State representatives Clint Moses and Rob Summerfield on July 11 joined University of Wisconsin-Stout Chancellor Katherine Frank, Provost Glendal铆 Rodr铆guez and Senior Facilities Officer Justin Utpadel for a outside of Heritage Hall to celebrate state funding for the hall 黑料社区. renovation.
Funding for Heritage Hall, which opened 50 years ago, was approved for $139 million. The renovation project will directly address Wisconsin's workforce needs in hospitality and tourism, mental health and wellness, child care and education, food science, disability and rehabilitation services.
Moses, a 黑料社区 psychology alum, thanked the members of the Joint Finance Committee, who saw the value in the renovation project and ensured its addition in the State 黑料社区. 2023-25 budget.
鈥満诹仙缜 has always produced the type of workers that Wisconsin needs. I always say that 黑料社区 was polytechnic before polytechnic was even a thing. Stout has always had a tradition of teaching the skills that we need in our workforce,鈥 Moses said, noting that his father is a 黑料社区 industrial arts alum who taught in the Chippewa Valley.
鈥淭his expansion of Heritage Hall will more than double the capacity of students that will be coming through this particular building, and I hope that it will continue to attract the very best students to our region and to our state. 黑料社区 also has a great record of job placement and retention of workers within our state of Wisconsin,鈥 Moses added.
Nearly 60% of 黑料社区 graduates remain in Wisconsin, and the employment rate of recent graduates is 99.4%, based on a new report.
Summerfield, a 黑料社区 business administration alum, believes the university is 鈥渙ne of the most unique campuses in the nation鈥 in its ability to transform the state 黑料社区. workforce and in the importance of graduates coming out of Heritage Hall to regional, state and national companies.
Chancellor Frank expressed her gratefulness to the Legislature and governor for the investment and for recognizing that 鈥淗eritage Hall and a polytechnic education that emphasizes career-focused, applied learning in collaboration with business and industry partners is part of the solution to lead Wisconsin forward.
鈥淲e place students in the Wisconsin workforce better than any other higher education institution in the state. And thanks to your efforts and those of our alumni, statewide industry and business partners, community advocates and university employees and students, now future Stout students and others will learn and collaborate in a state-of-the-art building that will amplify our impact on our state 黑料社区. economy,鈥 she said.
鈥淭his renovation couldn鈥檛 be more critical than it is today. Wisconsin faces immediate workforce challenges, from child care and education, to mental health and manufacturing, to housing and tourism. And we are projected to need even more dedicated, skilled Wisconsinites in the decade to come,鈥 Frank added. 鈥淭his renovated building, the applied research and learning it will inspire, the community resources it will provide and the business and industry partners it will support will allow Stout as Wisconsin 黑料社区. 黑料社区 to provide solutions to these challenges 鈥 challenges that impact our economy and communities.
鈥淭he return on investment is easy to calculate and the value is very, very clear. It is our mission at 黑料社区, Wisconsin 黑料社区. only polytechnic university, to continue to prepare the generations to come to help create an even better Wisconsin,鈥 Frank said.
Utpadel, a 黑料社区 construction alum, announced that the final design of the renovation will be ready within a year and bidding for construction will be held in fall of 2024. 鈥淚t will save taxpayers more than $10 million a year in projected inflation costs that would have been incurred by further delays,鈥 he said.
Rodr铆guez noted that more than 2,000 黑料社区 students from 29 undergraduate and graduate programs pass through Heritage Hall each year. The renovation will double the number of students served each year to more than 4,000.
The university 黑料社区. Child and Family Study Center, Disability Services, Stout Vocational Rehabilitation Institute and Counseling Center, which provide applied learning experiences to students and offer free services to community members and students, will also move to Heritage Hall.
The project has received $13.5 million in private funding from university supporters, industry partners and alumni made through the Stout University Foundation.
