University Studies Program

POLLOCK HOUSE

Pollock House Reservations

We are no longer accepting reservation requests for Pollock House.

History of the Pollock House

This Mediterranean Revival style house was built in 1920 for Oshkosh industrialist William E. Pollock, one of the early leaders of the company that would become OshKosh B’Gosh. Pollock bought the Algoma Boulevard property in 1919 from William Radford, one of the founders of the Radford Company. He demolished the Radford home. In 1920, the Fluor Brothers of Oshkosh built the house that exists today. The cost was $19,000.

In 1943, Pollock donated the house to the Oshkosh State Teachers College and it was used as a dormitory from 1945 until 1967. The house was occupied by the administrative offices of the newly formed College of Nursing (CON) from 1967-70. When the CON moved into the “new” Nursing/Education building, the Alumni Association began to call Pollock House their home. The Alumni Association moved to the Alumni Welcome and Conference Center in 2014.

The space is currently the home to the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL), which is designed to enhance student learning through an excellent teaching community.

Thousands of alumni, students, faculty, and visitors have attended functions at this campus landmark. Visitors have included former President Jimmy Carter, former United Nations Ambassador Jean Kirkpatrick and Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Edward Albee as well as other government officials, scientists and foreign dignitaries.

Read more about the history of the Pollock House. 

The William E. Pollock House was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 6, 1984 and the State Register on January 1, 1989. Additional information can be found on the Wisconsin Historical Society website.