University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

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. visited the campus and called on president John F. Kennedy to issue a second Emancipation Proclamation.
During the late 1960s, the university was involved in several protests against the Vietnam War, 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 …