Milwaukee-Downer College College and Downer College merged to become Milwaukee-Downer College with Downer College's Ellen Clara Sabin as president. A new site was chosen on a tract of about ten acres on the northern end of the city of Milwaukee, halfway between Lake Michigan and the Milwaukee River. Two buildings (Merrill and Holton Halls) were constructed, and were first occupied in September, 1899, when Milwaukee-Downer opened in its new quarters. In 1901 a residence hall for students in the college department was completed. According to the report of the state superintendent of public instruction for 1906 the college had 356 students, 32
History of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee for a large comprehensive public university that offered graduate programs in Wisconsin's largest city, the Wisconsin state legislature passed a bill in 1955 to create the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. The current University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee was established in 1956, as a result of the merger of the Wisconsin State College of Milwaukee and University of Wisconsin's Milwaukee extension, a UW branch that had been offering graduate degrees in Milwaukee.The new university consisted of the WSCM campus near the lakefront and the University of Wisconsin extension in downtown Milwaukee. The first commencement of the new University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee was held on June