UWM chemistry building project reaches construction milestone
MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Thursday, Jan. 26, celebrated a significant construction milestone when the highest beam was lifted into place atop the new chemistry building.
"This is one of the biggest days that I've had in my time here," said UWM Chancellor Mark Mone.
Mone has been UWM's Chancellor for almost 10 years.
"This brings us up to beyond jet age," said Mone. "It propels us well into the future in terms of the additional abilities for us to have a few large lecture halls, but also a lot of specialized types of labs."
UWM Chancellor Mark Mone
The new building will serve as a gateway to the STEM departments at UWM and help faculty and staff better prepare students interested in careers in fast-growing science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.
"It's an integral part of campus, and we're excited to not only be a part of that in terms of instruction but now have the space that's really going to innovate what we already do," said Kristin Murphy, a chemistry professor.
UWM chemistry building project reaches construction milestone
25% of the student population is studying chemistry each year. The new space will involve lecture halls, new labs, study spaces, and opportunities for outreach programs.
"We will have an outreach lab; we'll have opportunities for individuals to come in and interact with high schools, do a lot of things where we have science fairs and things that will bring aspiration students to a college campus," said Mone.
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It won't be fully complete until early 2024, but the final structural beam makes it one step closer to creating the next generation of graduates.
"You have employers saying, 'we need more graduates from schools that are trained like you're putting them out.' If you have a better facility, you're going to have better training, better students, and that's livelihood, and that builds community," said Mone.