UW campuses urge Joint Finance Committee to fund new academic buildings

Apr. 11—EAU CLAIRE — Area universities pressed for state funding of their building projects during a listening session held by the state Legislature's influential budget-writing committee.

Speakers began signing up three hours before the Joint Finance Committee began its session at 10 a.m. Tuesday in the Ojibwe Ballroom at the Davies Center on the UW-Eau Claire campus.

First at the microphone was UW-Eau Claire Chancellor James Schmidt both to welcome the committee and audience, but also to speak about what his campus is seeking from the state.

Topping his list was $231.3 million for the final installment needed for construction of the new Science and Health Sciences Building, which previously got $109 million from the 2019-21 state budget.

The new building will replace Phillips Hall, the university's current science hall that was built in 1963.

"It was largely built to teach high school teachers how to teach science," Schmidt said. "This building is in desperate need of replacement."

A group from the Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce spoke later in the morning in support of upgrading science facilities at UW-Eau Claire.

Mark Faanes, a retired certified public accountant and past chairman of the Eau Claire Chamber, said he'd visited Phillips Hall in his youth, but the building has grown obsolete.

"Like me, it's time for that building to be retired and to make the investment in a new building on campus," he said.

Faanes and others from the Chamber stated the new building would be good for attracting talent to the Chippewa Valley, workforce development and contribute to the community's overall growth.

UW-Eau Claire wasn't the only university advocating for a new science building on Tuesday. Representatives from UW-La Crosse also spoke in favor of $182.5 million to complete its Prairie Spring Science Center, which will replace the aging Cowley Hall.

While the two new science buildings were included in the budget proposal made by Gov. Tony Evers in February, a project sought by UW-Stout was not.

The Menomonie-based university sought $138.9 million for a major overhaul of Heritage Hall, an academic building that's been on campus since 1973. While the UW System Board of Regents backed that full request, Evers opted only to include $500,000 in his version of the budget to pay for preliminary design.

Numerous UW-Stout officials and Menomonie business leaders urged the Joint Finance Committee on Tuesday to include the renovation of Heritage Hall in its version of the budget.

UW-Stout Chancellor Katherine Frank said the project will impact majors in career fields that Wisconsin is currently experiencing a worker shortage in, namely mental health, child care, hospitality and manufacturing.

"Heritage Hall is part of the solution," she said.

Jane Bush, who works in human resources at Anderson Windows, spoke about how the need for more child care workers affects the Menomonie business and its employees.

"One of the biggest stressors for my employees is when they can't come to work because their child care has fallen through," she said.

In addition to their building projects, chancellors Frank and Schmidt also advocated for a pay raise for UW System faculty as a way to attract and retain quality instructors.

"Help Wisconsin win the war for talent," Schmidt said.

UW-Superior Chancellor Renee Wachter also favors the boosted pay plan, plus continued support for the Wisconsin Tuition Promise that provides financial aid to families sending children to college.

Though Tuesday's budget session was hosted by a university, higher education funding was far from the only topic addressed by those who spoke.

Equity in K-12 public school funding, more money for caregivers, increasing shared revenues for local governments, expanding Medicaid, more funding for independent living agencies, greater family medical leave, and raises for prosecutors and public defenders were among the budget priorities espoused by those who spoke during the morning.

The budget session was scheduled to last until 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

It was the second of four that the Joint Finance Committee scheduled around the state this month.

The first was last week in Waukesha. The next session is today(Wednesday) in Wisconsin Dells, and the final one will be April 26 in Minocqua.

The 16-member committee will draft a budget that the state Legislature will vote on during spring and ultimately send to Evers to sign. The new state budget would then take effect on July 1.