In January 1980, six athletes became the inaugural members of the UW–Parkside Hall of Fame: Heiring; Jeelani; four-time All-American wrestler Ken Martin; Kim Merritt, the first UW–Parkside woman All-American distance runner; marathoner Lucien Rosa; and wrestler Bill West. In February 1981, the university established the Biomedical Research Institute. Over the next decade, members of the institute were awarded nearly $4 million in research grants. In September 1981, in response to a shortage of nurses, UW–Parkside and UW–Milwaukee enrolled the first students in a cooperative program allowing students to earn a UW–Milwaukee nursing degree by taking courses at UW–Parkside, which became a model for the UW System.