Chemistry Building Project

As enrollments have steadily increased throughout the last two decades, the Department of Chemistry has recognized the critical importance of planning for additional space to accommodate the soaring demand for undergraduate chemistry courses.

General Chemistry 103 and 104 are the courses with the highest enrollments on campus during the fall and spring semesters, respectively. Virtually all students majoring in the sciences, engineering, and allied health fields require chemistry courses as prerequisites for courses in their majors. Therefore, the ability to accommodate large freshman general chemistry and sophomore organic chemistry enrollments is an important factor influencing time-to-degree for a significant portion of all undergraduates on campus.

In August 2012, the UW System Board of Regents voted to include the $103.5 million Chemistry Building Project in the capital budget for the 2013-15 biennium. This action represents an important step in the approval process, but it is not the final step. In the spring, the project will go to the State Building Commission and the State Legislature for the next step in the approval process.

The Chemistry Building Project will help us:

• Enhance degree programs important to the Wisconsin economy, such as medicine, biotechnology, engineering, chemical and biological science, and health sciences
• Incorporate modern safety practices and safety training
• Implement modern teaching pedagogy and enhance undergraduate research
• Retain and recruit top faculty and students

The instructional addition and renovation will include:

• Expanded and renovated general chemistry labs
• New organic chemistry labs
• New analytical chemistry labs
• Three new lecture rooms
• Student support space for the Chemistry Learning Center, undergraduate advising, and student organizations
• A new space for the Chemistry Library
• Upgrades to existing air supply and exhaust systems (including HVAC)

Renderings

• View renderings of the instructional addition and renovation

Press

• Read “3 UW campuses hope to replace antiquated science labs” in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.