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ARTICLE
Date	ArticleType
10/26/2009	M 2 M
UWS Constructs for the Future
After a 30-year dearth of new construction, the University of Wisconsin-Superior is literally bursting into the future. For months, steel beams have sprung from the ground as UWS renews its structural footprint. When completed, projects collectively valued at nearly $78 million will further enhance the campus. The work began with completion of the Health and Wellness Center in 2004. It continued with renovation of the Jim Dan Hill Library, which will be open for fall semester, and construction of the new Yellowjacket Union (formerly Rothwell Student Center), scheduled for occupancy between fall and winter semesters. Ground was broken last month for Swenson Hall, the final project, which is expected to be completed in 18 months. “When we opened the new Health and Wellness Center in 2004, which at that time was the first new building constructed on this campus in 30 years, it became clear that we needed to replace a couple of buildings,” said Chancellor Julius Erlenbach. “We’re an institution that’s 116 years old. We have a lot of infrastructure that needs to be fixed, and in some instances, replaced. We need to have new things happening all the time.” That conclusion was not reached lightly. It emerged only after administrators completed a thorough campus analysis and plan. In the process, numerous construction and funding alternatives were considered. Conclusions varied No single solution was deemed universally appropriate for the latest three projects. “The library was a building that was really outdated and needed to be rethought. In the process of doing that, we determined the best course was to retain the structure’s envelope, but gut the interior and make some changes to the exterior walls,” Erlenbach explained. Glass walls were installed on the north and south sides, adding natural light. Technology also was enhanced. The whole demeanor changed, Erlenbach said. “The way it was before, it could be argued that the library was not state of the art. We certainly had technology readily available for students, but maybe not in the most contemporary sense. That will change now,” he said. The $7.7 million facility will include two fireplaces where students can study or converse quietly while also having computer connectivity. “There’s space specifically set aside for those kinds of things, and it wasn’t really in abundance at the old library,” Erlenbach said. “There’s a lot of excitement. Students really can’t wait to get in there.” Three scenarios were examined for the student center. “Students had the option of keeping the old structure. They could have kept the old envelope, gutted the interior, then remodeled. “We presented another scenario: Take care of all the health and safety issues. We told them they wouldn’t notice a lot of difference in structure, but the improvements were important. They needed to be done. “The third scenario was to construct a whole new building – a much more efficient building – very green and LEED certified,” Erlenbach explained. LEED is an internationally recognized third-party verification that ensures a building employs strategies to save energy, reduce carbon dioxide emissions, use water efficiently, offer high indoor environmental quality and conserve material resources. “We put it to referendum, and new construction is what students decided they wanted to do. They wanted to provide funds, which were supplement by private money from the UWS Foundation,” the chancellor said. Yellowjacket Union, like the library, will offer improved technological equipment that ensures students have the ability to perform in today’s world. Its green design also makes it a virtual demonstration project for sustainability. The $21 million development incorporates a passive solar design, biomass insulation and smart temperature technology. “We tried to be sensitive to ways we could save in the long term while also being good environmental stewards,” Erlenbach said. “The State of Wisconsin also is becoming more sensitive to that as well, and we convinced the state to buy into our ideas.” Becoming LEED certified can be very expensive, so designation was not sought for the Swenson Hall project. Nonetheless, the $32 million structure is being built to LEED specifications. “It will replace the old McCaskill Hall, which is the old campus lab school, and Sundquist Hall,” the chancellor said. “We will have to reconfigure Barstow Hall to accommodate all the scientists who are currently housed in McCaskill, along with their lab equipment. We’ll also take down Sundquist Hall, which houses faculty offices and programs such as the First Nations Study Center.” As proven by the new Health and Wellness Center, new structures are strong selling points for UWS. “That has helped us recruit student athletes immensely. They look inside the building and say ‘Wow that’s where I’d like to be.’” Personnel changes? The new structures will not lead to additional faculty and staff, Erlenbach said. With enrollment projected at 2,900 this fall, UWS plans to maintain its 17 to 1 student-faculty ratio, which ranks closer to a private college than a public university. That doesn’t mean, however, that new faces won’t soon be seen on the public liberal arts campus. “We are at the point where we’re approaching a changing of the guard, mostly a reflection of age. A lot of people are reaching their time to retire. It’s also a reflection of the state’s budget difficulties, particularly the need to require furloughs of a lot of state employees,” Erlenbach said. “As a result, we’ll not only see a different-looking campus physically, but a different campus in terms of faculty and staff over the next few years, because we’ll be replacing many of these senior employees who are retiring. And we’ll be bringing in much younger faculty and staff to work with the students. I think there will be a noticeable shift in the way the faculty looks.” Today, he sees UWS evolving much more than in some decades prior to his tenure. “There will always be something that we’ll be working on,” Erlenbach said. “We’re doing some really good things with faculty-student research opportunities. As a campus, we’re really the envy of a lot of other institutions in the UW system. We’ve done key things in terms of environmental, transportation and maritime research and now the biofuels initiative. We are surpassed only by Madison and Milwaukee in terms of total federal dollars for grant research. That says a lot about the quality of our faculty.”