On Wednesday, the University of Wisconsin announced the donation of a $75 million toward a new engineering building in a modest ceremony on Bascom Hill.
The gift, the largest in the College of Engineering’s history, comes from two alumni and brothers, Marvin and Jeffrey Levy.
Donating to UW is nothing new for the Levy brothers. In 2021, they gave $20 million to fund the construction of a new home for the College of Letters and Science and Irving and Dorothy Levy Hall, named in honor of the Levy brothers’ parents, is estimated to open in 2026.
The Levy family has a multigenerational commitment to philanthropic support for the university, according to their donor page. The brothers currently own and operate Phillips Distributing Corporation, which their family founded nearly a century ago.
Dean of the College of Engineering Ian Robertson was one of the speakers at Wednesday’s ceremony.
“I’ve actually known about it for a long time, but to be able to announce it publicly was just an incredible day,” Robertson said.
The new building will be named in honor of Phillip A. Levy, Marvin and Jeffrey’s late brother.
While all three Levy brothers graduated from UW, none of them attended the Engineering school.
“Neither of them are engineers, but they are very committed to Wisconsin,” Roberston said. “What they did is step up and say, ‘We want to help the state by providing more engineers,’ [which] to me is just an incredible thing to do.”
Robertson emphasized how support from Wisconsin companies has played a big part in the university getting a new building.
The Phillip A. Levy Engineering Center is designed to be multipurpose and multidisciplinary, flexible and modifiable for the future, Robertson added.
“They understand that they have a shortage of engineers, and so they were saying, we just need more engineers in the state of Wisconsin,” said Robertson.
UW junior double-majoring in environmental engineering and environmental studies Mira Potter helped to present the Levys with a plaque at Wednesday’s ceremony.
“This building is going to help generations of engineers to come,” Potter said. “That’s not just going to help those engineers, but it’s going to help everyone in society around those engineers … it’s kind of like the building blocks of society.”
Construction on the 395,000-square-foot, eight-story facility is expected to start next year and should be finished by 2028, according to Robertson.
The State of Wisconsin is contributing $197 million to the project, while the university must raise the remaining $150 million, according to the College of Engineering website. The Levys’ donation covered half of the University’s share, however, the remaining $75 million must still be raised.
