After a battle almost two years in the making, the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents made the final call to demolish the block of buildings on University Avenue, which includes Brothers’ Bar, to make room for a new UW School of Music performance facility.
The regents also evaluated the System’s funding struggles and how up-to-date their current policy is for crimes against minors.
The regents purchased the University Avenue property from the owners of Brothers’ Bar several years ago for more than $2 million and used eminent domain to claim the property. They were met with a legal and media battle from the brothers who own the bar.
Of the five buildings on the strip to be demolished, three are unoccupied, which the regents deemed at risk for vandalism and break-ins, according to a statement from the regents.
The cost of demolishing the buildings to make way for the School of Music’s new location is estimated at $830,900.
The property was designated as the future location of the Music Performance Facility in the 2005 Campus Master Plan, and programming and design have already been completed for the new building.
UW System spokesperson David Giroux said the demolition of the block is planned for late summer 2012.
Additionally, the Audit Staff for the Board of Regents examined their policies related to reporting crimes against minors. This issue was brought to greater attention in light of the Pennsylvania State University scandal.
UW System spokesperson David Giroux said the audit was proposed by System President Kevin Reilly. It looks at all laws, policies, rules and procedures that relate to crimes against minors and how they are reported on university campuses.
The staff planned at the meeting to review the topic to encompass understanding of existing laws, especially in the context of the UW System.
They are evaluating their methods and the way in which they communicate their policies to employees, students and agents that may come in contact with minors on UW System premises.
UW Chancellor David Ward also spoke Thursday about how to optimize the sources of UW’s budget.
Ward spoke about merging the university’s existing resources, as well as philanthropic and state funding, into a “stewardship” to maximize the university’s potential.
Both the number of students and the sources that feed into the university’s core budget are challenging. Therefore, Ward said, a stewardship in which the university’s providers work together is necessary.
Ward said the problem is that the innovation cycle is broken by repeated cuts to the university System, which ultimately makes innovation in the university more difficult and expensive.
“Let’s figure out collectively how we can be stewards of our future, because higher education is indispensable to it,” Ward said.
Later in the meeting, UW-Milwaukee Chancellor Michael Lovell presented a report on UW-Milwaukee’s partnership with the China Education and Research Network, which works to recruit Chinese students in American universities.
He said CERNET is a large-scale enterprise founded by the Chinese Ministry of Education, and that they have already implemented the program at the University of Massachusetts with great success.
Lovell said the agreement would enhance diversity and international strategy on the UW-Milwaukee campus.
“It’s extremely important to us, and we understand that it could be a game changer not only for our campus, but for the state of Wisconsin,” Lovell said.
