By Kim McDarison

State Sen. Howard Marklein, who serves as a Joint Finance Committee co-chair, offering a written update earlier this month regarding plans to enumerate and fund building projects on the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and UW-Madison campuses, noted that the Legislature “continues,” as of Jan. 11, to “follow through” on what he described as a “commitment” made between the UW’s Board of Regents and the Legislature late last year.

The regents voted in December to accept a funding plan submitted by the Legislature which — while limiting the number of employees hired across the full university system, and especially those relating to DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) — would free resources to fund several building projects, including one designed to make improvements at UW-Whitewater’s Winther and Heide halls. The buildings are used for classroom and faculty space. 

According to Marklein’s update, two bills moving through the legislative process — SB895 and AB921 — enumerate and fund five projects, including $75,489,000 for the two halls on the UW-Whitewater campus.

Other projects include engineering and residence halls on the UW-Madison campus, which are poised to receive funding in the amounts of $347,336,000 and $79,311,000, respectively, and two systemwide projects focused on demolition of some buildings and a “central plants and utility distribution system,” with each of those projects poised to receive $45,400,000 and $149,269,000, respectively.

In his update, Marklein noted that he is a co-author of the the senate bill which, according to his website, makes amendments to the 2023-25 capital budget for University of Wisconsin System projects, granting bonding authority, and making an appropriation.

Describing anticipated improvements to the UW-Madison buildings, Marklein wrote that dollars invested in the new engineering building “will provide the College of Engineering with space to admit and educate hundreds of additional students, provide increased opportunities for education and research, and allow UW-Madison to recruit and retain world-class faculty.”

Describing “the other projects,” he wrote that they would “provide much needed upgrades to living areas, classrooms and other academic spaces, resolve the most critical heating and cooling plant and utility distribution system repairs at UW campuses, and allow the UW System to demolish empty and unused buildings across Wisconsin.”

Under a heading of “future projects,” found on the UW-Whitewater website, a project under consideration is titled: “Winther Hall Renovation and Winther/Heide Addition.”

The project is described as including the construction of a 12,000-square-foot addition onto adjacent buildings Winther Hall and Heide Hall to improve vertical circulation and provide ADA accessible restrooms on each of the building’s floors.

Additionally, the project is described to include a “complete renovation” of Winther, including “mechanicals, infrastructure and programmatic spaces.” The project description, along with other plans for future projects, is here: https://www.uww.edu/adminaffairs/fpm/campus-planning/future-projects.

According to the UW-Whitewater website, Winther Hall houses five of the eight departments within the College of Education, including counselor education, curriculum and instruction, educational foundations, occupational and environmental safety and health, and special education. It also is home to the psychology department.

Additionally, the website states, named after a former professor and chairman of the English Department, Heide Hall was the third academic building to be built on campus and the first to be used “primarily for humanities classes.”

Information on the university’s website notes that Heide Hall saw some upgrades to some of its classrooms in 2011. Prior to that date, the website states, the building’s “large classroom,” had received “ no major upgrades since 1965.”

That same year, according to the website, two other classrooms saw some improvements, and nine more were slated to receive heating, ventilation and air conditioning upgrades.

Information about the 2011 upgrades is here: https://www.uww.edu/news/archive/2011-11-heide.

According to a document, titled: “University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Winther Hall Renovation and Expansion, Final Design Report,” created in 2013, Winther Hall was built in 1969, and serves the education and psychology departments. The building was described as “a six-story academic office tower that is joined to a four-story classroom wing, and contains 10 labs, 21 classrooms, and two lecture halls.” 

It was further described as “one of the most heavily used buildings on campus.” 

Within a summary of the report, the building was described as having “problems with ADA compliance of its restrooms and vertical transportation.” Further, the report noted, the building was in need of technology upgrades, and had seen “minimal improvements since its original construction.” 

Plans for the building in 2013, as proposed within the document, called for a 17,500-square-foot addition to be added to the structure’s north face, with “major renovations … throughout the interior to extend the life of Winther Hall.” 

Plans at the time called for new high-speed elevators, north stair ADA compliance, a multi-functional study space, universal design restrooms, and a rooftop patio, among other improvements. A link to the 2013 study is here: https://www.uww.edu/documents/adminaffairs/fpm/Campus%20Facilities%20Planning/Winther_Renov_Study_Mad_Eng_Capstone_Report_Final_2013-12-19.pdf. 

The full content of Marklein’s update is here: https://legis.wisconsin.gov/senate/17/marklein/media/weekly-columns/legislature-follows-through-on-uw-agreement/.

An earlier story about the funding plan submitted by the Legislature and approved by the regents is here: https://whitewaterwise.com/regents-vote-in-favor-of-state-funding-proposal-capping-uw-dei-employees-uw-whitewater-buildings-slated-for-renovations/.