The State of Wisconsin Building Commission approved a slew of multimillion dollar University of Wisconsin System projects Tuesday, including UW-Madison's new Union South and a renovated Memorial Union.
Although neither of the two projects will be supported by state funds, all state building projects must first be approved by the commission, which is chaired by Gov. Jim Doyle.
All in all, the commission approved more than $300 million in building projects for the UW-Madison campus. New buildings include three lakeshore residence halls, a Human Ecology academic building, a music performance building and a South Campus Union.
Renovation projects were approved for Memorial Union Theater, Chadbourne and Barnard residence halls and several campus parking ramps.
Alan Fish, vice chancellor of facilities planning and management, said the projects are part of the university's master plan to modernize the campus. The new residence halls in particular — estimated to cost $67.2 million — will help the university overcome its 700-bed annual shortage.
"That will allow us to increase our capacity slightly to students who want to stay on campus … to meet that demand," Fish said. "These particular projects improve student life."
Apart from the Human Ecology building and $31 million toward the Institutes of Discovery — a massive public-private research facility — the commission approved no state funding for any UW-Madison project, Fish said.
Most of the projects did not request state funds, however. The $52 million Memorial Union renovation, for example, will be funded through private donations and increased student segregated fees, which are a part of UW students' regular tuition.
The commission, comprised of eight state lawmakers and a citizen member, did approve $133 million in state funding toward several projects at UW campuses in La Crosse, Oshkosh, Superior and Parkside.
"This support for research and innovation will be the cornerstone of our success," Doyle said in a statement. "This will be a major undertaking for the university and for the state, but the benefits will be wide and far reaching."
UW System spokesperson David Giroux said the investments are further positive signs that state government is willing to reinvest in higher education.
"We're making decisions today that will benefit the state 20 to 30 years from now," Giroux said. "These really are long-term investments."
In recent years, Giroux said state and federal governments across the country have increasingly relied on private dollars to fund higher education. Wisconsin, he said, has followed that trend.
"As state and federal spending fall … to keep up with the increasing demands of higher education, we need to find other channels [of revenue]," Giroux said.
However, this year, Doyle has proposed $225 million toward higher education in his 2007-09 state-operating budget.
The commission approved the building projects as part of the state budget called the "capital budget" Monday, which amounts to $1.3 billion in state, federal and private dollars.
Senate President Fred Risser, D-Madison, vice president of the Wisconsin Building Commission, said the capital budget will now be incorporated into the operating budget, which must be approved by the Joint Finance Committee, both Legislative Houses and signed by Doyle before it can take effect.
Fish said he hopes the projects are approved by this summer so the university can begin planning construction by fall 2007.
