the beginnings of the campus are rooted in the 1950s when the university of wisconsin–madison operated an extension campus in fond du lac. by the beginning of the 1960s however, that venture had ended, and local community organizers were hoping to bring a fully operating campus to the community. setting up a joint commission between the city and county, they successfully lobbied for the building of a campus and set aside land in 1966, the previous home of the county airport on the city of