The Wisconsin Industrial Arts Association was organized circa 1930. Its purpose, according to its constitution, was to “further the interests and to promote the general welfare of industrial arts” in Wisconsin. The Association attempted to enroll in its organization all industrial arts teachers in the junior and senior high schools of Wisconsin and to develop a program which would strengthen the teaching and position of industrial arts in the state. Several members of the Association were industrial arts faculty members of Wisconsin colleges, and they worked closely with the organization and were active in its development. Clyde A. Bowman, Dean of the Division of Industrial Education, Stout Institute, was the most prominent of this group. The Association held annual state meetings in conjunction with the Wisconsin Education Association. It also sponsored district meetings in various sections of the state for industrial arts teachers.
One of the most important projects of the Association was the work of its curriculum committee in developing a unified, statewide curriculum for industrial arts. The Association worked closely with the Wisconsin State Department of Public Instruction and the Stout Institute in preparing these courses of study. The curriculum committee was quite active from 1936 to 1941.
During the 1930's, when the Association developed into an active and strong organization, there was little, if any, connection with the University of Wisconsin. However, the Wisconsin State Department of Public Instruction and the Stout Institute actively worked with the Association in most phases of its program.
