Mills Hall is named for Charles H. Mills. From 1914 until his death in 1937, Charles Mills was a professor of music and the director of the School of Music at the University of Wisconsin. One of his most noted accomplishments there was “the Wisconsin plan” which provided for the acceptance of music courses for entrance credit by the University of Wisconsin on an equal basis with recognized academic subjects. The high standards Mills set as a basis for granting this increase in entrance credits for music were credited with greatly increasing the quality of public school music education, and the “Wisconsin plan” served as an example for other states to follow.

Mills also elevated the level of music study at the University of Wisconsin. When he came to Wisconsin, the School of Music offered only a two-year course leading to a certificate. During his tenure here, it became a four-year course leading to a Bachelor’s degree, and Master’s and Doctoral programs were introduced. One of Mills’s last public appearances was at the 1937 commencement exercises, where he escorted his first Ph.D. candidate, Robert A. Sromovsky. The program was shifted from a conservatory-type course to a broader educational program in which nearly half the credits earned by graduates were in subjects outside of music including English, History and languages. Mills believed that it was important for musicians to be well-rounded individuals.

Learn more here: http://music.library.wisc.edu/wma/papers/mills_ch/mills_ch.htm