Robert H. Wick

Robert H. Wick, 1965-1971

Construction of Wick Science Building, June 1972

People view moon rocks at Wick Science Building, October 19, 1977

Exterior of Wick Science Building, 1973-1979

Wick Science Building, 1973-1979

Biography

Robert Hobbie Wick was born January 23, 1913, in Mount Union, IA, where he grew up and attended school. He received his bachelor's degree at Northern Iowa University in 1934, his master's degree at the University of Southern California in 1940, and his Ph.D. at the University of Iowa in 1940. From 1934 to 1942, he was a teacher and administrator in Andrew, IA, and Newton, IA. On April 25, 1942, he married Alice Mead in Marshaltown, IA. He served as a captain for the U.S. Army in Europe during World War II, from 1942 to 1946.

Wick moved to St. Cloud in 1948, where he worked in speech communications at St. Cloud State. During his thirty years at the university, he served as a faculty member, department chair, dean, and vice president. Wick served as acting president of St. Cloud State from August 1965 to April 1966, when he was appointed president permanently. He served as president until 1971.

St. Cloud State underwent a building boom during Wick's presidency, adding Halenbeck Hall (1965), Holes Hall (1965), Atwood Memorial Center (1966), Stearns Hall (1966), Benton Hall (1967), Business Building (1968), Performing Arts Center (1968), and Sherburne Hall (1969). He was also president when KVSC received their FCC license and began broadcasting in 1967.

Wick retired in 1978. He also served as president of the St. Cloud Library, board member for the Great River Regional Library Board, Minnesota Manpower Planning Council, the director of Central Minnesota Public Service Consortium, a trustee for the St. Cloud Hospital as well as their chair from 1981 to 1984, a member of the Association of General and Liberal Education, Speech Association of America, Central States Speech Association, Blue Key, Phi Mu Alpha, Phi Delta Kappa, Theta Alpha Phi, St. Cloud Downtown Kiwanis, and the VFW Post 4847. Wick died March 8, 2006, in St. Cloud and buried in the city's Assumption Cemetery.

Robert H. Wick Science Building (1973)

The Wick Science Building opened in June 1973 at a cost of $6.5 million. Originally called the Mathematics and Science Center, the building was renamed in September 2005 to honor Robert Wick and his long service to St. Cloud State. The building was originally designed by architects Bissell Belair and Green.

When opened, the building originally housed four departments: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Math. The building included offices, classrooms, laboratories, greenhouse and planetarium.

In May 2007, ground was broken for a west addition to the 1973 building. That addition provided space for several more laboratories. The addition cost $11.3 million.

For more information, see the individual profiles for Wick Science Building on the University Archives’ website.