There were few events in the history of UW Oshkosh that had as much impact as the passage of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944. Otherwise known as the GI Bill, this legislation, among other things, allowed for hundreds and hundreds of area veterans to resume or begin their educations at the Oshkosh State Teachers College. The GI bill helped break enrollment records here and forced the College to address a critical lack of student housing. The returning students helped revitalize college life in Oshkosh; most importantly, GI bill students, many with professional interests other than teaching, forced the college to expand its "pre-professional" programs, and by 1949 helped influence the legislature to expand the role of the Teachers Colleges to include liberal arts programs. With this talk entitled "OSTC in World War II," given on October 24, 1946, Frank Caudle, the school's first veterans advisor, discussed not only the influence of the war on the Teachers College but also the college's impact on the war.

Joshua Ranger is the university archivist for UW Oshkosh.