Several summer construction projects at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point will create additional academic advising and instructional space for the campus for this fall and the fall of 2018.

 

The largest project is the construction of the new Chemistry Biology Building at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Stanley Street. Due for completion in the fall of 2018, the 176,500-square-foot building will contain three 48-seat classrooms, two 24-seat classrooms, two 96-seat lecture halls and research and teaching labs for biology and chemistry on each floor. Flexible room configurations combined with modern technology will support hands-on learning and student research. The $75 million project is supported by 2013-15 capital funding through the State Building Commission.

A new Academic and Career Advising Center is being created on the third floor of the Learning Resources Center. The center will ensure advising opportunities for all students and training for professional, faculty and peer advisers. To be completed for the fall, the space includes offices for center personnel and peer mentors as well as reception and resource areas.

 

Satellite academic advising areas will also be created in each of the four colleges: in the College of Letters and Science’s Collins Classroom Center, College of Professional Studies Building, Trainer Natural Resources Building and College of Fine Arts and Communication’s Noel Fine Arts Center.

 

A large and frequently used lecture hall in the College of Professional Studies (CPS) Building, Room 116, is being renovated this summer. The work will improve seating, expand accommodations for those with disabilities and upgrade information technology to meet current teaching and learning needs as well as upgrade lighting, electrical, fire suppression and heating and cooling systems. The $814,000 project, to be completed this fall, is funded through General Fund supported borrowing.

 

The space outside CPS Room 116 will be renovated to create Joan North Place in honor of a retired dean of the college. An area for student collaboration, it will include an interactive video display board with social media streams and videos of student highlights, events, awards and distinguished alumni. To join other donors on this project, contact CPS Director of Development Carie Winn at cwinn@uwsp.edu or 715-346-2448.

 

A new bicycle shelter will be installed at the north end of the Dreyfus University Center wooden pergola. The shelter will offer rain and snow protection for 40 bicycles, funded by student fees through the Student Government Association’s Green Fund.

 

Work to upgrade campus exterior and interior lighting and heating, cooling, mechanical and plumbing systems continues this summer. It is part of a state energy conservation project that has an anticipated annual energy cost savings of $607,000.

 

New landscaping, planters and picnic tables have been placed on campus. Other work includes general maintenance and repairs, including outdoor painting, replacing cracked and displaced concrete, repair and repainting of corroded doors and frames in campus buildings.