Bascom Hill Society Flipbook | Wisconsin Alumni Association

"University" or "Main" Hall was completed in 1860 as the third building of the University of Wisconsin – Madison. It created an architectural link between North and South Halls and a focal point at the end of State Street opposite the state Capitol. It did not become Bascom Hall until June 1920. Ironically, it also was not constructed under the watch of the university's sixth president, John Bascom, who served in the post from 1874 – 1887. Nonetheless, UW President Edward Birge renamed the university's stately yet welcoming structure Bascom Hall. John Bascom was a popular and respected teacher. A student of mathematics, theology, physicology, English literature, aesthetics, political economy, and agriculture, he believed that people of learning had a responsibility and obligation to lift the community to the highest possible ethical standards. Seniors were required to take his course on using their education to improve society.

During Bascom's presidency, a library, assembly hall, chapel, and the still-standing and still-functioning Science Hall joined North Hall, South Hall, and Main Hall to surround the hill's inviting lawn and help shape the campus.

Today, as the campus expands well beyond its original borders, Bascom Hill continues to serve as a gathering place and landmark. It is only appropriate, then, to have Bascom Hall serve as the inspiration and identification for the Bascom Hill Society, which proudly represents the mainstay of private support for the university.