Governor Jim Doyle today announced steps that will strengthen University of Wisconsin campuses across the state and help launch advancements at the Institutes for Discovery. In his Capital Budget proposal, Governor Doyle included $133 million to upgrade facilities and provide new resources for UW-Superior, UW-La Crosse, UW-Parkside, and UW-Oshkosh, as well as a $10 million partnership with UW-Platteville to strengthen engineering programs across the state. The Governor is also providing $31 million to support the Institutes for Discovery, a public-private research facility which will break ground on the UW-Madison campus early next year.
“Today, we’re moving forward on new investments in the University to produce more college graduates, more engineers, scientists, and nurses to fuel Wisconsin’s economy for the long term,” Governor Doyle said. “This support for research and innovation will be the cornerstone of our success. This will be a major undertaking for the University and for the state, but the benefits will be wide and far reaching.”
Governor Doyle’s $133 million proposal will provide the following resources for UW campuses:
· UW-Superior: The project will upgrade classrooms across the campus and replace outdated academic buildings. The funding will also create an instructional greenhouse, adding on to the Barstow Science Building. This is a first step in a long-term plan to add new classroom space, improve computer labs, provide relief to overcrowded areas, and eliminate deficient facilities and the backlog of maintenance they create;
· UW-La Crosse: The project will provide additional and upgraded classroom space to address critical campus-wide building space issues. New general access classrooms will replace outdated classrooms and provide space for Communication Studies, International Studies, and Military Science. Computer labs will be developed for program and student use, as well as resources to accommodate international students and associated organizations, as well as families in the English as a Second Language program;
· UW-Oshkosh: The project will construct new classroom space to house offices and associated lab space for the College of Business Administration, as well as undergraduate programs including Geography and Urban Planning, History, Journalism, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, Environmental Studies, International Studies and Women’s Studies. In addition, a personal computer teaching classroom, open lab space, and student study areas will be included in the project; and
· UW-Parkside: The project will add and remodel classroom space to help relieve a significant deficit in the quantity and quality of instructional lab space for the fine arts – identified as the most pressing space issue in a 2001 space assessment.
The Governor is also providing $10 million to move forward on a partnership with UW-Platteville that will expand engineering opportunities at UW colleges, including a new mechanical engineering degree at UW-Fox Valley, and an electrical engineering degree at Rock County.
The groundbreaking for the Institutes for Discovery is on track for early 2008 – the centerpiece of Governor Doyle’s effort to capture 10 percent of the stem cell market by 2015. Today, Governor Doyle is providing $31 million to move forward on this goal. Located on the UW-Madison campus, the Institutes for Discovery will feature public and private research facilities for interdisciplinary research and greater collaboration with industry to create thousands of high paying jobs, unlock cures to deadly diseases, and attract innovation and investment from around the world.
In the state operating budget, Governor Doyle proposed a $225 million new investment in the entire UW System to increase financial aid and generate thousands of new nurses, teachers, and engineers – fueling the Wisconsin economy of the future. Through a coordinated partnership between the state and the UW System, campuses across the state will launch new efforts to increase the number of college graduates in Wisconsin and produce the kind of educated workers the state needs to grow.
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