Institute, Wisconsin’s leading manual training facility, all contributed to the department’s closure in 1937. After degrees in industrial arts were no longer offered, Gruenhagen taught woodworking classes for students in the teacher training program until his retirement in 1947. For twenty years after that, Gruenhagen maintained the University’s shop equipment so that future generations could learn about industrial arts techniques.

Throughout his time at the college, Gruenhagen maintained popularity among his students, the administration, and the greater Oshkosh community. University President Roger Guiles, who arrived at Oshkosh after Gruenhagen’s retirement, described the naming of Gruenhagen Hall as a “personal satisfaction.”

Gruenhagen died on March 5, 1967, just one week after the dedication of the building that bears his name. 

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Facts

Completion Date: 1966. Students moved into Gruenhagen in the fall of 1966. Dedication was held in February, 1967.

Cost: $3,500,000.00

Original Purpose of Building: Coed dormitory

Current Use: Conference Center, Department of Residence Life office space, overflow dormitory space.  

History

The idea for Gruenhagen Hall began in the early 1960s, when the Wisconsin State University Oshkosh faced rapidly increasing enrollments. To accommodate the expected students, the University built many learning facilities, as well as 10 new dormitories. Constructed on previous industrial and residential land across the street from the Diamond Match Factory, Gruenhagen Hall, and its twin, Scott Hall, offered University students a prime residential location. With a $3.5 million dollar price tag, it is no surprise that when Gruenhagen Hall debuted it was the largest dormitory on campus. Men and women occupied separate wings in Gruenhagen Hall, and in addition to each wing’s amenities, the first floor featured a co-ed television lounge. Dedicated on February 26, 1967, Gruenhagen Hall represented the University’s adherence to academic service. Among the speakers was Dr. Robert Polk, the son of the former President. In his remarks, Polk quotes Gruenhagen’s son, Hamilton: “While students were designing and building ‘things,’ Dad was building men.” The Hall Key was presented to Hamilton, but only allowed him access to the men’s wing. Although Gruenhagen was alive at the time of the dedication, he could not attend the ceremony because of medical reasons. He passed away on March 5, 1967.

 In 1976, after failing to achieve projected enrollments made a decade earlier, as well as increased student interest in off-campus housing, the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh, found itself the most overbuilt campus –dormitory wise – in the UW System. As a remedy, Gruenhagen Hall terminated its service as a residence hall, and transitioned into a new space for the University’s conference center, previously housed in Evan Hall.

Today, the building honors Gruenhagen’s legacy well, as it provides space for various educational programs. The building serves as office space for the University’s Department of Residence Life, and offers housing for staff, faculty, and guests at major area events like the annual EAA Airventure. Wisconsin’s Department of Corrections Training Facility also uses the conference center for their seven week pre-service training program.

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