The Grambling State University of Louisiana and University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Student Exchange Program, 1970-1980

Abstract

The Grambling State University of Louisiana and University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire student exchange program ran from 1970 through 1980. The exchange program primarily involved white students from UW-Eau Claire attending one fall or spring semester at Grambling State and black students from Grambling State spending one fall or spring semester at UW-Eau Claire. This essay explores how the G.S.U. and UW-Eau Claire student exchange program is an example of how the integration of universities continued even after the eventful desegregation era of the 1950s and 1960s. Most of the exchange students who participated in the program valued their experiences. Students encountered a semester as a minority student at either Grambling State University or UW-Eau Claire. The student exchange program was implemented to increase cultural awareness amongst whites from UW-Eau Claire and blacks from Grambling State.